Wynn Resorts and supporters of their plan for a casino in Everett are lashing out in their ongoing feud with the city of Boston. About two dozen Supporters of a planned casino project in Everett gathered outside Boston City Hall Wednesday to protest the city’s ongoing legal fight against the casino plan. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh had backed a rival casino plan at the Suffolk Downs racetrack that straddles East Boston and Revere. Joe Marino of Everett called Walsh a sore loser.
“He went for Revere. Revere didn’t come in." says Marino. "Well, it’s like putting a two dollar bet on a horse in Revere, the horse never came in, now he wants his two dollars back.”
The protest comes after Wynn filed a libel lawsuit over press leaks. The suit doesn’t actually name a defendant, but Wynn wants to know how the media obtained a city subpoena of Wynn before it was even served. That subpoena alleges Wynn knowingly made illegal deals for the Everett land with a convicted felon. Wynn says that’s untrue, but Harvard University law professor John Goldberg says the case is an uphill battle for Wynn, since the contents of legal proceedings can’t be considered libel.
“And then the only question is whether repeating those privileged contents in some other circumstance would get somebody in trouble, and I think that’s very unlikely.”
Also, Boston College law professor Alfred Yen says Wynn would have to prove the defendant – whoever that might be – knew the statements in the subpoena were false. And then there’s another possibility.
“Maybe whatever the statement said about Wynn was true. We don’t know the truth of that yet. Second, it’s quite likely the defendant will say ‘all I did was say what happened in a judicial proceeding.’ That’s a true statement.”
If the libel suit is allowed to go forward, Wynn would be able to depose witnesses, possibly including Mayor Walsh. A spokesperson for Mayor Walsh says the city did not leak the subpoena.
What’s really behind all this legal wrangling is how much money the city of Boston might get from a new casino in neighboring Everett. At Wednesday’s protest outside Boston City Hall, former Everett city councilor Mike McLaughlin said its time to move beyond that.
“Mayor Walsh has controlled the conversation in the media for so long that it’s now time for the residents of Everett to come forward and talk to other residents of Boston about what the jobs and revenue could do for the city of Boston,” McLaughlin says.
But as legal challenges in both directions pile up on top of each other, it seems the two sides are moving even further away from coming to an agreement.
