MORE TROUBLES FOR ORVILLE MOE
Thu, 2006-11-09 08:00
The deposed general manager at Spokane Raceway Park recently was indicted by a federal grand jury on several counts of public corruption.
The charges stem from the fact Moe and the former Airway Heights (Wash.) Mayor Dale R. Perry were financially involved. The indictment alleges Moe loaned the mayor money with the expectation that Perry would cast favorable votes when issues regarded SRP came before the Airway Heights City Council.
Moe was fired June 1 as the GM of SRP, a 600-acre drag-racing and motorsports complex in Airway Heights, just west of Spokane.
The deposed general manager at Spokane Raceway Park recently was indicted by a federal grand jury on several counts of public corruption.
The charges stem from the fact Moe and the former Airway Heights (Wash.) Mayor Dale R. Perry were financially involved. The indictment alleges Moe loaned the mayor money with the expectation that Perry would cast favorable votes when issues regarded SRP came before the Airway Heights City Council.
Moe was fired June 1 as the GM of SRP, a 600-acre drag-racing and motorsports complex in Airway Heights, just west of Spokane.
An FBI investigation began in January 2005 after The Spokesman-Review obtained public documents in late 2004 showing Moe was the source of a $109,000 loan to the Airway Heights mayor.
FBI agents and the Washington State Gambling Commission culminated with the four-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Spokane.
The investigation revealed an episode in which the Airway Heights City Council enacted an entertainment and admissions tax on Nov. 23, 2003, but repealed it on March 4, 2004. The tax applied to tickets sold to all SRP events, which is inside the city limits of Airway Heights.
The indictments also allege Perry “corruptly solicited” money from Moe on other occasions.
Perry, who stepped down as Airway Heights mayor on Dec. 31, is charged with two counts of soliciting a bribe and two additional counts of bribery.
Moe is charged with two counts of bribery under federal anti-public corruption statutes.
If convicted, each count carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
For Moe, this is the latest installment in a series of legal actions.
Moe, the legendary force behind SRP for three decades, was fired by a judge who concluded the 69-year-old millionaire had disobeyed a court-appointed receiver overseeing financial operations.
Moe had given “misleading and false information” to 500 limited partners whose money helped build the facility, court-appointed receiver Barry Davidson reported. The investors, in a lawsuit that spurred Davidson’s appointment to oversee the track’s financial books, insisted they saw no return on more than $2 million in stock they bought from Moe in the 1970s. Angry investors sued Moe, alleging he “converted partnership assets” from the racetrack operation for his own profit.
SRP currently is in the stages of a court-ordered appraisal and sale. Several groups are interested in buying the facility and upgraded it.
Despite his troubles, Moe vows to go down swinging in his bid to regain control of the park.
“We’re in the middle of a war,” said Moe, who claims the track battle is a “family feud and a hostile takeover attempt” that has divided family and friends.
“We haven’t done anything wrong, and we have a majority of the owners behind us,” Moe said. “We’re working on getting back in control of everything.”
The charges stem from the fact Moe and the former Airway Heights (Wash.) Mayor Dale R. Perry were financially involved. The indictment alleges Moe loaned the mayor money with the expectation that Perry would cast favorable votes when issues regarded SRP came before the Airway Heights City Council.
Moe was fired June 1 as the GM of SRP, a 600-acre drag-racing and motorsports complex in Airway Heights, just west of Spokane.
The deposed general manager at Spokane Raceway Park recently was indicted by a federal grand jury on several counts of public corruption.
The charges stem from the fact Moe and the former Airway Heights (Wash.) Mayor Dale R. Perry were financially involved. The indictment alleges Moe loaned the mayor money with the expectation that Perry would cast favorable votes when issues regarded SRP came before the Airway Heights City Council.
Moe was fired June 1 as the GM of SRP, a 600-acre drag-racing and motorsports complex in Airway Heights, just west of Spokane.
An FBI investigation began in January 2005 after The Spokesman-Review obtained public documents in late 2004 showing Moe was the source of a $109,000 loan to the Airway Heights mayor.
FBI agents and the Washington State Gambling Commission culminated with the four-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Spokane.
The investigation revealed an episode in which the Airway Heights City Council enacted an entertainment and admissions tax on Nov. 23, 2003, but repealed it on March 4, 2004. The tax applied to tickets sold to all SRP events, which is inside the city limits of Airway Heights.
The indictments also allege Perry “corruptly solicited” money from Moe on other occasions.
Perry, who stepped down as Airway Heights mayor on Dec. 31, is charged with two counts of soliciting a bribe and two additional counts of bribery.
Moe is charged with two counts of bribery under federal anti-public corruption statutes.
If convicted, each count carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
For Moe, this is the latest installment in a series of legal actions.
Moe, the legendary force behind SRP for three decades, was fired by a judge who concluded the 69-year-old millionaire had disobeyed a court-appointed receiver overseeing financial operations.
Moe had given “misleading and false information” to 500 limited partners whose money helped build the facility, court-appointed receiver Barry Davidson reported. The investors, in a lawsuit that spurred Davidson’s appointment to oversee the track’s financial books, insisted they saw no return on more than $2 million in stock they bought from Moe in the 1970s. Angry investors sued Moe, alleging he “converted partnership assets” from the racetrack operation for his own profit.
SRP currently is in the stages of a court-ordered appraisal and sale. Several groups are interested in buying the facility and upgraded it.
Despite his troubles, Moe vows to go down swinging in his bid to regain control of the park.
“We’re in the middle of a war,” said Moe, who claims the track battle is a “family feud and a hostile takeover attempt” that has divided family and friends.
“We haven’t done anything wrong, and we have a majority of the owners behind us,” Moe said. “We’re working on getting back in control of everything.”
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