Former lottery chairman linked Ahern to Turner’s casino plan

NORMAN TURNER shot to prominence in December last year when the former chairman of the National Lottery, John Hynes, directly linked Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to the promotion of a casino in the Phoenix Park.

In late 1994, the National Lottery entered a non-disclosure agreement with Ogden Entertainment to become partners on the Dublin casino project. Mr Turner was the man behind Sonas, a company linked to Ogden.

Mr Hynes, in a public statement, said Mr Ahern knew about the scheme and had been aware of requests to have the State-owned lottery involved in the project as a partner.