Ex-deputy chief nominated to lead gambling board

AUGUSTA – A retired deputy police chief from Bangor has been nominated to administer the day-to-day activities of the new Maine Gambling Control Board.

Robert P. Welch, 48, a lifelong resident of Bangor, was the unanimous choice of the five-member board, which made the nomination for the executive director’s post during a meeting Tuesday at the Department of Public Safety’s headquarters in Augusta, where the department’s new gambling control unit is housed.

Welch’s duties as executive director will involve enforcing gambling and other laws relating to the racetrack casino proposed for Bangor, hearing and deciding license and registration applications and issues, reviewing investigation reports concerning applicants for licenses, reviewing acts and transactions that require board approval, referring alleged violations to the Attorney General’s Office for prosecution, and collecting all licensing and registration fees and taxes, among other things.

Gambling control board member Jean Deighan, the Bangor investment adviser and attorney who led the interview process, said she was pleased with the nomination, citing Welch’s stellar reputation, integrity and concern for people as among the qualities that set him apart.

“He is the Reader’s Digest person that we read about all the time,” she said.

Chairman George McHale, who heads both the control board and the Maine Harness Racing Commission, said Welch’s experience and background combined with the fact that he’s from Bangor “is a plus upon a plus.”

Welch and the gambling board are charged with, among other things, overseeing the proposed racino at Bangor Raceway, the only venue in the state that obtained the necessary approvals to install slot machines in city and statewide referendums last year. Penn National Gaming Inc. has a development agreement with the city of Bangor, which owns the track. The deal calls for the construction of a gaming facility and multiple-level parking garage at a cost of up to $50 million.

The board is expected to formally appoint Welch on Nov. 29, pending a background investigation by the state police. His annual pay was set at $60,652.80, plus the usual benefits offered to state employees.

The appointment, however, remained uncertain this week because of a complication that has arisen with the state’s racing and gaming licensing procedures.

“It could be a showstopper if it’s not resolved,” McHale said Tuesday. “Everybody is cooperating, I will say that much, but a law is a law is a law, and government can’t go around breaking laws.”

Before any slot machines can be installed in Bangor, Penn first must obtain a permanent racing license and then a gambling license. It now holds a conditional racing license, pending the completion of a background check.

At issue is the confidentiality of certain proprietary and personal information that potential gaming vendors are being asked to submit as part of the state’s licensing suitability investigation.

Penn officials have said they are willing to provide that information, but only if the state can guarantee that it won’t be made available to the general public. The confidentiality matter appears to be an oversight, several state officials involved in the process said Tuesday. Maine is the only gambling state that does not provide it.

As it stands, the gambling board lacks the legal authority to grant the confidentiality that Penn and potential vendors are seeking, McHale said. That will require the intervention of the Legislature, he said.

Because the racing and gambling panels operate under different statutes, the relief required might be different, McHale said.

“My sense is that the harness racing situation is less serious, but it is the same issue,” he said.

It remained unclear Tuesday whether the confidentiality issue would be addressed through LD 1820, the slots law enacted earlier this year, Maine’s Freedom of Access Law or some other legal mechanism.

To that end, the gambling panel has asked Public Safety Commissioner Michael Cantara to address the matter with the appropriate state officials.

Welch, who attended Tuesday’s meeting with his daughter Kaity, has been working at Kiley Funeral Home in Brewer since he retired from law enforcement two years ago. He said he decided to apply for the post because he believed his background in law enforcement and as a credit union trustee would meet the position’s needs. He said he applied because he wanted a challenge.

“It’s going to be a very difficult job,” Welch said Tuesday. “It definitely is unique and has long-range implications for the state.”

Welch, one of 34 applicants for the post, retired from the Bangor Police Department in 2002, after a career that spanned 25 years. Welch is a graduate of John Bapst High School and the University of Maine at Augusta, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in administration of justice.

Welch’s appointment was hailed as good news in Bangor.

“I think it’s great news,” City Council Chairman Dan Tremble said after Tuesday’s decision. “I think Bob brings the highest level of professionalism and integrity to this position, which is very important in that this is the first time [gambling] is going to be allowed in the state of Maine. To have someone of his caliber running the gambling control authority is just great news.”