Chicago Sun-Times: Parkway Bank chief clams up on Rosemont casino

The head of a bank with 19 Chicago area locations refused to answer questions under oath Monday about an apparently secret deal he and a son struck to buy stock in Emerald Casino Inc. through an Emerald investor state lawyers say had links to organized crime.

Parkway Bank & Trust Co. Chairman Rocco Suspenzi even invoked his "Fifth, Sixth and 14th" Amendment rights to withhold answers when asked if Jeffrey Suspenzi was his son. Rocco Suspenzi also declined to confirm his age or say where he lived during the start of the second week of hearings before retired Judge Abner Mikva about whether Emerald's long-dormant gaming license should be revoked.

Illinois Gaming Board lawyers set out to tie the Suspenzis and Parkway not only to Joseph Salamone -- the investor they've described as linked to the mob through a brother -- but also to the village of Rosemont and its mayor, Donald E. Stephens. The Gaming Board cited wrongdoing by Emerald in jettisoning its Rosemont casino plan in 2001.

They presented evidence showing that Rocco Suspenzi, Jeffrey Suspenzi and the Suspenzi Family Corp. wrote checks totaling $125,000 to buy part of Salamone's quarter-share interest in Emerald in September 1999. They also noted that Parkway -- a hefty campaign contributor to Stephens -- continues to finance construction of a $45 million parking garage Rosemont built next to the casino site.

Besides the Salamone deal, Parkway -- with Rocco Suspenzi being one of six people on the bank's loan committee -- issued a $1.5 million loan to a trust controlled by the family of Nick S. Boscarino, a former friend and ex-business partner of Stephens. Boscarino's mother in August 1999 almost immediately invested that money in Emerald, documents show.

Nick Boscarino is expected to testify today regarding state allegations that he too is connected to organized crime.

1.25 percent of total investment

The state's lawyers did not allege anything criminal about the Suspenzi family or Parkway's dealings, though their casino ownership deal came to light in 2003 after federal authorities subpoenaed documents about the matter. The feds haven't identified the purpose of that subpoena.

Robert Clifford, an attorney representing Emerald in its fight to keep its gaming license, noted the Salamone and Boscarino shares represent only 1.25 percent of the overall investment in Emerald and that it was the state's responsibility to weed out potential casino owners with questionable backgrounds.

"Yes it has a negative impact on Emerald," Clifford said of the Salamone-Suspenzi ownership arrangement. "But I hope put into context it once again proves we're taking an elephant's foot and jumping on people who are really entitled to a lot more discretionary relief."