New Hampshire Investigators Disqualified in Concord Casino Case

Posted on: January 17, 2025, 09:18h. 

Last updated on: January 17, 2025, 09:39h.

A New Hampshire judge ruled this week that two investigators for the prosecution can’t participate in the case involving Concord Casino co-owner Andy Sanborn.

Andy Sanborn
Andy Sanborn, pictured above. Two officials who were involved in Sanborn’s prosecution were disqualified from the case. (Image: WMUR)

Merrimack County Superior Court Judge John Kissinger disqualified New Hampshire Assistant Attorney General David Lovejoy and forensic examiner Don Swanson after they viewed privileged attorney-client information.

Swanson saw 146 documents that Sanborn’s lawyers said were privileged, and Lovejoy saw three protected documents.

Because AAG Lovejoy and Mr. Swanson were privy to this protected information, suppression of the material alone will not remedy the State’s misconduct,” Kissinger said in a ruling. “Thus, the Court imposes equitable relief through the disqualification of AAG Lovejoy and Mr. Swanson.”

The issue began on May 23, 2024, when investigators searched the Concord Casino, seizing five computers and 30 boxes of documents, according to the Concord Monitor. In the boxes, were documents where Sanborn and his attorneys wrote about courtroom strategies. Such documents are privileged and shouldn’t be viewed by those involved in the prosecution.

If anyone else involved in the prosecution improperly saw the documents, that person should contact Kissinger and get disqualified from the case, the judge said.

Kissinger added that the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office showed “gross negligence” and “prosecutorial misconduct,” the Monitor reported.

State officials defended their actions.

“What actually occurred was a simple mistake, which the NH DOJ deeply regrets,” Michael Garrity, director of communications for the New Hampshire Department of Justice, said in a statement provided to the Monitor.

“When the NH DOJ hired a third-party vendor to duplicate a database of seized materials, the contractor inadvertently included privileged documents,” Garrity added. “This was not intentional misconduct, but a single, unintentional mistake that was promptly addressed.”

Charge Not Dismissed

Sanborn’s attorneys, however, failed in their attempt to get the judge to dismiss a theft charge against Sanborn. The next hearing on the case will be held on March 10.

Sanborn was charged for allegedly increasing the casino’s revenue by approximately $1M to receive more state government funds.

Sanborn’s gaming license was suspended in December 2023 following an investigation into his application for a $844K COVID-19 federal relief loan. Casinos didn’t qualify for the loan. Sanborn was told to sell the casino.

Appeal Pending

Sanborn’s attorneys recently filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court alleging that the New Hampshire Lottery Commission and the Attorney General’s office illegally kept Sanborn from selling the casino. State officials denied the accusations.

Another part of Sanborn’s argument points out that Administrative Law Judge Gregory Albert, who recently ruled against Sanborn, recognized it was reasonable to provide Sanborn another extension to sell the charitable casino, according to New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR).

Albert gave the Lottery Commission permission to revoke the license for two years. For Sanborn to now sell the gaming property, the license needs to be put back into effect, according to Sanborn’s attorneys.

An entity called Bettor Investment Group recently attempted to purchase Concord Casino, according to the Monitor. Full House Resorts Inc. was also interested in acquiring the Concord Casino, the report revealed.