Governor Deval Patrick said this morning that he does not meet with gambling lobbyists, but one of his top political advisers and closest confidants is a registered lobbyist for a gambling equipment company. “I don’t take contributions from gaming interests,” Patrick said. “I haven’t engaged with any of the gaming lobbyists and so on. That’s a very complicated issue and so I’ve got staff who are dealing with that directly.”Is the Governor lying, confused or misinformed? It is a very complicated issue if you are easily confused or misinformed - which if we grant that the Governor doesn't lie, then he must be easily confused or seriously misinformed about who he's meeting with and from whom he's raising money.
The Massachusetts Secretary of State tracks all registered lobbyists and anyone can do a public search on these lobbyists, their clients (by industry - e.g., "Gaming") and see to whom they've made campaign contributions.
A simple search shows lobbyists who reported representing gaming interests and lobbying on gaming-related legislation have donated over $15,000 to Governor Patrick. Here is a sampling of gaming lobbyist contributions to Deval Patrick:
| Date of contribution | Name of lobbyist | Amount | Gaming Related Client |
| 10/20/10 | Nancy J. Sterling | $100 | Development Associates, Las Vegas |
| 10/14/10 | Brad Freeman | $100 | Mohegan Tribal Gaming |
| 10/14/10 | Gary Murad | $100 | Mohegan Tribal Gaming |
| 10/14/10 | Thomas O'Neill III | $200 | Mohegan Tribal Gaming |
| 10/14/10 | Lindsay Toghill | $100 | Mohegan Tribal Gaming |
| 10/14/10 | Sarah Tracey | $100 | Mohegan Tribal Gaming |
| 10/12/10 | Brian Colby | $200 | NE Horsemen Assoc |
| 10/12/10 | Jeffrey Haggerty | $200 | NE Horsemen Assoc |
| 10/12/10 | Arthur Kinsman | $100 | NE Horsemen Assoc |
| 10/12/10 | Patrick J. Loftus | $200 | NE Horsemen Assoc |
| 10/12/10 | Stephen Regan | $200 | NE Horsemen Assoc |
| 9/30/10 | David L. O'Connor | $200 | Development Associates, Las Vegas |
| 9/27/10 | Robert P Rodophele | $200 | International Game Technology, NV |
| 9/27/10 | Michael J. McCormack | $200 | Scientific Games Intl |
| 9/27/10 | Dennis Michael Murphy | $200 | Isle of Capri Casinos, MO |
| 9/22/10 | William A. Delaney | $200 | Paper City Development |
| 9/20/10 | Stephen A Boksanski | $200 | Penn National Gaming |
| 9/19/10 | Vincent J. Shanley | $200 | Penn National Gaming |
| 9/16/10 | Diane McGlynn | $200 | Hotel Workers |
| 9/16/10 | John J McGlynn | $200 | Hotel Workers |
| 9/15/10 | Jason J Godin | $200 | NE Gaming Group |
| 9/15/10 | Steven L Goldblatt | $200 | NE Gaming Group |
| 9/13/10 | David D Cahill | $200 | Penn National Gaming |
| 8/25/10 | Gary Murad | $100 | Mohegan Tribal Gaming |
| 8/2/10 | Paul Michael Tuttle | $200 | Sterling Suffolk |
| 8/2/10 | Dan Cahill | $100 | Mashpee Wampanoag |
| 7/26/10 | Pierce J. Haley | $200 | Boyd Gaming Las Vegas |
| 7/15/10 | Robert Emmet Hayes | $200 | Mashpee Wampanoag |
| 7/15/10 | James Smith | $200 | Mashpee Wampanoag |
| 7/14/10 | Dan Cahill | $100 | Mashpee Wampanoag |
| 6/11/10 | David K Shapiro | $200 | WDC Winn Development, NV |
| 6/11/10 | Frank Shea | $200 | WDC Winn Development, NV |
| 6/10/10 | Robert A Bernstein | $200 | WDC Winn Development, NV |
| 6/10/10 | Robert F. White | $200 | Harras Entertainment |
| 3/28/10 | John E. Murphy, Jr. | $200 | Westwood Group |
| 3/24/10 | Charles A Baker | $200 | Sterling Suffolk Racecourse |
| 3/22/10 | Charlene D. Rideout | $200 | Wampanoag |
| 2/18/10 | Paul M Pezzella | $200 | CrossRoads LLC |
| 1/28/10 | Paul T. Donovan | $200 | Wampanoag |
| 12/21/09 | Jan Z. Rose | $100 | Development Associates, Las Vegas |
| 12/15/09 | Robert F. White | $200 | Wampanoag Gaming |
| 12/9/09 | John A Stefanini | $100 | Sterling Suffolk Racecourse |
| 11/30/09 | William F. Cass | $200 | NE Gaming Group |
| 11/30/09 | Jason J. Godin | $200 | NE Gaming Group |
| 11/30/09 | Steven L. Goldblatt | $200 | NE Gaming Group |
| 11/18/09 | Beth J. Masterman | $200 | Wampanoag |
| 11/10/09 | Charles A Baker | $200 | Sterling Suffolk Racecourse |
| 11/10/09 | Michael A Brown | $200 | WMS Gaming, IL |
| 11/10/09 | Robert Emmet Hayes | $200 | Mashpee Wampanoag |
| 11/10/09 | Robert R Ruddock | $200 | Mashpee Wampanoag |
| 11/10/09 | James E Smith | $200 | Mashpee Wampanoag |
| 6/4/09 | Stephanie D. Neal-Johnson | $200 | Boyd Gaming Las Vegas |
| 5/28/09 | Jan Z. Rose | $100 | Development Associates, Las Vegas |
| 5/25/09 | Roger D Donoghue | $200 | Las Vegas Sands |
| 5/5/09 | Charles A Baker | $200 | Sterling Suffolk Racecourse |
| 3/24/09 | Robert A Bernstein | $200 | WDC Winn Development, NV |
| 3/24/09 | Christopher S Koczela | $200 | Mashpee Wampanoag |
| 3/23/09 | Robert P. Rodophele | $200 | International Game Technology, NV |
| 3/23/09 | Michael J McCormack | $200 | Scientific Games Intl |
| 2/26/09 | Paul G. Afonso | $200 | NE Horsemen Assoc |
| 2/26/09 | Martin T. Nastasia | $200 | NE Horsemen Assoc |
| 12/21/08 | Robert A. Havern | $200 | Development Associates, Las Vegas |
| 12/16/08 | David K Shapiro | $200 | WDC Winn Development, NV |
| 12/15/08 | Jan Z. Rose | $200 | Development Associates, Las Vegas |
| 12/15/08 | Paul J. Scapicchio | $200 | Development Associates, Las Vegas |
| 12/15/08 | David Lyons O'Connor | $250 | Development Associates, Las Vegas |
| 12/15/08 | Robert J. Ryan | $200 | Development Associates, Las Vegas |
| 12/10/08 | Robert C Finneran | $200 | GTECH |
| 12/5/08 | Mark J Delaney | $200 | Massassoit Greyhound |
| 10/22/08 | Robert A Bernstein | $200 | WDC Winn Development, NV |
| 10/22/08 | Jeffrey Haggerty | $200 | NE Horsemen Assoc |
| 10/22/08 | Brian S Hickey | $200 | NE Horsemen Assoc |
| 10/22/08 | Patrick J Loftus, III | $200 | NE Horsemen Assoc |
| 10/22/08 | Neil T O'Brien | $200 | NE Horsemen Assoc |
| 8/1/08 | Scott J Delaney | $50 | Massassoit Greyhound |
| 7/15/08 | John E. Murphy, Jr. | $200 | Westwood Group |
| 7/15/08 | David Lyons O'Connor | $250 | Development Associates, Las Vegas |
| 6/26/08 | Scott M Ferson | $200 | Wampanoag |
| 6/18/08 | Scott J Delaney | $150 | Massassoit Greyhound |
| 6/12/08 | Francis G Mara | $200 | Techlink Entertainment |
| 6/10/08 | Robert P. Rodophele | $200 | International Game Technology, NV |
| 5/20/08 | Charles A Baker | $200 | Sterling Suffolk Racecourse |
| 5/13/08 | Gloria A Craven | $200 | Poker 4 Charity |
| 5/13/08 | Stacey A Ober | $200 | Poker 4 Charity |
| 11/21/06 | Roger D Donoghue | $200 | Las Vegas Sands |
| 8/28/06 | Tara J O'Donnell | $200 | Las Vegas Sands |
| 5/22/06 | Andrew S Levine | $100 | Las Vegas Sands |
So c'mon Governor, don't tell us you're not taking money from special interests in the gaming industry who are seeking special carve outs for groups like the Wampanoag or Mohegan Indians who want tax-exempt gaming, free from local jurisdictions and law enforcement and other perks which don't benefit the state budget or people in the communities where these casinos might be built.
