New York Times
The Big Gamble 3.23.2003
By Julia Mead
...Mr. Ong, who served four months under house arrest for his part in a 1995 counterfeit baby-formula scheme, called his guilty plea to misdemeanor charges a matter of expediency. He also disputed press reports that he patronized a slain Las Vegas loan shark and is a subject of a federal grand jury probe into the Seminoles' gaming operation in Oklahoma...
Long Island Business News
Oklahoma developer confirms Shinnecock casino deal7.13.2003
by Rosamaria Mancini
Ivy Ong, a prominent Oklahoma developer best known for his work on gaming facilities, confirmed this week that he has signed a contract with the Shinnecock Indian Nation to build a casino on the East End of Long Island. Ong, a controversial figure with a criminal record, said he would provide the necessary funding for a 65,000-square-foot casino on a 79- acre site in Hampton Bays known as Westwoods... Ong has helped the Seminole Nation and Iowa Nation tribes build casinos. His criminal record stems from a counterfeit baby-formula scheme in 1996, according to news reports that cite court records. He pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges in federal court and testified against an associate who went to prison. The Daily Oklahoman also reported that his name surfaced in a murder trial as a loan shark customer of slain Las Vegas mobster Herbie Blitzstein. Ong has attributed his conviction to a failure to file paperwork, and he has denied knowing the people involved in the loan shark case...
The Oklahoman | NewsOKIn January 2008, the National Indian Gaming Commission issued a final ruling, not involving the Shinnecock, on matters involving the Seminole which found that Ong and Carlo Worldwide Operations LLC had been managing an Indian gaming facility without a contract and improperly held a proprietary interest in Indian gaming activity. NIGC issued a civil fine of $5,150,000.
Guilty plea expected in casino corruption
9.21.2007
A former casino developer was accused Thursday in a federal conspiracy charge of making illegal payments to at least three officials of the Seminole Nation to let him run tribal casinos. Ivy K. Ong, 65, of California also was accused of failing to pay $199,610 in federal taxes. He is to plead guilty today, his defense attorney, David Ogle, said. The charges:
- Ong is accused in the charge of paying $44,100 to one tribal official between October 2000 and March 2004.
- He is accused of paying $7,190 in January 2002 to get a second tribal official's house out of foreclosure.
- He is accused of paying $8,607 in April 2001 to renovate a third official's home...
Ong's Assignment of Shinnecock Agreement to Detroit Interests
On March 19, 2004, according to correspondence from the National Indian Gaming Comission to the Shinnecock Nation Gaming Authority dated March 16, 2011, Ong transferred his Shinnecock casino rights to Gateway Casino Resorts. Some reports suggest Gateway paid Ong $25 million. Gateway Casino Resorts was organized in Detroit during 2003 with membership that includes the leadership of Marian Ilitch and Michael J. Malik, Sr.
Like Ong, Gateway Casino Resorts' Malik Also Has a Controversial and Criminal Past
In 1997 Malik was arrested for beating the 12-year old son of his then-girlfriend in the street of a residential neighborhood and sentenced to probation. In 1999 he was forced from the partnership that founded MotorCity Casino because at that time and subsequently he has failed to receive a commercial gaming license from the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB). It was reported the 1997 arrest, IRS troubles and perhaps other circumstances contributed to MGCB concerns.
The AP broke a national influence peddling story in 2005 which contributed to the re-election downfall of Rep. Richard Pombo, then chair of the House National Resource Committee. Malik and Christoper litch hosted multiple higher dollar fundraisers at the MLB All Star Game in Detroit benefiting Pombo who was to chair Congressional Hearings on Capitol Hill two days later on the fate of Shinnecock Federal Recognition. Then later, Malik was found (2006 & 2009) on multiple counts to have violated political campaign finance laws and fined $10,500. Malik/Ilitch and affiliates have been associated with other political finance and lobbying scandals.
In 2008, an Arizona Court found Malik guilty of illegal discharge of a firearm; ordered him to community service; and fined him nearly $15,000. Also in 2008, a receiver in a federal ponzi scheme case filed suit in Federal Court (Goldberg v. Malik) alleging Malik’s involvement in a fraudulent transfer and Malik was subsequently ordered to repay $170,000.
Then there is the default on a $1 million line a credit; failure to pay property taxes; foreclosures; certificate of forfeiture, one month marriage to the mother of his 3-year-old son, etc. etc. etc.
News accounts in 2007 reported the chairwoman of the Los Coyotes Band of Indians called Malik “the Devil” and indicated he was “seducing” younger members of her tribe.
Malik’s then wife was forced to tell a Detroit Court in 2010 that he had a history of “bullying, intimidation and influence peddling.”
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