Applicants, officials to fight rejection

By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA STAFF
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Elected officials in Lawrence County are pledging to rally around a proposed harness track here despite a negative state report about the project and its owners.
Proposals for Bedford Downs, to be located off U.S. Route 422 in Mahoning Township, Lawrence County, and Valley View Downs, proposed for Pa. Route 51 in Beaver County, were both rejected last week by the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission for the state's last harness track license. A harness racing license almost assures developers a slot machine license under Pennsylvania's new gaming laws.
The harness racing commission released an 87-page report Wednesday explaining its decisions.
Criticisms
According to the report, the apparent lack of financing by the main partners, Carmen Shick and his brother, Ken, and sister, Kendra Tabak, was one of the main reasons for rejecting Bedford Downs, along with the apparent ties that family patriarch Carmen Ambrosia, who is now deceased, had to organized crime. Ambrosia founded several of the companies that the siblings now operate, including Ambrosia Coal and Construction Co. The company is listed as the owner of the land that the Shicks want to use to build their proposed harness track and casino.
The report emphasized that the commission does not believe that Shick, who is Ambrosia's grandson, or his siblings have any ties to organized crime.
"The mere appearance of connection or involvement of Ambrosia Coal and Construction [and other family-owned companies] with organized crime and the ownership of the ground upon which Bedford intends to construct the project reflects negatively upon the racing industry and it's therefore inconsistent with the best interests of racing," according to the report.
Still hopeful
In a written news release, Carmen Shick vowed to continue trying to make sure that the Lawrence County proposal becomes a reality:
"In our preliminary review of the adjudication, Bedford is confident that, if given the chance, any and all remaining questions on its ability to financially support this project will be more than satisfied. It was with sad regret and a heavy heart that Bedford and its principals, although found above reproach by the Commission, were found unsuitable due to transactions that occurred 20 years ago for which none of the principals had any responsibility. In Bedford's opinion, this was a grave miscarriage of justice that Bedford will pursue until rectified."
Lawrence County Commissioners vowed to support Shick in whatever he intends to do as a result of the panel's report and rejection.
"Our ultimate goal is seeing this developed in Lawrence County," said Lawrence County Commissioner Dan Vogler.
Other than questions about the company's financing and Ambrosia Coal's apparent connections to now-imprisoned Youngstown crime figure Lenny Strollo, the harness racing commission report praised the Bedford Downs project.
"Unique in Bedford's proposal was an interior paddock area that was visible through glass partitions from the several levels of the main clubhouse. We found Bedford's interior paddock innovative, attractive and more aesthetically pleasing than Valley View's proposed facility," the report states.
The harness racing commission also contends that it preferred Bedford's proposed one-mile track, calling it the "wave of the future."
Valley View Downs
The commission criticized Valley View Downs for its proposed five-eighths of a mile track as well as topography problems with its site and having only one entrance to the facility for patrons and horsemen.
"The commission believes that only one entrance for all those vehicles is, at the very least, not safe or prudent," the report says.
Rick Kelly, spokesman for Valley View Downs, said all of the negative comments in the harness commission report are fixable by grading the land.
"All of those issues are easily resolved," Kelly said.
Kelly said Valley View Downs was only concerned with the issues that were mentioned in the final few pages of the report, which were under the title conclusions of law.
He said his group was not concerned with other parts of the harness racing commission report, which states that the commission was concerned about Valley View Downs' parent company, Centaur Inc.'s, failure to disclose information to the Indiana Racing Commission, which led to a $500,000 fine for the company.
Kelly said they intend to submit a revised plan to the Pennsylvania racing commission. He was not sure of the timetable for filing such a plan.
Supportive officials
New Castle Mayor Wayne Alexander said he told Shick he will support Bedford Downs in any way he can.
Mahoning Township Supervisor Poncho Exposito said he was just waiting for the Bedford Downs management team to instruct him of its next move. The project would be in that township.
"I think there were a lot of false accusations made against the Bedford Downs management team" in the report, Exposito said.
cioffi@vindy.com