Chicago Sun-Times: Long line of witnesses likely as Emerald casino hearings resume

Politicians, convicted crooks, an '85 Bear and some big names in Illinois gambling could be called to testify this summer at a state hearing aiming to revoke Emerald Casino's embattled gaming license.

A seven-page cast of characters with ties to the failed casino project in Rosemont was made public Wednesday as regulators tipped their hand on whom they might subpoena to testify.

Two of the biggest names on the list are Arlington Park's Richard Duchossois and Rosemont Mayor Donald E. Stephens, both of whom pushed hard to get lawmakers to open up Rosemont to legalized gambling in 1999 -- only to watch the project get bogged down for years.

The Illinois Gaming Board rejected Emerald's plan after alleging casino officials misled regulators and allowed people with mob ties to buy casino shares.

Former Emerald CEO Kevin Flynn, his father, Donald Flynn, and Nick Boscarino, one of the men the Gaming Board accused of having mob ties, are on the witness list. So is Ralph Aulenta, an insurance man who testified against Boscarino last year in a federal fraud case that ended with both men being convicted.

Picking up from 2002

Others who could be called to testify include former state Rep. Ralph Capparelli, who helped carry the casino legislation; mob lawyer-turned-informant Robert Cooley, and all of Emerald's investors, a group that includes former Bear Shaun Gayle, Walter Payton's widow, Connie, Panda Express founder Andrew Cherng and Timothy Rand, owner of restaurants at Midway Airport.

Peter DiFronzo, the brother of reputed mobster John "No Nose" DiFronzo, also made the list. Peter DiFronzo's wife owns a company that was hired to haul trash away from the Emerald project site.

The release of the list came as the Emerald license revocation hearing was relaunched. It had been shelved in 2002 after a settlement deal was announced.

Since the proposed settlement, Emerald went bankrupt and a buyer that also planned to open the casino in Rosemont was selected. Attorney General Lisa Madigan opposed that sale, though, and the case remains in Bankruptcy Court.

Retired Judge Abner Mikva is presiding over the hearing, which he hopes will end in September. He repeatedly urged lawyers on both sides not to waste time, citing strong public sentiment to get the dormant license up and running.

Former Gaming Board administrator Michael Belletire, who was on the stand when the hearings paused in 2002, resumed his testimony Wednesday by saying he knew he was still under oath.

"I had hair when I was sworn in," the bald former aide to Gov. Jim Edgar deadpanned.