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<p>Former president and CEO of Mohegan Sun Pocono Bobby Soper said his resignation from the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority last week had nothing to do with an investigation into financial irregularities at the Plains Township casino.</p><p>He said he could not elaborate on the abrupt ending to his 20-year career with the Mohegan organization, but said it&#8217;s been &#8220;a great run.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;There are certain things I cannot say due to confidentiality, but I would say at this point in my career, my preference is to focus on growth-oriented opportunities, especially on the international stage, and therefore I wanted to pursue an opportunity that would let me do so,&#8221; said Soper in an email sent Monday.</p><p>The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority is currently under investigation by the Office of Enforcement Counsel of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to explore &#8220;possible operational control deficiencies&#8221; at Mohegan Sun Pocono.</p><p>Those operational control deficiencies are listed in the filing as its &#8220;system of tracking and reporting the issuance of certain customer incentives such as free slot play.&#8221;</p><p>Three people await sentencing in connection with a gaming scheme committed between May 2014 to April 2015 that bilked Mohegan Sun Pocono out of $422,000. Robert Pellegrini, a former vice president of player development at the casino, and Mark Heltzel pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in December.</p><p>A third participant, former cocktail waitress Rochelle Poszeluznyj, pleaded guilty to an identical charge in September.</p><p>&#8220;I want to make it unequivocally clear that my separation from (Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority) is unrelated to the Pellegrini matter and the related investigation at Mohegan Sun Pocono,&#8221; Soper wrote in an email. &#8220;When the Pellegrini events occurred, I neither oversaw the property nor had any role at (Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority) related to Mohegan Sun Pocono.&#8221;</p><p>Soper&#8217;s resignation was announced Feb. 14, and the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Feb. 15 to delay filing its latest quarterly report to allow Mitchell Etess, Soper&#8217;s replacement, time to review it.</p><p>The SEC filing also states that, based on the review, the Plains Township casino would be &#8220;subject to disciplinary action, including a fine and undertakings to remediate the issues identified&#8221; by the probe.</p><p>Soper also addressed his relationship with Wilkes-Barre marketing and advertising company ReferLocal, which is also mentioned in the SEC filing.</p><p>According to the filing, the authority reported to the OEC Feb. 14 that it terminated its relationship with Wilkes-Barre marketing and advertising company ReferLocal in January. The two companies had a relationship since 2011. It was revealed that Soper had a previously undisclosed 5 percent equity interest in ReferLocal.</p><p>Soper said he did report the relationship to his supervisor at the time, but the issue was &#8220;a technicality&#8221; about whether he should have reported the relationship to the board of directors.</p><p>&#8220;I have always been transparent about it,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Legal counsel for ReferLocal sent a letter to the authority Feb. 3 stating the company &#8220;had suffered damages in connection with the termination&#8221; of the business relationship and &#8220;may seek recovery of damages&#8221; from the authority and Soper.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Soper-RGB-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Soper </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_Soper-RGB-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Soper </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Sarah Hite Hando</p><p>shando@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Sarah Hite Hando at 570-704-3945.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Soper says resignation unrelated to Mohegan Sun Pocono investigation