casino security workers ogled women, complaint says
Four more surveillance camera operators at Caesars Atlantic City Hotel Casino used the equipment to ogle women, according to a complaint filed Tuesday.In December, the same casino was fined $80,000 for similar incidents involving two other camera operators who trained their eye-in-the-sky cameras on low-cut blouses and revealing clothing instead of craps games and slot parlors.The hidden cameras, required by law in New Jersey casinos, keep tabs on all aspects of casino floor operations as a way to deter and prosecute theft, embezzlement, cheating and other crimes.They're typically tucked into ceilings and camouflaged by dark glass, allowing camera operators to zoom in surreptitiously on activities below.According to the new complaint, filed by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement, Caesars employees James Doherty, Donald Smith, JohnPaul Arambulo and Robert Swan aimed their cameras on "selected parts of the anatomy" of female gamblers and employees while working graveyard shifts over a three-day period in October.Doherty, a shift supervisor, allegedly used two cameras to view women, in violation of state casino law. What the cameras saw was recorded on 64 minutes of videotape, giving Division of Gaming investigators the evidence they needed to file complaints with the state Casino Control Commission.Smith, a surveillance operator working under Doherty, allegedly captured 95 minutes' worth of unauthorized footage, while Arambulo and Swan's cameras recorded 16 minutes and 11 minutes' worth, respectively, according to the complaint filed by Deputy Attorney General R. Lane Stebbins.In a 2001 case, two women told the state Division of Civil Rights that they were fired by Caesars after complaining about voyeuristic camera work by surveillance department co-workers, who they said looked for low-cut necklines or revealing clothing on women playing at table games or riding escalators.Caesars paid $95,000 to settle that complaint, which was filed with the state Division of Civil rights."Obviously, we take this kind of issue very seriously," said Robert Stewart, spokesman for Caesars Entertainment, which owns the casino. The Casino Control Commission will consider the complaint and give the named parties a chance to respond and request a hearing.Davis would not say how big a penalty the Division of Gaming will push for. Given the prior incident — which led to an $80,000 fine for the casino, a $500 fine for one of the operators and a license suspension for the other — it is likely to be substantial.
2005-04-12
