Dog track sale held up by Hart family protest

The saga of Al Hart's attempt to sell the Lakes Region Greyhound Park on Rte. 106 in Belmont to the highest bidder continues. The general partner of the company that owns the dog track attempted to get Belknap County Superior Court Justice Harold W. Perkins to sign off on a sale yesterday but the family of Hart's late brother threw up another roadblock.

Eight lawyers representing the warring Hart family factions went in to Perkin's chamber at 11 a.m. and when they emerged it was obvious there was still a problem. Hours later, Perkins issued a court order declaring that lawyers representing Donna and Lisa Hart had objected to a potential declaration that Johnston Development, LLC was the winning bidder for the track after the completion of a court sanctioned sale process.

Perkins has given attorneys for all parties until Tuesday to submit pleadings on the issue. By agreement, there will be no formal hearing before the justice issues his ruling.

David Rayment, the lead attorney representing Donna and Lisa Hart, left the courthouse after refusing to comment on what had happened. Lisa Hart and her husband Kenneth Hart left with him.

Al Hart was also in the courthouse and he too refused comment. Hart's lead attorney, on the other hand, had plenty to say.

Ronald E. Cook stated that his client's relatives-in-law, who were attempting to purchase the track themselves, had raised a "sour grapes" objection to a higher bid. "They are now questioning the validity of the bid process." he said.

Cook also shed further light on what went on during the bid process itself.

On April 6, Perkins got all the Harts to agree to put aside their legal differences for the moment and allow the track to be sold to the highest bidder. Bids were to be submitted to Al Hart by 5 p.m. on Monday, April 18 and there was a provision agreed to that the information contained in all bids submitted up until the final five minutes of the process would be shared with all the track's stockholders.

Those stockholders include Kenneth Hart's mother, Joan Hart, and his sister-in-law, Denise Hart.

Cook said Kenneth Hart, in partnership with the Torgenson Gaming Group, had submitted one bid for the track before the final date for bidding, as had Johnston Development. Then, at 4:59 p.m. on April 28, both parties submitted new, and presumably higher, bids.

On Wednesday, Rick Newman — lobbyist and spokesman for Al Hart — said that the final Johnston bid was "substantially higher" than Kenneth Hart's.

The Johnston Development bid represented the interests of Gilford-based land developer David Johnston and Christopher Gistis of the Linchris Hotel Corp. The amount of the bid has not been disclosed.

Yesterday afternoon, Cook said Kenneth Hart's potential partner was Marlon Torgenson, who is associated with an enterprise called Casino Magic in Biloxi, Mississippi. He repeated that Kenneth Hart had made an earlier offer for the track – before Justice Perkins got involved — but that $2.9-million bid was rejected because it was contingent on the new owners securing a state gaming license and that was not believed to be possible.

NH Attorney General Kelly Ayotte has said that she would recommend that none of the Hart family members be allowed to hold a gaming license in the state. Joan Hart's three sons, Richard, Robert and Kenneth, all have a record of felony convictions for gambling offenses in Massachusetts.

It was Richard Hart's recent federal indictment on charges he was part of an alleged illegal gambling enterprise involving 17 people from various states that sent the family's ownership of the Belmont track into a death spiral. At the time he was general manager of the facility.

Richard Hart, along with another Lakes Region Greyhound Park employee — Richard Broome — have pleaded not guilty to the illegal gambling and conspiracy charges pending against them.

Cook said that Al Hart insisted that his nephew, Kenneth Hart, sign the bid process agreement on April 6 — even though he was not technically a part of the legal picture at the time — because he has "sought to disrupt the successful operation of the track since the mid-90s". "The attempt to block the sale is just more of the same," he said. "The only outcome Ken will accept is that he acquire the track."

Cook said Al Hart will push ahead with efforts to get ready for a sale to Johnston Development. Details of a purchase and sales agreement are being negotiated and "due-diligence" work is underway.

Al Hart is under some pressure to get the sale completed as quickly as possible because the state Pari-Muteul Commission is attempting — with a push from Ayotte — to revoke the gaming license he needs to continue operating the track. Hearings on the license revocation issue are scheduled for May 3 and May 5 in Concord.

Cook said he expected Al Hart's in-laws to continue to pursue the lawsuit filed against his client in Superior Court after a sale has been completed. The suit basically argue the plaintiffs were financially harmed by the their general partners alleged mismanagement of the dog track.

Johnston and Gistis, who are currently developing a hotel together, have said they intend to maintain greyhound racing at the track. Gistis said, eventually, he envisions additional development that would make the facility "a destination that will draw from throughout the area".

The dog track and the 213-acres that surround it have been appraised at $2.9-million.