And when some gaming board staffers were called to testify to the grand jury, the report said, they suffered from "collective amnesia."
The board's chairman, Greg Fajt, swiftly labeled the report a rehash of "old news" containing no proof of any wrongdoing by the board or its employees.
"After this grand jury met for more than two years, there were no arrests . . . no indictments," Fajt noted in a statement. "They found no criminal activity, because there was, in fact, no criminal activity to be found."
State Rep. Curt Schroder (R., Chester), chairman of the House Gaming Oversight Committee, said the lack of indictments did not dilute the importance of the findings.
He stressed that it was the second grand jury to call for taking the investigative role away from the gaming board. In 2008, a Dauphin County grand jury said investigations of gaming applicants should be overseen by the state police or the attorney general.
Fajt "should open his eyes and realize what a significant problem this is," said Schroder, vowing to have his committee hold hearings on the grand jury's findings and consider legislative action.
Spinning off the gaming board's investigatory functions was one of 21 recommendations in the report.
It also urged that commissioners be barred from meeting in closed-door executive sessions to deliberate on license applications.
The grand jurors took aim at the regulatory side of one of the biggest changes wrought by the General Assembly in recent memory: the legalizing of gambling in 2004. In the last five years, 10 gaming halls have generated $5.1 billion in tax and license-fee revenue. The industry is overseen by the board, whose five members are appointed by the governor and legislative leaders of both parties.
