Green Party of New Jersey
Updated
May 09, 2008
Baron
Petition to the
U.S. Department of Justice
Background | Sign Petition | Petition Text | Letter to DOJ
The Baron Petition asks the DOJ to initiate an independent investigation of the alleged $6.6 Million in illegal gambling at the Baron Athletic Association in Mercer County, New Jersey.
To sign the
petition,
Baron Petition to the U.S. Department of
Justice,
click on the petition name. It only requires 4 pieces of
info: NAME, TOWN, STATE, COUNTRY. AGE &
OCCUPATION are optional. Also, there is a box available,
that the signer can check, to keep their name from being
displayed on the website.
BACKGROUND
On January 21, 1998, the New Jersey State Police raided the Baron Athletic Association. They confiscated 12 slot machines, 10 electronic joker poker machines; six roulette wheels and 10 blackjack and poker tables. The State of New Jersey, later charged that the Baron Athletic Association generated at least $6.6 million in illegal gambling income. Club officials had wired their "casino" with a video surveillance system, prompting the state police superintendent at the time, Colonel Carl Williams, a 35-year state police veteran, to call it "the most sophisticated operation that I have ever seen."
There is evidence that high profile local and state government officials were not only members but may have had knowledge of and/or participated in the illegal activities. Alleged members and guests include municipal officials including the mayor, ranking police officials, members of the State Legislature, judges and at least one county prosecutor.
A small grass-roots organization called BaronPetition@AOL.COM, gathered 5,000 signatures on a petition, over a seven-week period ending April 12, 2000. The petition asked the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene and expand the scope of the investigation being done on the state level. The petition was delivered on April 12, 2000. To date, BaronPetition@AOL.COM has received no response from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The checks and balances inherent in a two party system did not work here. Members of the two largest political parties were both implicated in the scandal. As such, neither political party has demonstrated a strong interest in an objective, comprehensive investigation.
On April 12, 2000 NJ Superior Court Judge Charles Delehey severely criticized the handling of the investigation by the State of New Jersey. The exact status of the investigation is still not known. However, to date, not one individual has been indicted and found guilty of any crime.
It is the goal of BaronPetition@AOL.COM, to gather an additional 20,000 petition signatures, making a grand total of 25,000. We are still hopeful justice will prevail. Many citizens feel there are two systems of justice at work--one for government officials and the politically connected, and the other for the regular citizens.
When you sign this petition online, you are asking for an immediate, comprehensive, independent investigation of the Baron Athletic Association case.
Janet Reno
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
We, the citizens of Hamilton Township, New Jersey, and the surrounding communities, request that the U.S. Department of Justice intervene and take charge of the Baron Athletic Association Investigation, currently being conducted by the Office of the Attorney General, State of New Jersey.
We are not satisfied with the status of the current investigation. We believe the investigation should be continued and expanded in scope.
LETTER SENT TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
April 12, 2000
United States Department of
Justice
U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey
Robert J. Cleary, United States Attorney
Federal Building - Suite 700
970 Broad Street
Newark, New Jersey 07102-2535
Dear
Mr. Cleary,
On January 21, 1998, the New Jersey State Police raided the Baron Athletic Association (hereinafter Baron) at 9:45 p.m. on a search warrant signed by Mercer County Superior Court Judge Paul T. Koenig. They confiscated 12 slot machines, 10 electronic joker poker machines; six roulette wheels and 10 blackjack and poker tables. In addition to the money still inside the machines, $11,275 in currency and 2 large bags of quarters was also confiscated. Michael Jennings, Liquor, $11G Seized in Raid at Club, The Times, January 23, 1998 at Al.
The Internal Revenue Service has recognized the Baron as tax-exempt organization since 1977. Michael Jennings, Baron’s Cash Flow Detailed, The Times, March 22, 1998 at Al. In a 1099 return filed with the IRS for fiscal year 1996, the Baron claimed revenues of $360,218 and expenditures of $367,831. Id. The 400-member club claimed that $312,508 of the revenues came from the membership dues and assessments even though according to club member’s actual membership dues are less than $100. Id. In addition, the Baron reported only $34,270 from special events and $10,775 from sales. Id. Robert Coble, an IRS spokesman said that the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office estimated that the Baron’s average annual revenues to be at least $770,000 of which $640,000 was generated by illegal activities. Id. In a brief filed by the Attorney General’s Office on March 13, 1998, the alleged income from illegal lottery, casino and tavern operations over a period of 5½ years was over $3.5M. Id.
In addition to the questionable revenue reported, the Baron also reported that the club made a total of $68,000 in contributions to 64 groups. Id. According to the 1099 acquired by The Times, the detailed donations were: $48,000 to Deborah Lung and Heart Center, $5,500 to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, $2,035 to the New Jersey Blood Council, $1,000 to the Sunshine Foundation and $100 donations to 37 unidentified groups. Id. Even though the Baron reported a total of $68,000 to 64 groups, the actual number is $60,235 to 41 groups.
Also, during the raid, the state police seized 71 cases of beer, 87 liquor bottles and 39 bottles of wine in spite of the fact that the Baron does not have a liquor license. Id. The 1099 return does not show a profit from tavern receipts but does show a profit of $12,639 from the sales of beverages, snacks, soda and coffee. Id.
Furthermore, Baron officials refused The Times access to the club’s 1099 return even though Federal Law requires that all tax-exempt organizations must release the three most recent returns. Id.
Thirteen Baron officers and employees were indicted by the grand jury on January 21, 1999 on charges of conspiracy to commit racketeering, racketeering, promoting gambling, maintenance of a gambling resort, unlawful sale of alcoholic beverages, four counts of financial facilitation of criminal activity and misconduct by corporate officials. Michael Jennings, Indicted Baron Member Quits Planning Board, February 12, 1989 at A1. Moreover, one of the members under indictment was a member of the planning board. Id. The Baron added approximately 20,000 square feet on alleged wetlands and flood plain area without Department of Environmental Protection approval or local building permits. Id.
Although there are 13 currently under state indictment, there is evidence that high profile local and state government officials were not only members but may have had knowledge of and/or participated in the illegal activities. According to the New York Times, tapes from security cameras were also seized in the January raid. Iver Peterson, The New York Times, April 4, 1998 at B1. The tapes show the membership and guests engaging in illegal gambling and buying drinks at the bar. Id. Alleged members and guests include municipal officials including the mayor, ranking police officials, members of the State Legislature, judges and at least one county prosecutor. Id. In addition, Patrick Migliaccio, a former Mercer County Freeholder and member of the Baron, said, “Everybody who belonged to the club played those slots. I don't care what they say. They were right out in the open. If you brought a guest in, a guest would see it. You could not miss it.” Wendy Ruderman and Michael Jennings, In ‘70s, Fear of Mob’s Trenton Ties Fueled Crackdown, The Times, March 27, 2000 at A1.
Furthermore, in defense of the 13 individuals, a brief filed by their attorneys alleges prosecutorial misconduct. Wendy Ruderman and Michael Jennings, Unfazed by Baron Frenzy, Delehey Prepares to Rule, The Times, April 9, 2000 at A1. Excerpts from the grand jury transcripts show that the prosecutor told grand jurors who wanted to further probe official knowledge of illegal activities were told that their questions would be answered at a later date and to only concentrate on the 13. Id. Additional evidence of possible official misconduct include an orientation videotape shown to new members that states, “Notwithstanding the illegal nature of the lottery, the state and federal agencies overlook the illegal activity, so long as you’re running a class organization.” Id.
As a result, since February 26, 2000, over 5,000 signatures have been collected from Mercer County residents requesting that the Office of the United States Attorney General take over and expand the scope of the investigation into the illegal activities of the Baron Athletic Association. The petition is attached.
In addition to several state violations, the Baron violated a number of federal laws. First, the Baron has claimed tax exempt status since 1977 under 26 U.S.C.S. § 501(a) and (c) which states that an organization shall be exempt from taxation if it is organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable and numerous other public interest activities. From an alleged income of $770,000 in fiscal year 1996, the Baron donated only $60,235 to 41 organizations. This leaves a balance of approximately $709,765 that did not go to charity or any other public interest group or activity. Furthermore, due to the amount of gambling equipment, liquor and money that was confiscated, a reasonable person would have knowledge and should have knowledge that the Baron was not operated solely as a charitable organization.
Since the Baron was obviously not a tax-exempt charitable organization, members of the club violated 26 U.S.C.S. § 7201 and 26 U.S.C.S. § 7203, when they attempted to evade or defeat tax and willfully failed to file a return, supply information or pay tax. In addition, any member of the club that profited from winnings as a result of illegal gambling is also in violation of the aforementioned statutes. Because potentially several members of the club are public officials and members of the law enforcement community, they are held to a higher standard of behavior than the average citizen. Currently, only 13 low ranking officials and employees of the club face criminal charges. Thus, further investigation is necessary to assess the culpability of state and local officials and law enforcement. Because of the violations of the Internal Revenue Code and due to the possibility that state and local officials, and law enforcement are culpable, the Department of Justice should intervene and independently investigate the violation of federal law by the Baron Athletic Association.
Moreover, the Baron has violated 18 U.S.C.S. § 1961 because the statute defines racketeering activity as “any act which is indictable…[if it] was committed for the purpose of financial gain.” Given the facts of the case, the following sections may be applicable but should not be confined to only these if other charges are also appropriate: § 1084 (relating to the transmission of gambling information); § 1341 (relating to mail fraud); § 1503 (relating to obstruction of justice); § 1510 (relating to obstruction of criminal investigations); § 1511 (relating to obstruction of State or local law enforcement); § 1952 (relating to racketeering); § 1955 (relating to prohibition of illegal gambling businesses); § 1957 (relating to engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity); § 2314 and § 2315 (relating to interstate transportation of stolen property). In addition, the Baron has shown a “pattern of racketeering activity” which under the statute requires at least two acts of racketeering activity. Since it is likely that more than two of the above listed violations are applicable, the Baron is in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (hereinafter RICO).
Although members of the Baron are being
prosecuted for state crimes, it does not mean that they are
being prosecuted for federal crimes.
18
U.S.C.S. §§
1961
et seq. of Federal Racketeering Act forbids
"racketeering," not state offenses per se; state
offenses referred to in federal act are definitional only;
racketeering, which is federal crime, is defined as matter of
legislative draftsmanship by reference to state law crimes but
this does not mean that federal statute punishes same conduct as
reached by state law. United
States v. Frumento, 563 F2d 1083 (CA3 Pa., 1977). Because racketeering is also a federal crime, and
state law may not reach certain violations of the Federal
Racketeering Act, the U. S. Department of Justice should
intervene and investigate possible federal violations by the
Baron Athletic Association.
A recent case, U.S. v. Richard Hess et al, Criminal Case #98-22 was successfully prosecuted by U. S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Robert J. Cleary in the Third District Court in Camden. This case involved five defendants from the West New York Police Department that were found guilty of various criminal charges, RICO violations and conspiracy to obstruct law enforcement. Due to the involvement of the Chief of Police and other law enforcement officers, the U.S. Department of Justice developed the case in association with the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. Similarly, there should be a federal investigation of the Baron Athletic Association. Although some of the criminal activities are not as extensive, there is evidence of illegal gambling, tax evasion and RICO violations with the cooperation and participation of state and local officials and law enforcement.
Finally, the United States Department of Justice should investigate and, possibly prosecute the alleged violations of the Baron because state court findings may preclude certain evidence necessary to a federal court prosecution. As a result, prosecution of state and local legislators and law enforcement officials may not be possible.
Because there is evidence that several high ranking state and local legislators, and police officials participated in, have knowledge or should have had knowledge of the illegal activities and have not been charged, and several federal laws have been violated, over 5,000 residents of Mercer County request that the United States Department of Justice intervene and investigate the illegal activities of the Baron Athletic Association.
It has been a privilege to work with,
discuss and listen to the community.
The legal research and writing within this letter was
done on my behalf by a second year law student at Rutgers School
of Law – Camden. Thank
you in advance for your kind consideration and prompt response
to the aforementioned matters.
Sincerely,
BaronPetition@AOL.COM
Enclosure
cc:
Janet Reno, Attorney General
United States Department of Justice
Recipients:
Robert J.
Cleary, United States Attorney, NJ
Janet Reno, Attorney General, United States
