While Trump Resorts is neither a plaintiff nor defendant in thesuit, by tying the elements of the tri-state casino feud together,and Trump's failure to sign the agreement papers to date, whatbecomes clear is that the issue is not only complicated, but alsogetting uglier. The suit, filed by well-known attorney ThomasPuccio, notes the reason Trump was fined, arguing that the company,along with its partners, worked to stump plans for a casinoupstate.

The fine, $250,000 in all, stems from an ad campaign opposingthe creation of Sullivan County casinos the St. Regis Mohawks haveproposed. The ads were presented as messages from a group calledthe "Institute for Law and Society," which was actually aTrump-backed group. The fine will be split between Trump, paying$50,000; lobbyist Roger Stone, paying $100,000; and the Institute,which produced the ads, paying $100,000. The partners will alsofund $50,000 worth of advertising to reveal the facts about theprevious ad campaign.

Grandeau also notes the Commission is now investigating thematter further to determine if Trump, Stone and the Instituteviolated lobbying regulations by not registering as lobbyists.Trump spent in excess of $150,000. Reports on the findings will beavailable shortly.