The financiers of the proposed Lawrence Downs Casino and Racetrack project in Philadelphia are being sued for alleged breach of contract with its consultant, Anton Leppler, the former executive secretary of the state Harness Racing Commission.

According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazzette, Leppler is seeking $576,000, plus interest, fees and punitive damages. Leppler, who agreed to a three-year consulting contract with the financiers of the project, was being paid $192,000 annually.

Mid-way through the contract American Harness – part of the financing group – urged Leppler to have his contract placed with a third-party purchaser. The terms of his contract were changed to the point where he was working for a greatly reduced rate, and eventually American Harness and partner Endeka Entertainment simply stopped paying Leppler.

“They set this guy up,” said Mr. Leppler’s attorney, Robert G. Mangold of Howard A. Taylor LLC, a Philadelphia law firm. “And after they didn’t need him anymore, they got rid of him … they said there was a purchaser of this contract, and it is apparent there is no purchaser.”

(With files from the Pittsburgh Post Gazzette)