The chairman of the state’s Gaming Commission announced his resignation in a letter to staff and fellow commissioners on Wednesday. Stephen Crosby's resignation comes amid new allegations of bias — both against casino developer Steve Wynn and in favor of the company Wynn founded.
Crosby has been dogged by accusations of bias since the Gaming Commission began considering proposals for a casino in the Boston area, though he recused himself from that initial decision. The commission wound up supporting the Wynn proposal in Everett over other applicants, including the owners of Mohegan Sun who had proposed a casino at Suffolk Downs in Revere.
Now, the commission is reconsidering the suitability of Wynn Resorts to operate the Everett casino in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against the company’s founder.
Attorneys for Mohegan Sun wrote the commission a letter on Tuesday calling for Crosby’s immediate disqualification from that determination. The letter references a September 13story in MassLive in which Crosby was quoted on the subject.
"There clearly [was] by all accounts at least one terrible predator," Crosby was quoted as saying. "But the culture of the company that we've seen through other devices, they were recognized by the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations as a singularly impressive company in terms of, you know, LGBT rights and so forth and so on… So clearly, as with the rest of the world, this whole #MeToo thing and all the horrible transgressions that have come about by powerful men has changed everybody's sensibility. And I'm sure Wynn's sensibilities, Wynn Resorts' sensibilities, have changed, too."
The letter from Mohegan Sun’s attorneys says that quote indicates Crosby’s bias in favor of the company, making it clear he has already decided that the sexual harassment problems at Wynn were limited to one person, that they don’t reflect on the company more broadly, and that any problems at the company have been addressed.
The commission also received a letter earlier this month from Steve Wynn’s attorneys about the same quote, calling his classification of Wynn as a “sexual predator” false and defamatory.
In a letter to commissioners and staff announcing his resignation, Crosby referenced those allegations of bias. He also mentioned the Suffolk Downs lawsuit against Wynn Resorts. That complaint details the allegations that lead to Crosby’s initial recusal from the decision on the Boston-area casino, including that he had a prior business partnership with the seller of the Everett property where the Wynn resort is now being built.
“Based on our experience, I have reason to expect that the Commission’s objectivity — even if I recuse myself from the current proceedings — will be challenged,” Crosby wrote in his resignation letter. “I simply cannot let my involvement in these critical deliberations be used by others to hamper the Commission’s ability to do its work, or to undermine the confidence of the public in that work. There has never been a shred of truth or accuracy to any charge of bias, favoritism, corrupt practice, ethics violations, or prejudgment in my execution of this job.”
Crosby went on to say that he was resigning with “sadness, regret — and yes, frustration.” He is stepping down six months before his term as chairman ends, and it will be up to Gov. Charlie Baker to name his replacement.
“I think he chose to preserve the integrity of the system by resigning, and I think it speaks volumes about Chairman Crosby’s sense of right and wrong and his personal ethics that he chose to put the process above his own interests,” said Paul DeBole, Lasell College professor who studies public policy and casinos. “I don’t think he was biased, but the way that a lot of the conflict of interest statutes are written, it’s not impropriety, it’s the mere appearance of impropriety.”
The Gaming Commission will hold its regular public meeting — with the four remaining commissioners — on Thursday morning.
