HARNESS RACING LICENSE Bedford Downs resists defeat, appeals commission's decision

When does the taint of organized crime end, the applicant is asking.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
EDINBURG, Pa. -- Carmen Shick believes his dream of building a harness racing track and casino in Lawrence County is still alive.
But for now, it's bound up in a 150-plus page petition filed with the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission.
"I think our reconsideration is so weighted in facts and evidence. I think it's crystal clear that many of the findings in the adjudication are just wrong," Shick said.
Shick's company, Bedford Downs -- which he operates with his brother, Ken Shick, and sister, Kendra Tabak -- and its chief competitor, Valley View Downs, were both denied the state's last harness racing license in early November. Valley View Downs has also filed its petition for reconsideration with the harness racing commission. Both have also filed lawsuits in Commonwealth Court.
The three-member harness racing commission outlined why it rejected both plans in an 87-page adjudication.
What commission wrote
The report contained glowing comments about the Shick family plans to build a one-mile harness track on more than 200 acres of family-owned land off U.S. Route 422 in Mahoning Township, Lawrence County, calling the designs "innovative, attractive and more esthetically pleasing than Valley View Downs." But the commission found problems with Bedford's financing and concerns about loans Shick's dead grandfather, Carmen Ambrosia, made to known organized-crime figures.
"It is this very type of information, which would strike at the heart of the harness industry and undermine and erode public confidence in the integrity of the sport if this Commission were to grant a pari-mutuel license to Bedford," the report stated.
The report contends that Ambrosia lent $4 million through his coal and mining companies to fund a hotel and casino in Puerto Rico that involved Youngstown-area mob boss Lenny Strollo; George Malizia, a former Strollo associate who lived in New Castle; and Pat Ferrucio, a Canton, Ohio, organized-crime figure.
It also states that another Ambrosia company loaned $200,000 with 12 percent interest to Liberty Vending in Canton, a company that sells, leases and maintains vending machines, operated by Ferrucio and his son, Rocco.
A third loan of $140,000 to Sansea, a corporation controlled by Malizia and used to buy Sharkey's Lounge in Campbell, Ohio, was also cited in the report.
Shick does not believe his grandfather was knowingly involved in organized crime.
"I still say he was an old man conned by the best of them. I believe people in our organization were compromised and that was used to influence my grandfather," he said.
And while the report cites Carmen Ambrosia's alleged ties to organized crime, it clearly states that the commission believes Shick and his siblings have no ties to organized crime.
Disappointment, criticism
Shick says he was crushed when he saw the decision focused on his grandfather and not the merits of his own work.
"It's difficult when you come to the realization that how you've lived your life is irrelevant," he said.
Shick said he felt the references to his grandfather were unfair to him and his siblings.
He further criticized the commission in his petition for interviewing Strollo as part of its background investigation of his family and giving credence to Strollo contentions.
"Perhaps most telling [and disturbing] about Mr. Strollo's unsworn testimony that reveals his clear bias and hate toward Bedford is his comment to the investigative staff that he was trying to give them as much ammunition as they needed," Shick's petition states.
But instead of raising a red flag, the commission "embraced the statements [Strollo] made" Shick argues in the appeal.
"We're citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These people that work for the commission are charged with working in the best interests of Pennsylvania and its citizens. To do what they did to us was just wrong," he said.
The commission chastised Shick for not going after some of the money lent to the reputed mobsters.
Shick said taking over his grandfather's numerous companies was a difficult process.
"I had my hands full. We pursued everything we could," he said.
And he wants to know when the taint of organized crime ends.
"Where does it end? With my children? Their children? Five generations? Twenty generations? When is it over?" Shick asked.
Tied up loose ends
Shick's petition for reconsideration addresses the commission's concerns head-on and outlines what the company has done to tie up loose ends.
According to the petition, Shick's grandmother, Rose Ambrosia, signed papers Nov. 8, before the filing of the harness commission's decision, transferring the property to the Shick siblings. Her ownership of the property was one of the concerns in the commission report.
Shick and his brother and sister also signed a ground lease stating that the land will be irrevocably transferred to Bedford Downs Corp. upon the granting of a harness racing license.
"We tried to tidy things up and make it nice and neat," Shick said of the land transfer papers.
Anton Leppler, harness racing commission executive director, said the commission's legal department is reviewing the petitions and commissioners will then decide how to proceed. It's unclear how long the process will take.
"If I had a wish right now, they would look at our petition and then give us the license," Shick said.
cioffi@vindy.com