{"id":132081,"date":"2020-04-03T12:09:58","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T19:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=132081"},"modified":"2020-04-03T12:56:54","modified_gmt":"2020-04-03T19:56:54","slug":"missouri-gaming-commission-director-quits-tensions-revealed-with-highway-patrol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/missouri-gaming-commission-director-quits-tensions-revealed-with-highway-patrol\/","title":{"rendered":"Missouri Gaming Commission Director Quits, Tensions Revealed with Highway Patrol"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Grothaus is leaving his job next month as executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission<\/a> after reportedly getting into a dispute with members of the state\u2019s Highway Patrol.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has shuttered the state’s casinos because of the pandemic. But a dispute was revealed this week between outgoing Gaming Commission Director David Grothaus and the Highway Patrol (Image: Fox2)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Friday, state officials confirmed the resignation to Casino.org<\/em>. But the reason is being kept quiet because of confidentiality rules.<\/p>\n

Yes, David Grothaus is stepping down effective May 1, 2020,\u201d LeAnn McCarthy, public information coordinator at the Missouri Gaming Commission, told Casino.org<\/em> in an email. \u201cHis retirement letter is identified as a closed personnel record\u2026.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Missouri Department of Public Safety, the parent department for both the highway patrol and the gaming commission, also issued a statement to Casino.org<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor more than 25 years, the Missouri Gaming Commission and the Missouri State Highway Patrol have partnered to keep crime out of the gaming industry and ensure casino customer safety. DPS is committed to assisting in that mission and has complete confidence in both the Missouri Gaming Commission and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.\u201d<\/p>\n

But in an exclusive report, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch<\/em> revealed Grothaus said in a resignation letter Monday that some members of the highway patrol assigned to the state\u2019s 13 casinos undertook \u201cguerrilla warfare\u201d to block his attempts to replace them with civilians who get a lower salary.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt now seems that there is more interest in protecting the assignments of highway patrol officers than in ensuring a sound, proactive, technically competent, top-notch regulatory MGC effort,\u201d Grothaus claims in the correspondence published by the Post-Dispatch<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It has become obvious that the direction of the commission under my leadership is incompatible with the vision of certain commissioners,\u201d Grothaus added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Grothaus was attempting to make the agency \u201cmore efficient and accountable,\u201d as requested by Gov. Mike Parson, the Post-Dispatch <\/em>said. Grothaus also complains the agency is \u201cfraught with much waste because of a bloated patrol gaming division and the use of highly paid law enforcement officers in positions more suited for civilian technicians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrol officers earn higher fringe benefits than civilians. The officers are also given \u201cexcessive vehicle expenditures that are not needed for the job they perform,\u201d Grothaus said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sense that much of the criticism of my management is in direct response to my effort to seek accountability for these expenses,\u201d Grothaus writes in the letter.<\/p>\n

Grothaus Had Job for a Year<\/h2>\n

Last March, Grothaus started the $128,000 a year job. He was the commission\u2019s seventh executive director.<\/p>\n

Grothaus has an extensive background in law enforcement and was a state highway patrol officer. He also was a supervisory agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.<\/p>\n

He served in the Army and Air Force from 1976 until 2017. Altogether, he has worked in the field for 44 years.<\/p>\n

Commission Chairman Mike Leara confirmed to the Post-Dispatch <\/em>the highway patrol and commission officials were sometimes at odds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was tension there. I don\u2019t know who\u2019s to blame,\u201d Leara said. \u201cThere\u2019s differences of opinions all over the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think the executive director had a different view of the direction of the commission,\u201d Leara further told the newspaper. \u201cI think he had some very valid concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think some of those will be addressed in the future. But we\u2019ve got to get through this coronavirus issue first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Separate Letter to Commission Employees<\/h2>\n

In a letter to the Missouri Gaming Commission employees, Grothaus added, \u201cI have had a full career and MGC has been a great way to end it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have many more important things in my life that need attention — and the pandemic and other things have made me realize that I need to refocus my energy to higher level goals,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Last month, Gov. Parson initially ordered<\/a> the state\u2019s 13 licensed casinos to close.\u00a0The state extended its order closing the Missouri’s casinos through April 6.<\/p>\n

As of Friday, there were 1,834 COVID-19 cases in Missouri. Nineteen were fatal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Grothaus is leaving his job next month as executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission after reportedly getting into a dispute with members of the state\u2019s Highway Patrol. On Friday, state officials confirmed the resignation to Casino.org. But the reason is being kept quiet because of confidentiality rules. Yes, David Grothaus is stepping down […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":132085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13592],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMissouri Gaming Commission Director Quits, Tensions Revealed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"David Grothaus is quitting as executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission. 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He reportedly got into a dispute with the state\u2019s Highway Patrol.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/missouri-gaming-commission-director-quits-tensions-revealed-with-highway-patrol\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-03T19:09:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-04-03T19:56:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Mike-Parsons2-Fox2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgedsilv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/missouri-gaming-commission-director-quits-tensions-revealed-with-highway-patrol\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/missouri-gaming-commission-director-quits-tensions-revealed-with-highway-patrol\/\",\"name\":\"Missouri Gaming Commission Director Quits, Tensions Revealed\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/missouri-gaming-commission-director-quits-tensions-revealed-with-highway-patrol\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/missouri-gaming-commission-director-quits-tensions-revealed-with-highway-patrol\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Mike-Parsons2-Fox2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-03T19:09:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-04-03T19:56:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e\"},\"description\":\"David Grothaus is quitting as executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission. 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