The Virginia General Assembly is considering two bills this Legislative Session that would regulate skill games and impose taxes on their revenue.
A bill in the House would impose a strict regulatory framework, with a 30% tax on all gross profits from all electronic gaming devices (including Video Gaming Terminals/slot machines), and impose criminal and civil penalties for violating the proposed law. The Senate offer is limited to skill games and proposes a 22% tax and a process to grant use of the devices, with similar criminal and civil penalties for illegal gambling and violations of the proposed law.
Both are still pending in their respective chambers, with time ticking before expected Sine Die on March 9.
In the meantime, a group has formed that opposes skill games — referring to them as has been done in other states battling similar regulatory questions, as “gray machines” (because they operate in a “gray area” of the law) and slot machines — and opposes both versions of the proposed regulation.
But there’s a major catch.
Virginians Against Neighborhood Slot Machines was, until Tuesday evening, run by two people — Taj Mahon-Haft and David Smith — who are both registered sex offenders in Virginia. The group’s website showed Mahon-Haft and Smith as officers as recently as 3 p.m. Tuesday. By Tuesday evening, Richard Cullen was listed as President and Brian Rogers as Treasurer. The group’s articles of incorporation show Mahon-Haft and Smith were founding members.
What makes the questionable leadership even more questionable is the tact the group is using to drum up opposition to skill games: linking the machines to crime.
The group’s website opens with an unattributed list of crimes.
“Armed robbery in Staunton. Assault in Lynchburg. A shooting in Richmond. Targeted burglaries in Fairfax,” it reads, before bold red print says “there’s a blatant source of crime lurking in our neighborhoods.”
That crime, the website claims, are “shady slots on every corner.”
Yet the leadership behind the campaign have their own criminal records.
Mahon-Haft, a former Radford University criminology professor, was arrested in 2013 and charged with multiple counts of possession of child pornography, which police found while investigating a possible burglary. They also found drugs and drug paraphernalia. In all, Mahon-Haft was arrested three times throughout the investigation and ultimately was also charged with assaulting a police officer, according to The Columbian.
He later pleaded guilty to 50 counts of possession of child pornography and numerous drug possession charges and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release.
Smith — whose affiliation with Mahon-Haft is documented in this YouTube video featuring an interview for Mahon-Haft’s inmate advocacy organization, “The Humanization Project” — is a former pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Norfolk. He was investigated by local police who found photos on his computer of young girls between the ages of 6 and 11 engaged in sexual acts with adult men.
Smith, who was married with three children, was barred from seeing his children as a condition of his initial bond, according to 13 News Now. He ultimately pleaded guilty in 2013 to 10 counts of possessing child pornography and was sentenced to three years in state prison.
The battle over legalizing and regulating skill games has cropped up in many states, including nearby Kentucky, and is often opposed by casinos. The Virginia effort is also getting pushback from law enforcement groups and religious institutions, with the former concerned about crime and the latter about preying on vulnerable persons or those who struggle with gambling addictions.
But supporters of a regulated framework for such games note that the machines differ from traditional slot machines in that players can control whether they win by learning patterns or other skillful methods. They also note that the taxing structure would, like the state lottery, benefit public education.
But the Virginians Against Neighborhood Slot Machines coalition mostly focuses on the crime angle, making it potentially hypocritical to some that its leaders are convicted sex offenders.
While the website doesn’t specifically mention sex crimes, it does claim that such games “lead to loitering, which causes security concerns and can lead to crime,” specifically noting claims it has gathered from “attorneys from multiple localities” of “assault and robbery.”
A complete list of the Virginians Against Neighborhood Slot Machines coalition includes:
— Caesars Virginia.
— HeadWaters Resort & Casino.
— T. Neal Morris, former Danville Police Chief and past President of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police & Foundation.
— Tad Berman, Virginians for Integrity in Horse Racing and Casino Gambling.
— Rev. Joanna Paysour, Greene Memorial United Methodist Church, Roanoke.
— Rivers Casino Portsmouth.
— Rev. Taylor Mertins, Raleigh Court United Methodist, Roanoke.
— Rev. Lance Presley, Asbury United Methodist Church, Christiansburg.
— Dr. David N. Wright, Sr., Pastor, Church of God in Christ, Richmond.
— Rev. Allan-Charles Chipman, Richmond.
— Virginia Equine Alliance.
— Virginia Police Benevolent Association.
— Virginia Horse Council.
— Churchill Downs.
— Rev. Katie B. Gooch, Director of The Pace Center.
— Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol.
— Josiah Fisher, assistant professor of military science at Norfolk State University and member of the military community.
— American Gaming Association.
— Rev. Douglas Forrester, Valley Ridge District Superintendent, Virginia United Methodist Church.
— The Family Foundation of Virginia.
— Rev. Kate Fielder, Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond.
— Rev. Will Archer, Potomac Valley Church, Woodbridge.
— Rev. Amy Redwine, First Presbyterian Church, Richmond.
— Rev. Jim Sommerville, First Baptist Church, Richmond.
— Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link, Executive Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, Roanoke.
— Rev. Lauren Lobenhofer, Cave Spring United Methodist, Roanoke.
— Virginia Thoroughbred Association.
