Site reveals more Macau casino and triad connections
The intriguing world of Charles Heung Wah Keung is once again making news.
An investigative website has raised the specter of the influence of organized crime triad associates inside Macau casinos run by American operators licensed in Nevada.
The latest report by Casinoleaks-Macau.com, a site sponsored by the International Union of Operating Engineers, is the second recent volley by the labor organization in its effort to encourage greater scrutiny of the Asian gambling wonderland. It is researched by Asia expert Jeffrey Fiedler.
A majority of casino profits in Macau are generated from so-called VIP rooms, which have long been linked to triad influence. According to the website, Heung is associated with Sun City Group, a major Macau casino VIP room operator.
The website also published a public-record dossier on Herbert Liu, a man publicly linked to a triad. Liu is a veteran casino bus junket operator and show producer, according to reports.
Heung is well known in Asia as a movie producer, actor, and businessman. Although he has long been linked to the Hong Kong-based Sun Yee On Triad through his father, the group’s founder, he has consistently maintained that he isn’t part of the crime family. Even some of his detractors say he’s “one of the good gangsters.”
But the website has unearthed and compiled documents that show law enforcement for years has been wondering just how “good” Heung really is.
Las Vegas law enforcement sources confirm Heung, a high-rolling gambler, has been sighted receiving VIP treatment at local casinos during the Chinese New Year celebration.
The Sun Yee On is considered one of the largest and most successful triad groups in all Asia with more than 60,000 members. It has revealed its connections from the street to the highest levels of Chinese government, according to a variety of sources.
Although it has created numerous legitimate businesses with its illegitimate income, the South China Morning Post of Hong Kong reports, “But the veneer of legitimacy stops there. The Sun Yee On is deeply involved in activities that are the lifeblood of any triad society — extortion, money laundering, loan sharking, drug trafficking, illegal arms, gambling, prostitution, smuggling of illegal immigrants, credit card fraud, blackmail, debt collection and intimidation.”
According to the New Republic, “Charles was one of several Heung brothers identified in 1992 by the United States Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations as top office-bearers in the Sun Yee On.” But he also was a film producer who played integral roles in the development of action-movie superstars Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat.
The question of Triad association in Macau came to the forefront after longtime Las Vegas casino operators Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, and MGM Grand began courting the gambling gold mine.
In litigation by former Sands China executive Steve Jacobs, the company conducted background investigations of Wo Hop To triad officer Cheung Chi Tai as well as Heung Wah Keung (sometimes spelled Wah Keong.)
Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Mark Lipparelli has offered sparse commentary on the revelations contained on the Casinoleaks-Macau site, and an MGM spokesman recently panned its findings.
Meanwhile, a post on the website promises more updates soon.
