'Art Tarlow and a group of businessmen invested $1.8 million to build a luxury casino in the small Dominican Republic town where the Portland lawyer spent his winters for nearly a decade. When construction fizzled on the Sosúa Bay Grand Casino, the group moved to take possession of the boutique hotel put up as collateral. But June 10, the night before the court was to set an auction date, Tarlow was shot to death at his home..........Early pitches showcased a bright yellow stucco building with open-air walkways and iron trim. The 7,000-square-foot facility neighboring the resort was to include a ritzy casino, convention center, fitness center and two squash courts. The Sosúa Bay Resort's Web site still touts plans to build "one of the biggest casinos of the Dominican North Coast." To do that, the hotel operators needed money................But the project stalled, bogged down by several lawsuits. One questioned the ownership of the land where the casino was to be built. Another challenged who held the title to the Victorian House hotel that served as collateral on the deal, according to Mocarello documents. Further delaying the project was a long-running battle -- nearly bloody at times -- between Casciati and one of his former partners............By December, courts had established that the Victorian House and the neighboring empty lot with the half-finished casino would be auctioned in July, with an opening bid of $3.9 million. The hotel was valued at $5 million and the lot, $3.2 million, company documents show. The $3.9 million was to cover the initial $1.8 million investment as well as damages -- mostly years of legal fees -- and a separate $750,000 lien on the property............Family told police that Tarlow's most recent Mocarello files weren't in his home.' The full story can be read at the first link OregonLive.com. The auction of the properties was set for 9th. July 2010 and last Friday's El Faro carries a public announcement of the auction.
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/06/tarlows_slaying_raises_questio.html

http://www.koinlocal6.com/mostpopular/story/Portland-attorney-gunned-down-in-the-Dominican/VC_W855UGEiU6enMprETcQ.cspx

http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2626

http://www.sosuabayresort.com/sosuabay-center.htm

http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2658