Card Club Fight Escalates; Casino Developer Sues Opponents

Irving Moskowitz, developer of what would be Hawaiian Gardens’ sole card casino, has raised the ante in a legal battle that could determine whether gambling revenues rescue the tiny city from the brink of bankruptcy.

In a counter suit against gambling opponents who have so far blocked construction of the card club, Moskowitz’s attorneys charge that three area casinos violated antitrust and political reform laws in an unsuccessful bid to defeat the club in a citywide election in November.

The suit, filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court, also alleges that representatives from two of the casinos--Hollywood Park and the Commerce Casino--offered to call off the lawsuit only if given partial ownership of the club.

Casino representatives could not be reached for comment Thursday.

A lawyer representing opponents of the card club, however, dismissed the accusations as a strategy to silence gambling critics.

“This is obviously an attempt to intimidate citizens from opposing his card club,” attorney Fredric Woocher said.

His lawsuit, filed in March on behalf of the Committee Against Card Club Assns., charges Moskowitz with various preelection improprieties aimed at establishing a monopoly on gambling in the city.

Woocher added that although area casinos have contributed money to defeat the card club, it is unlikely they would hold any sway in a decision whether to drop the committee’s lawsuit.

But Moskowitz attorney Beryl Weiner said the casinos have long maintained financial control over opposition to the card club, despite election mailers that he claims misrepresented their interests.

“[The casinos] don’t want the competition,” Weiner said.

“Every day that they delay [the club’s] opening, the more revenues they get.”

Meanwhile, city officials on both sides of the gambling issue are seeking a resolution, if only on when they can expect cash advances from the card club. Even Councilwoman Kathleen Navejas, among Moskowitz’s prime critics, has acknowledged that without his money the city may have to do away with its new $2-million-a-year police force.

Citing the anticipated bounty from the club, a council majority this year approved hefty raises for city staff and police, even though the council has been unable to approve an operating budget for several years. And last month the council mortgaged a city-owned recreation center to repay a $4.2-million debt to the Hawaiian Gardens Redevelopment Agency.

Weiner would not specify the total damages Moskowitz’s counter suit seeks because he said the original lawsuit costs the developer more money every day.

“The longer we’re delayed in getting started,” he said, “the greater the costs to complete this project.”