WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) in a letter today to Roland Hernandez, the Lead Independent Director of MGM Resorts International, called for a “complete review of MGM operations in Macau using completely new outside due diligence experts who have no current or previous business relationship with MGM or any other casino company operating in Macau.”
Jeffrey Fiedler, the IUOE Director of Special Projects & Initiatives, included with the letter a summary of the union’s findings concerning the relationship an “MGM VIP room operator, SunCity, its founder and co-owner Alvin Chau Cheok Wa, has with two individuals, Charles Heung Wah Keung and Herbert Liu Kee Chan, identified by U.S. government reports as organized crime figures.”
Three weeks ago when the IUOE called for Nevada gaming authorities to investigate another VIP room operator (The Neptune Group and its affiliates) and its relationship to alleged triad Cheung Chi Tai, an MGM spokesman castigated the union’s concerns as “baseless and reflects a complete lack of understanding of MGM’s extremely robust policies and procedures for evaluating the suitability of its gaming room operators in Macau.”
In his letter, Fiedler stated that it was the IUOE’s opinion that these policies and procedures were “anything but robust”, adding, “If the IUOE can uncover these relationships through simple examination of public records, we have no confidence in MGM management’s current efforts to ensure that it is not doing business with triad associates in Macau.”
The IUOE is a shareholder of MGM Resorts International and represents maintenance engineers and slot mechanics at several of its properties in Las Vegas and sponsors a website on Macau gaming at www.casinoleaks-macau.com.
Underscoring this point Fiedler stated, “The shareholders and employees of MGM Resorts International deserve nothing less than full disclosure about company operations in Macau.”
The IUOE also forwarded the information to Mark Lipparelli, Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, asking that body to conduct its own investigation into SunCity’s “suitability” under Nevada laws and regulations.
A copy of the two letters, the summary of findings on SunCity, and all documentation can be found at http://www.casinoleaks-macau.com/3-28-2012.html .
The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) represents more than 400,000 members in 123 local unions across the U.S. and Canada, including operating engineers who work as heavy equipment operators, mechanics, surveyors in the construction industry; stationary engineers in building and industrial maintenance; nurses and other health care workers; and public employees.