Wynn Resorts Might Sue Boston Mayor for Defamation

Wynn Resorts’ lawyer threatened Mayor Martin J. Walsh with a defamation suit over his statements in connection with the city lawsuit vs state gambling commission.

The Massachusetts state gambling commission was charged by the city of Boston twice already in 2015 about illegally securing a casino license for Wynn Resorts. Chief Executive Steve Wynn is planning to build a USD 1.75 million casino in Everett, what would be the only licensed casino gambling facility in Eastern Massachusetts.

• Steve Wynn threatens to sue Boston Mayor
• Wynn’s lawyer wrote a letter to the city
• Casino mogul allegedly violated state gambling laws

However, Wynn threatened the city and Mayor Martin J. Walsh with a defamation suit, latest gambling news report, claiming that the contents of the filed subpoenas and other documents are only for discrediting him. This is not the first time when Steve Wynn considers a defamation suit against his criticizers as he sued Jim Chanos last year, after the hedge fund manager claimed that Wynn with his company had violated the federal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in Macau.

Wynn threatens with defamation suit

Wynn Resorts claim that the documents filed recently in connection with the city of Boston’s lawsuit against the state gambling commission contained incorrect statements regarding them. Because of that, they are threatening to sue Mayor Walsh and the city itself, if he doesn’t apologize for the false innuendo in the subpoenas and other papers attached to the case.

Barry B. Langberg, lawyer of casino mogul Steve Wynn sent a letter to Walsh and the city’s lawyers asking to cease the campaign of untruths against Wynn.

Bary B. Langberg (Photo: bestlawyers.com)

Langberg also threatened Walsh and the city with a lawsuit.
Langberg wrote, “Apparently, you have conducted yourselves with reckless disregard for the truth because you somehow feel your actions are immune from accountability. Such is not the case.”

Laura Oggeri, Walsh’s spokesperson was quick to answer Langberg’s letter. She said, “We dispute all of the assertions in the letter and we stand firmly behind the allegations in the amended complaint,” according to online gambling news in the US.

Alleged review of confidential documents

A 2013 episode appears in several of the subpoenas, when two former state troopers were allegedly entered a secure room in the office of the attorney general to check classified documents. The city claims that the retired policemen were working for Wynn Resorst CEO Steve Wynn and were there to review investigatory documents regarding Charles Lightbody. Lightbody, who is an alleged mafia associate, owned a property where Wynn Resorts were planning to build their casino.

Langberg argues that Wynn has nothing to do with the ex-state troopers, and went on to express that even the language of the subpoena suggested that it was nothing but for discrediting his client. He wrote, “Wynn did not employ the named investigators and Wynn has no knowledge of anyone obtaining improper access to police files. The language of your subpoena was not typical legal wording but instead was designed to spread vicious falsehoods.”

The representatives of Wynn Resorts claim that they were unfamiliar with the fact that Lightbody owned the property and they learned that only in July 2013, when the investigators of the gambling commission informed them. However one of the subpoenas feature a meeting that allegedly took place several months before involving Wynn officials discussing the issue about the ownership of Lightbody’s land.
Langberg also wrote: “Proper and ethical conduct on your part at this point demands that you do everything in your power to correct the falsehoods you have spread and mitigate the damage caused by those reckless and untrue statements.”

Alleged violation of gambling laws

The city of Boston submitted a 158-page lawsuit against the gambling commission in May, claiming that the organization breached US gambling laws and its own rules in order to secure a license for Wynn to build a USD 1.75 billion casino in Everett. That is the only casino license in Eastern Massachusetts, and Wynn had to defeat Mohegan Sun to get that. The gambling commission refused to comment on Langberg’s letter.  

The original lawsuit was submitted in January, however the new case has a lot of new allegations. They charged Wynn’s representatives that they had knowledge about two felons owning the land, but did practically nothing to ensure they have nothing to do with the project when agreed with FBT Everett Realty in December 2012. Two of the owners of FBT Realty together with Lightbody are the subject of an ongoing state and federal prosecution.