BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Three men were arrested Thursday on state and federal charges after allegedly hiding the financial interest of a convicted felon and known mob associate from the Wynn Resorts & Massachusetts Gaming Commission. All three individuals reportedly held a financial interest in a piece of land that Wynn was planning to build a casino on.
Charles Lightbody, 54, Dustin DeNunzio, 37, and Anthony Gattineri, 56, were indicted Wednesday for concealing the potential financial gain of Lightbody in the land and to obtain money from Wynn Resorts from the land, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney's office. Lightbody is a convicted felon and known New England Family of La Casa Nostra (NELCN) associate.
Authorities believe the three men schemed to hide the fact that Lightbody was a secret land owner, worried that his convicted felon status would interfere with the deal. Police say that Lightbody claimed to have traded his land to Gattineri for a $1.7 million promissory note, even allegedly writing up fraudulent documents.
"The indictments are an example of the rigor and diligence exercised by law enforcement and regulators in the Commonwealth," Wynn Resorts responded in a statement on Thursday.
"These federal and state indictments send a loud message that the Massachusetts Gaming Commission will take every measure necessary to preserve the integrity of the gaming industry while also remaining focused on maximizing the benefits of job creation and increased revenue to the Commonwealth," the gaming commission's director of communications Elaine Driscoll said in a statement.
The city of Everett had no comment.
In a statement, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh expressed his continued disappointment with the Everett casino deal and with the gaming commission.
"From the start of this process, I have been up front about my serious concerns related to the Everett parcel," Walsh said. "The Massachusetts Gaming Commission and their investigatory body clearly failed the people of Boston and of the Commonwealth by allowing -- even remotely -- the taint of corruption to be associated with this land transaction."
The three men are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aiding and abetting. Lightbody allegedly assaulted a man during a casino election rally in Revere in October of 2013.
But Boston University political science professor and commentator Tom Whalen reminds us that this is still not a done deal. In a month, voters will have a chance, once and for all, to repeal the state's contentious casino law, through a statewide referendum.
Whalen predicts this latest appearance of impropriety will have major implications for that vote.
"Right, I think the political ads. This is really ammunition for them and they are really going to drive this point home as they should because this is a huge issue that should have been addressed earlier and wasn't," he said.