ALBANY – A state lobbying commission’s ruling could force Donald Trump to admit he paid for ads run by an obscure upstate anti-gambling group, sources told The Post yesterday.
In a unanimous written opinion, the commission found that the ads opposing a proposed Indian-run casino in the Catskills were a form of lobbying that went unreported.
State law requires the reporting of any lobbying activities that cost more than $2,000.
The Post reported last month that Trump, concerned that the casino would cut into his own interests in Atlantic City, funneled thousands of dollars to the New York Institute for Law and Society to pay for the ads.
A Trump insider said an amended report will “likely” be filed with the state showing just how much was spent on the ads.
The insider said Trump, who reported spending more than $300,000 to lobby the Legislature between January and June, did not report the cost of the ads because he did not believe they constituted lobbying activities.
Trump lawyer Edward Wallace said he is studying the commission’s advisory opinion.
Trump could face a civil penalty of as much as $25,000 if he is found guilty of violating the state’s lobbying laws.
The Institute for Law and Society sponsored statewide newspaper, television and radio commercials this year opposing Indian gaming operations, which it linked to violence and organized crime.
The ads asked people to urge the governor to kill a proposal by the St. Regis Mohawks of northern New York to open a casino at Monticello Raceway in the Catskills.
The lobbying commission has been investigating Trump, boxing promoter Don King and Arthur Goldberg, head of Park Place Entertainment, the nation’s largest gaming company, for possible illegal personal lobbying of the Legislature on a bill that would give the Legislature a say on Indian gaming proposals.