State probes Brigadiers bingo

The Post-Standard ^ | December 08, 2003 | By Frank Brieaddy

[songspirit]

I've looked back on the RAMD thread first posted back in November 2003 about the Brigadiers getting the smoking ban waiver.



(the HTML carriage return codes work)

http://tinyurl.com/273tb

The guy posting this is VERY connected - younger than most (late 20's, maybe 30-ish now) of the politicos, and definitely smarter than most of them. It's significant that he is the one posting this.

A 5 On Your Side Exclusive Report: The Onondaga County Health Department issued the first waiver on Tuesday for a Central New York business that has proven the state's anti-smoking law has caused its business to decline. The Syracuse Brigadier Bingo Hall on West Fayette Street paid $100 to apply for the waiver and came up with a plan to separate smokers from non-smokers that was acceptable to the health department. When bingo resumes on Thursday, smokers will be allowed to play in a room with a separate ventilation system. [Tom Peashey gave a rave review of a Honeywell filtration system installed for his former employer, a Rochester junior corps, which is posted. As the public relations guy for Drum Corps Associates, a senior corps umbrella organization (*heavily* political), a partner in Wacon, LLC, a bingo investment company - who appear to have made a $250K renovation loan to the Brigadiers, and a Brigadier alumnus, he's quite involved. And no, he and I don't care for each other too well... ] They will still be able to participate in the main bingo game. Marketing Director Bridget Holmes said Tuesday she is cautiously optimistic that the waiver will bring back business to the non-profit facility. Holmes said the facility lost substantial business once the smoking ban took effect in July. The health department is considering 10 other waiver applications that have been filed by more traditional businesses including bars and restaurants.

www.wtvh.com

Great news for them!

Geoff

******************************

The follow-ups are most interesting, as is the scapegoating of "Indian gaming" going on on RAMD. This has been an issue across the country with regard to the big-money "corps" bingo operations. On RAMD, it's simply part of the "technique" of inflaming emotions.

More importantly, it was suggested in these threads that perhaps the reason the Brigs' was the first to get their application approved was due to the alleged volunteer status of their workers. Now, the State Gaming Commission is investigating due to the paid status of the "volunteers" - thus making them the employees enduring second-hand smoke as a job hazard that smoking ban proponents are so very concerned about. I've made an additional post to RAMD about this point:.

It's interesting to suppose that the reason the Brigadiers were the 1st to obtain a smoking waiver.

[source: http://tinyurl.com/273tb - Geoff Jones' post which started this thread reporting this story from www.wtvh.com]

"A 5 On Your Side Exclusive Report: The Onondaga County Health Department issued the first waiver on Tuesday for a Central New York business that has proven the state's anti-smoking law has caused its business to decline." The story also states there are 10 other applications being considered.

Thus, if the reason that the Brigadiers got their waiver was because of the alleged volunteer status of the bingo workers, and the NY State Gaming Commission is now alleging there are these paid employees...

It's not just a fraud concerning a business operating a bingo operation under the guise of being a drum & bugle corps charitable fundraiser, but the smoking ban waiver was also obtained via fraud.

Add to the fact that "any moron knows skimming goes on", and I'm beginning to see a pattern here. No wonder the waiver was controversial - if true. And thus, quite a lot of people might well have legitimate reasons for being pissed off, given the number of businesses who have gone out of business due to this ban. Nor does it explain why all those private clubs, i.e., AL and VFW posts, Elks Lodges, churches, etc., weren't first in line.

My other post about the fact of the Brigs' ban being controversial hasn't been much commented about. Often, silence on RAMD can be most revealing....

-- Catherine