The Wall Street Journal - 04.03.2020

A10B| Wednesday, March 4, 2020 ** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

NEW YORK

State Won’t Hold GOP

Presidential Primary

New York won’t have a Re-

publican presidential primary af-

ter former Massachusetts Gov.

William Weld failed to submit

the required paperwork to qual-

ify for the April 28 ballot, state

election officials said Tuesday.

GOP candidates were re-

quired to submit the names of

162 delegates and alternates for

the party’s August nominating

convention. Mr. Weld’s campaign

submitted only a partial list by

last week’s deadline.

President Trump’s campaign

submitted a list of delegates

that included party leaders,

elected officials and members of

the first family. He is the only

qualifying candidate.

—Jimmy Vielkind

NEW HAVEN

Verdict Against Rabbi

In Abuse Case Upheld

A federal appeals court up-

held a $21.7 million verdict

against a Connecticut rabbi ac-

cused of repeatedly sexually

abusing a teenage boy in the

early 2000s.

A three-judge panel of the

Second U.S. Circuit Court of Ap-

peals in New York City rejected

the appeal of Rabbi Daniel Greer,

79 years old, of New Haven, who

was sentenced in December to

12 years in prison on state crimi-

nal charges related to the abuse.

A New Jersey man, Eliyahu

Mirlis, now 32, filed a civil law-

suit in federal court against Mr.

Greer in 2016. Mr. Mirlis said Mr.

Greer sexually abused him in

2002 and 2003 when he at-

tended the Yeshiva of New Ha-

ven school, which Mr. Greer

founded.

A federal jury awarded Mr.

Mirlis $15 million in compensa-

tory damages and a judge

tacked on $5 million in punitive

damages plus $1.7 million in in-

terest.

In appealing the verdict, Mr.

Greer argued that the trial judge

made mistakes in instructing the

jury on how to consider, during

deliberations, Mr. Greer’s invok-

ing his Fifth Amendment right

against self-incrimination when

declining to answer questions

during the trial.

—Associated Press

CONNECTICUT

Driver Found After

Alleged Hit-and-Run

A driver accused of striking

two judicial marshals outside a

the Mohegan Tribe, in a state-

ment. “That simply isn’t true.

The Governor’s proposal would

put both the tribal nations and

the State of Connecticut in an

untenable position, resulting in

certain litigation.”

Mashantucket Pequot Chair-

man Rodney Butler, speaking

during a public hearing Tues-

day before the Legislature’s

Public Safety and Security

Committee, said allowing

other operators a piece of

sports betting would amount

to a breach in the current

agreements with the state that

give the tribes exclusive rights

to gambling in Connecticut.

“We maintain that sport

betting falls within our current

exclusivity agreement with the

state,” Mr. Butler said. “While

we appreciate that that may

be a bone of contention for

some, our position on that ac-

cord won’t change.”

If the Legislature passes a

law allowing other operators

to offer sports betting, the

tribes would no longer be obli-

gated to provide the state with

25% of their slot take as out-

lined under their current

agreements, Mr. Butler said.

That comes out to about $

million annually.

Any dispute over the agree-

ments would ultimately have to

be resolved by federal courts

and federal agencies, he said.

But Mr. Butler told law-

makers that there is room for

compromise. “We’ve always

been open to conversations

that recognize and appreciate

our agreements,” he said.

Connecticut Gov. Ned La-

mont threw his support behind

a bill that would allow multi-

ple operators to begin offering

sports betting in the state,

putting him at odds with the

tribes that run Mohegan Sun

and Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Under the bill, the Mohegan

Tribe and Mashantucket Pe-

quot Tribal Nation would only

have rights to sports wagering

on their reservations. The

Connecticut Lottery and exist-

ing off-track-betting compa-

nies would be permitted to

run sports-betting operations

elsewhere in the state.

The tribes back separate

legislation that would give

them exclusive rights, both on

and off their reservations in

Connecticut, to legalized

sports wagering and other

forms of online betting. That

proposal would also allow

them to open a jointly run ca-

sino in Bridgeport.

The Democratic governor’s

preference is a simpler ap-

proach because it addresses

sports betting alone and ex-

cludes for now other online

betting games and the Bridge-

port casino, said Max Reiss, a

spokesman for Mr. Lamont. It

is also more likely to be passed

this year, Mr. Reiss said.

“It also builds upon the

state’s existing partnership

with the tribes, is more likely

to withstand legal challenges

from third party competitors,

and promotes a fair and com-

petitive sports betting market

outside the tribes’ reserva-

tions,” Mr. Reiss said Tuesday.

Both tribes pushed back

against the message from the

Lamont administration.

“Unfortunately, Governor

Lamont appears to be saying

that the state can either adopt

his singular proposal on gam-

ing, or do nothing at all,” said

James Gessner, chairman of

BYJOSEPHDEAVILA

Lamont Clashes

With Tribes on

Sports Betting

Gov. Ned

Lamont backs

a bill allowing

other operators

to offer sports

wagering in

Connecticut.

Mets Work Out the Kinks in Spring Training

SO CLOSE: Michael Conforto lost his glove as a ball cleared the fence Tuesday in Florida in a preseason game against the Marlins

STEVE MITCHELL/REUTERS

GREATERNEWYORKWATCH

Connecticut courthouse was

found at a Massachusetts hotel

early Tuesday, a Massachusetts

State Police spokesman said.

Jose Lopez, 42 years old, was

apprehended at the Motel 6 in

Chicopee at about 5:20 a.m., ac-

cording to spokesman David

Procopio.

Police and court officials said

the Connecticut marshals, who

provide courthouse security,

were struck in front of Manches-

ter Superior Court shortly before

noon Monday.

One was given CPR at the

scene before both were taken to

Hartford Hospital, Judicial

Branch officials said. One mar-

shal was critically injured, ac-

cording to Mr. Procopio.

A message seeking comment

was left Monday for a public de-

fender who represented Mr. Lo-

pez in previous cases.

—Associated Press

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