Things Go From Bad to Worse As Crown Employee Identified as a Neo-Nazi
Crown Resorts shareholders and its management team cannot catch a break right now. There is not a day that goes by that the casino giant’s already tarnished name is not dragged through the mud. Matters grew worse for Crown this week when it became public knowledge one of its staff is a prominent neo-Nazi.
Crown launched an internal investigation into claims one of its staff is a member of a neo-Nazi group. An eight-month investigation by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and 60 Minutes hit the newsstands on August 15. The newspapers infiltrated a neo-Nazi group, the National Socialist Network, and revealed sickening findings.
The investigation exposes the neo-Nazi group’s secret membership lists and much more. Daniel Todisco, Crown’s security manager, is one such secret member.
Todisco is a former special forces soldier who has a Victoria Police vetted security licence. He is a security manager for Crown who claims to carry a baton in his boot. Undercover reporters spoke to Todisco, who made racist remarks about fellow Crown colleagues.
“I just get them to do the shit jobs, to be honest with you,” Todisco boasted. The neo-Nazi says he loses “bossing the f*****g n***ers” around while on duty.
Crown Security Manager is a Neo-Nazi
The long-running investigation revealed that Todisco financially supports the neo-Nazi group, although he is not as active as other members. Todisco describes himself as an “experience and optimistic security services manager” on his now-deleted LinkedIn profile.
A Crown spokesperson issued a statement to the press on August 16.
“Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of Crown’s values, and our workplace does not condone discrimination on any level. We are deeply concerned to hear last night’s media allegations and unauthorised comments attributed to a Crown employee.”
The neo-Nazi allegations caused a profound drop in Crown’s share price. Crown shares traded at $9.37 when the Australian Stock Market opened at 10:00 on August 16. It closed at $9.12 the same day. Those same shares are exchanging hands for $8.90 at the time of writing, a 5.01% drop.
Crown’s Share Price Continues Plummeting
Crown’s share price has been in free-fall for the past month; it has fallen 24.19% since July 17. The future looks less than rosy for the Australian casino giant, with Crown facing the prospect of losing both its Melbourne and Perth casino gaming licences. Expect Crown’s share price to drop like a stone if that happens. What good is a casino without a gaming licence?
The current Crown share price gives the company a market capitalisation of $6.03 billion. Blackstone Group launched an $8.02 billion bid for Crown in March 2021. The American private equity giant’s big priced Crown’s shares at $11.85 per share. Crown rejected the offer because it undervalued the company. Oh, how the Crown board wishes it accepted that offer now.
Latest In a Long Line Of Negative Stories
Having a confirmed neo-Nazi on the payroll is never good for business, but it is significantly damaging to Crown. Goodwill is almost non-existent at this point, following several scandals discovered by the ongoing royal commission into Crown’s affairs.
Crown-owned Aspinalls casino in the heart of London hit the headlines for the wrong reasons when a former employee claimed black staff were the subject of racial abuse. Furthermore, Crown underpaid pokies tax to the Victorian government to the tune of $37 million. Crown has since paid $61 million back, including a $24 million penalty interest payment.
A problem gambler is suing Crown for $4.6 million in damages. Ahmed Hansa claims Crown failed to prevent him from gambling despite his apparent gambling addiction. Crown allowed Hansa to gamble excessively between 1993 and 2019, even allowing him to continue gambling in the casino’s high-stakes Mahogany Room despite a cheque bouncing.
Crown Melbourne learns its fate on October 15, 2021.
