Former Nun Turned Casino Developer Squanders Away Investors Money

A former nun who decided to change her career in favor of casino development was ordered by a judge in Delaware civil court to pay $970,123 for spending money that investors provided to build CanCan casino in D’lberville.

Sandra Manno, former nun, who turned to developing casinos in South Mississippi used investor’s money to benefit herself, family and friends instead of investing it in the casino project. Judge Travis Laster, who ordered Manno to pay $970,123, said that she used the casino project to enrich herself, spending the money on generous compensations for her family and friends and lavish living. While Manno was ‘living large’, casino plans were on hold.

According to the court documents, Manno became nun after the college and she mentioned her time in convent and her dedication to faith during the trial. The documents states that four years later, she went into business with her uncle and father.

She later worked as an assistant to James Crosby, chairman of Resorts International, and worked at the other casinos. Judge Travis mentioned that she has incredible talent for convincing investors to back her ideas and was excellent at coming up with concepts for new casinos.

However, Manno failed at moving her ventures beyond the concept stage so many times because she was spending money on luxury hotels, expensive meals and first-class travels.

CanCan casino was backed up by many investors including Robert Garnieri and George Toth. The 60 page decision In the Delaware Civil Court said that CanCan could raise money but Manno was repeatedly asking for more capital from casino investors.

According to the court documents former nun hired her brother as a casino manager and paid him $30,000 a month. She also hired her sister who was only in the CanCan office once or twice every six weeks.

However, her biggest mistake was that she hired Frank Barbera, known as Frankie the Fish. The judge wrote that he was a convicted felon who was arrested by the FBI in 2008 and added that no rational person would make such a decision.

Sandra Manno didn’t think about casino’s future as she was enjoying her luxury life. According to the court documents she even hired her longtime friend to pitch a reality show and write a movie script of her life.

Manno was removed from the casino project when investors found out about her spending.