A Springfield city official got under arrest two days ago. The police took the Communications Director of the Springfield mayor into custody after the has allegedly damaged property at the local gambling venue of MGM.
According to media reports, Marian Sullivan, who serves as the Communications Director of Domenic Sarno, the Mayor of Springfield, was arrested by Massachusetts State Police around 3:00 AM on Saturday. Local officials, who have been involved in the investigation, have revealed that the 27-year-old woman caused some property damage to the Cal Mare restaurant, after which she went into the parking garage where she also caused damage to some cars.
Later, Ms. Sullivan was found by the police in an elevator lobby. State Police representatives have revealed for a local media that they believe the woman was intoxicated.
The Springfield city official was arrested and faced charges with destruction of property. Then, she was booked and is now released from custody. She is set to appear in a future court hearing.
The incident has been confirmed by Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, who released a statement saying how shocked and disturbed he was by the arrest of his Communications Director. He also shared that Ms. Sullivan would be suspended from her position until a formal court judgment is made on the case.
MGM Springfield Has Fuelled Concerns Regarding Problem Gambling Rates in the City
For the time being, no additional information regarding the damage done to the MGM property and the cars in the parking garage by the police. The costs of the vandalism act have not been revealed, too. Also, it was not immediately clear whether Ms. Sullivan has obtained an attorney.
Even though it still remains unclear what the reasons for the property destruction were, the Italian restaurant is known to be part of MGM Springfield, a facility that has so far fuelled some controversy in the city.
At the time when the MGM Springfield property started operation in the city, there have been some concerns that the addition of a new casino in Springfield would have a negative impact on the local gambling addicts. Opponents of the project have been claiming that the casino could end up boosting the gambling addiction rates in the city.
More than a year after the opening of MGM Springfield, efforts of local officials to address rising gambling participation and problem gambling rates are still underway. About a year after the gambling venue’s grand opening, local health leaders have confirmed that programs aimed at helping problem gamblers are being rolled out. As they have explained, some of the community’s paramount priorities have been associated with addressing the possible negative impact of problem gambling.
A couple of months ago, it was revealed that the budget which the state of Massachusetts has to address problem gambling is approximately $6 million. Most of this money is derived from the casino revenue shared with the state and intended to be used for funding public health issues such as gambling addiction.
