Mob influence in Pennsylvania casinos? You don't say

Let me get this straight. The mob (as in organized crime) has a connection to one of Pennsylvania's new casinos? You're kidding. Who would have imagined such a thing. The mob in the casino business? That's unheard of ... unless you've seen "The Godfather" or "The Godfather, Part II" or "Casino" or any mob movie made in the past 40 years.

Don't say we didn't warn you. Opponents of casino gambling in Pennsylvania were telling lawmakers in 2004 and 2005 that Pennsylvania's Swiss Cheese casino legislation and patronage-filled gaming board would get caught with its pants down.

I predicted this in July 2004 in a column titled, "Tony Soprano has friends in Pennsylvania."

The indictment this week of Mount Airy Casino Resort owner Louis A. DeNaples on charges that he lied to state Gaming Control Board about mob ties comes less than a year after after the state licensed its first casino. It won't be the first time someone with connections to the mob will infiltrate the state's casinos.

Read today's editorial in The Philadelphia Inquirer about "Pennsylvania's haphazard venture into legalized gambling."

Also spend some time at the CasinoFreePA Web site to review the history of Ed Rendell's casino gamble.