 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Judge bars some gambling shuttles
By CARY DAVIS, Times Staff Writer NEW PORT RICHEY -- A Pasco circuit judge this week issued an order forbidding the owners of Stardancer Casino Cruises from operating shuttle boats out of Joshua's Landing in Port Richey. Circuit Judge Stanley R. Mills said in his order that Fernandina Cruises, a company controlled by the owners of Stardancer, had willfully violated a February court injunction meant to protect the Pithlachascotee River. The injunction called for Fernandina's shuttle boats, which ferried gamblers to Stardancer's El Dorado vessel in the Gulf of Mexico, to stop damaging the river bottom. But the propellers of Fernandina's shuttle boats have continued to dredge the river bottom, Mills ruled. He called the company's actions "the result of either intentional or reckless disregard of the injunction." Mills held Fernandina Cruises in civil contempt, and ordered the company not to operate shuttle boats out of Joshua's Landing until a judge gives permission. In order to resume operations, the company must prove that the shuttle boats will not harm the river. The ruling may not have an immediate impact because the El Dorado was reportedly repossessed this month. Ever since, Fernandina's shuttles have not sailed from Joshua's Landing. Stardancer and Fernandina Cruises are owned by Sam Gray, who did not return a call from the Times Wednesday. This week's ruling adds to the problems facing Stardancer. The Internal Revenue Service has filed at least $835,000 in liens against Stardancer in five Florida counties. And the FBI recently froze money in Stardancer accounts after a key investor, Ohio banker Mark Steven Miller, was charged with embezzling. Mills' ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by Stardancer's rival and neighbor on the riverfront, Paradise of Port Richey, which has battled its own share of environmental complaints. Paradise, as a result of a lawsuit filed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, has operated for years under restrictions that forbid the company from sailing at low tide. Mills noted in his order that Paradise's lawsuit "may be motivated much more by profit than by any altruistic concern for the environment." Paradise lawyer Larry Crow said Mills' ruling "will ensure that any future operations (by Fernandina) must comply with the judge's order and the law."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From today's Pasco Times Letters |
