ny pml sec 109 is unconstitutional, vague indefinite and or overly broad. the ny attorney general is silent, tongue tied and worse as the rights of ny bettors are violated since the state's politicians and thirves gunned down nyc otb in 2010
Claude Solnik
Long Island Business News
2150 Smithtown Ave.
Ronkonkoma, NY 11779-7348
Home > LI Confidential > Stop scratching on holidays
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
Letitia James sues to break up NRA, says execs used funds for lavish lifestyle https://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/open-1st-palm-sunday-otb-rakes-2m-article-1.659016
NY Attorney General: NRA is not above the law
Top executives at the National Rifle Association siphoned millions of dollars and otherwise flouted non-profit rules to fund lavish lifestyles including trips to the Bahamas and Africa, New York’s Attorney General alleged Thursday in a suit to break-up the organization.
AG Letitia James alleges the pro-gun group’s Executive Vice-President Wayne LaPierre and other top brass broke state and federal laws by mismanaging the organization’s funds — contributing to a swing from a nearly $28 million surplus in 2015 to a $36 million deficit in 2018.
Since the NRA has been registered as a non-profit, they are only allowed to use the group’s money to further the group’s mission and to serve the interests of the members.
But the suit — which also names former Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Wilson “Woody” Phillips, former Chief of Staff and the Executive Director of General Operations Joshua Powell and Corporate Secretary and General Counsel John Frazer — alleges they variously used the funds for international trips, jaunts on private jets and expensive meals.
LaPierre’s allegedly ill-gotten gains ranged from hair and make-up touch-ups for his wife to eight trips to the Bahamas in the span of just three years, totaling more than $500,000.
LaPierre — who has headed the NRA’s day-to-day operations since 1991 — is also accused of improperly accepting lavish gifts, including African safaris and the use of a 107-foot yacht.
The 70-year-old also allegedly set himself up for years to come by signing a $17 million post-employment contract for himself, without approval of the NRA’s board.
Phillips allegedly lined up a similar $1.8 million arrangement for himself — plus a $1 million contract for his girlfriend — while blowing off whistleblower complaints.
Powell, who was fired by the NRA before the suit was filed, is accused of procuring a $5 million consulting contract for a firm where his wife worked, as well as a $90,000 photography gig for his dad.
As general counsel, Frazer is accused of turning a blind eye to and abetting the alleged rampant wrongdoing at the NRA.
While the lawsuit seeks to impose fines and recover the allegedly misappropriated funds, none of the four men is charged with a crime.
“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” James said in a statement.
“The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law.”
The NRA is headquartered in Virginia, but was chartered as a non-profit in 1871 in New York, where it remains incorporated to this day.
In a string of Thursday tweets, the NRA — a famously powerful lobbying entity — characterized the suit as politically-motivated, and said it was filing a counter suit.
“This was a baseless, premeditated attack on our organization and the Second Amendment freedoms it fights to defend,” the organization wrote from its official account. “You could have set your watch by it: the investigation was going to reach its crescendo as we move into the 2020 election cycle.
“It’s a transparent attempt to score political points and attack the leading voice in opposition to the leftist agenda,” the message continued. “This has been a power grab by a political opportunist – a desperate move that is part of a rank political vendetta.”
President Trump also weighed in, calling James’ suit “a very terrible thing” and saying the NRA should “move to Texas” to lead a very good and beautiful life.”
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