‘Mad’ candidate talks of scandal

No sooner did Thomas A. Marino announce his Republican primary run for the 10th Congressional seat than Democratic opponents jumped on his ties to a controversial northeastern Pennsylvania figure.

Marino, however, made no bones about his continued friendship and business affiliation with Louis DeNaples, who was the target of a government probe over a casino license that eventually was approved.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, in a news released distributed Wednesday, noted Marino's ties to DeNaples will lead voters to ultimately reject him.

Referring to the candidate as Tom "Casino" Marino, Democratic Committee Northeast Regional Press Secretary Shripal Shah noted the "cloud of conflicts" surrounding his resignation as U.S. attorney in 2007 once it was discovered he served as a reference on DeNaples' gaming application.

Marino's candidacy, he said, "represents nothing more than the unethical conduct that the 10th District rejected just four short years ago."

DeNaples was under investigation for allegedly making campaign contributions to Gov. Ed Rendell in an attempt to secure a license. He also was the target of a grand jury probe into ties to organized crime, Shah noted.

Noting his 18 years as a prosecutor, first as a Lycoming County District Attorney and later as a U.S. District Attorney, Marino said he remains friends with DeNaples and continues to handle business matters for him.

"I did not do any work for the casino," he explained.

Nor, he said, did he handle any criminal defense work for DeNaples.

Marino made it clear he has answered questions about DeNaples before. He fully expects the matter to come up again during the campaign and it's his belief that he will not be hurt at the ballot box by the issue.

"I don't think it's going to hurt at all," he said. "If the opposition wants to ride this rumor that they are stretching, fine. I'm going to concentrate on the issues. Voters aren't concerned with it, they are concerned with jobs, spending and taxes."