Mark McNaughton, a former Pennsylvania Rep. and a longtime critic of gambling, who was recently appointed as a member of the state's Gaming Control Board, has won thousands of dollars at casinos in the past three years, according to tax returns.
According to other records, McNaughton, also visited an Atlantic City casino with a lobbyist who represents Boyd Gaming Corp., which until September opted for one of Pennsylvania's sought after slots licenses.
The five-term conservative Republican from Harrisburg reported approximately $15,500 winnings since 2003 on federal income taxes but he failed to do so on his state ethics forms, as the law requires.
McNaughton had persistently opposed expanding gambling in Pennsylvania for years and voted against the 2004 law that legalized slot machines. On Friday he commented on the matter by saying that he was only acting on what he believed his constituents wanted and that he still believes that gambling should not be legal everywhere.
The disclosure was uncovered by court records in a nasty divorce and surfaces as the gaming board is conducting a background check on the former legislator who is set to take the $145,000-a-year seat by mid-January. It is unclear whether this will affect his appointment.
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