Scott admits company has ties to PAC opposing Downs project

BANGOR – Despite denials a day earlier, the Las Vegas developer seeking to bring slot machines to Bass Park acknowledged on Wednesday that his company had ties to a group set on derailing a similar project at Scarborough Downs.

Shawn Scott, whose company Capital Seven LLC intends to bring 1,500 slot machines to the Bangor Raceway, said in a statement that, unbeknownst to him, affiliates of his company assisted in the creation of the political action committee Good Morals for Maine.

“I was neither aware of that assistance nor do I approve of the activities in which the committee has been engaged,” wrote Scott, who has since called upon the PAC to disband, according to his company’s spokeswoman.

The PAC has been taking out full-page newspaper ads and radio spots urging voters in Saco and Westbrook to reject Scarborough Downs’ attempt to relocate to one of those cities so it can have slot machines.

Scott’s association with the group seems to fly in the face of an agreement with racing industry officials in which the parties promised to work together to promote racinos for the purpose of reviving the faltering harness racing industry.

The developer’s revelation Wednesday caused some consternation among harness racing officials, who questioned Scott’s dedication to the sport.

“I think it’s very clear what his intent is,” said John Miller, owner of Miller’s Restaurant in Bangor, home to one of the state’s off-track betting parlors. “That’s to take as much money out of the state as he can, and I can’t imagine that would benefit the state or the horse racing industry.”

Scott’s acknowledgement came amid intense media scrutiny beginning with a newspaper report that the fax number on the PAC’s registration with the state’s ethics commission matched the fax number of two organizations connected to Scott – Capital One LLC and the Maine Coalition for Racing and Slots.

Christen Graham, spokeswoman for Capital Seven, a subsidiary of Capital One, would not disclose which company employee or employees were involved with creating the political action committee.

“They were trying to do the right thing. Shawn Scott disagreed,” Graham said of the Capital Seven associates who helped found the PAC. “I can’t say this is the end of our investigation, but we’d like to put this issue behind us.”

The issue is one of many currently facing Capital Seven as it seeks to secure its license with the Maine Harness Racing Commission, set to meet Dec. 15 to consider Scott’s application.

Gerald MacKenzie Jr., president of the Maine Horseman’s Association, said it is not clear what stance his group will take at the commission’s hearings.

“We have to meet and talk to a lawyer and see what’s going on,” he said.

In related developments Wednesday, a Capital Seven affiliate filed a lawsuit accusing Scarborough Downs of breach of contract.

In the lawsuit, VAS LLC accuses Scarborough Downs officials of reneging on a verbal agreement to jointly operate a race track casino in Saco or Westbrook if approved by voters in those cities.

The lawsuit says Davric Maine Corp. and Sharon Terry, owners and operators of Scarborough Downs, agreed this month to operate a racino in Saco, Old Orchard Beach or Westbrook to be financed and constructed by VAS.

The suit alleges that Scarborough Downs officials refused to sign a final written agreement on Nov. 12 despite a goodwill understanding with VAS. Scarborough Downs has since entered into a partnership with Penn National Gaming, a Pennsylvania-based gaming corporation.

Graham said Capital Seven wants to resume a “good working relationship” with Scarborough Downs.

“We fully support developing a race track and casino in both Bangor and southern Maine,” she said.

Edward MacColl, the attorney for Scarborough Downs, was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

Scarborough Downs’ owners have been scrambling to find a community willing to accept slot machines after local voters rejected a proposal for slots in Scarborough.

The Westbrook City Council has voted to let residents have the final say in an election on Dec. 30, the day before the statutory deadline established by the law approved by Maine voters on Nov. 4.

In Saco, the City Council voted twice in the past week against holding a racino referendum. But Mark Johnston, the city’s mayor-elect, said that will change when he and two new council members take office on Monday.

“I am putting it forward to give Saco residents the same right as Westbrook residents,” Johnston said.

After being sworn in, he plans to set a special meeting Wednesday to take up the issue of a Dec. 30 referendum.

Elected officials in Westbrook and Saco expected the Downs to pursue referendums in both cities at the same time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.