LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: WHO WILL RUN THE CITY?

To the Editor:

The proponents of riverboat gambling assure us that, should this measure pass on Nov. 2, the city of Cape Girardeau will experience an unprecedented boost to its economy. They are confident that aside from an increase in traffic we will see no ill side effects. Common sense tells us, however, that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is; and we are wise to take a second look at these promises.

If riverboat gambling comes to Cape Girardeau, who will be running our city government? Like it or not, money talks; and the corporation which owns the riverboat has more money than any one citizen in Cape.

In the Southeast Missourian on Oct. 8, a headline caught our eye, "Washington Casino Opponents Worry About Mob Muscling In." Washington, D.C., is one of the few East Coast cities without a traditional mob presence, and opponents of casino gambling worry that the mob will muscle in on a city already suffering from rampant street crime.

Ronald Goldstock, director of the New York Organized Crime Task Force, warns, "You can't avoid criminal incidents and organized crime, but by carefully structuring the way the (casino) industry operates, you can control or reduce the magnitude of the problem. But the issue is not elimination, it's control."

Officials who have had experience in trying to pry legal gambling from the grip of organized crime in Las Vegas and Atlantic City say a massive commitment in regulations and policing is needed to keep casinos clean -- and to no avail, for the mob often finds a way in. Although Cape is not a "city already suffering from rampant street crime," there are definitely troubled areas. Do we want to open our lovely town to the very real and certain threat of organized crime? We would be foolish indeed not to learn a lesson from the mistakes made by Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

Yes, riverboat gambling promises Cape an abundance of quick and easy income. Unfortunately, attached to its purse strings are the threats of the riverboat gambling corporation using its financial clout to influence our city government, the unavoidable reality of organized crime muscling its way into our city, and the fact that the market is saturated with gambling establishments.

We agree with the Yes Group on one point: "You can't argue with the facts!

Tom and Brenda Dohogne

Cape Girardeau