“Not only the people that we employ within the casino, but the contractors, vendors, anybody who provides goods or services, be free not only of taint themselves, but of taint in people they have associated with.” “It’s not just about who we are and what we do, but it is the people that we associate with and the people that they associate with,” he said. But Simon’s company had a security contract with Rivers Casino while it was being built, and took over “deep cleaning” services at the casino after it opened four years ago. Illinois gaming laws are very specific that casinos and their operators are not supposed to do business with anyone who has even a hint of an association with organized crime.

“We self-reported to the Illinois Gaming Board that there might be an issue.”Īt the time, Patent said he was cognizant of the fact that the Gaming Board took “reputation” into account when determining who casinos should be employing as contractors. “Out of an abundance of caution, we terminated our relationship with United, and since then we have been fully cooperating with the Illinois Gaming board in their investigation,” said David Patent, the casino company’s president. In 2004, Daddano was named, along with other members of his family, as a reputed member of organized crime by Attorney General Lisa Madigan.Īfter the questions arose in May, Rivers immediately terminated their relationship with United, and reported themselves to the Illinois Gaming Board.

The possible issue, raised by the Better Government Association to Rivers’ management, concerned the fact that Simon previously organized another cleaning company, National Facilities Maintenance, with William Daddano Jr. The stiff penalty against Rivers Casino in Des Plaines comes three months after the Better Government Association and NBC5 Investigates began raising questions about Rivers’ relationship with the cleaning giant United Maintenance and its parent company United Service Companies, and past associations of the company’s president, Richard Simon. Illinois’ biggest and most popular casino has been hit with a $2 million fine, and two of its officers have been ordered suspended, after a complaint from the Illinois Gaming Board lambasted the casino’s parent company for failure to follow internal procedures in hiring a security and maintenance vendor, and for lax control over gaming promotions.

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