DEARBORN — A retired Dearborn police officer who has been claiming certain carnival games are rigged, including those at Dearborn’s annual Arab International Festival and Dearborn Height’s Spirit Festival, is now being sued by the carnival company North American Midway Entertainment. 

Richard Margittay, 67, a former Dearborn Police officer from 1969 to 1994, is the author of two books regarding rigged carnival games, including 2011’s “Carnival Games: $10,000,000,000 Hoodwink Racket — Organized Crime on American Midways,” in which he specifically cites rigged games taking place at the Arab International Festival. Margittay claims inflated basketballs in smaller sized rims as well as raised lips and hidden side slots on games with sweeper arms are just some of the rigging methods used by North American Midway Entertainment.

In his book, Margittay claims he documented 161 missed attempts at people shooting a basketball at the Arab Festival and 99 missed attempts at the Spirit Festival. Last summer, Margittay and friend David L. Malhalab, a retired Detroit Police officer, made numerous attempts to raise awareness of the alleged schemes, including contacting The Arab American News about the story. At the time they demanded that the American Arab Chamber of Commerce (AACC), the organization responsible for organizing the Arab Festival, hold the carnival company accountable for running rigged operations just days before the festival was set to take place.

Fay Beydoun, the Executive Director of the AACC, denied Margittay’s claims at the time, stating that he had made the same accusations in 2011 in efforts to promote his book. Beydoun had stated they looked into Margittay’s claims and found no wrong doings on the company’s behalf.

Margittay took it a step further when he filed a complaint against the carnival games with the Dearborn Police Department on June 16 of last year. The department presented a warrant request to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, which denied it due to insufficient evidence. 

Margittay had also made numerous attempts to alert authorities in other surrounding  cities that used the carnival company at their yearly festivals, including Allen Park and Taylor. Both of those cities police departments had rejected his claims as well. 

Now North American Midway Entertainment is suing Margittay for $75,000 plus attorney fees for defamation of the company. Danny Houston, the CEO of the company, is also a part of the lawsuit, claiming that Margittay had called him a crook and a thief in his book. Margittay had stated on numerous occasions that the carnival company had cheated hundreds of thousands of children in these carnival games which allegedly violate state and local compliance laws. The company, along with Houston, are demanding a retraction from Margittay. 

In a brief phone conversation with Houston, he tells us while he can’t discuss details about the pending lawsuit, the carnival games are always regulated based on local laws. Houston says the purpose of the carnival games is to present a challenge to see if an individual is skillful enough to win it. He says it is very likely for any individual to win a game, and people have been able to win them regularly.

Meanwhile Beydoun tells us that the AACC will continue to use North American Midway Entertainment for the upcoming Arab International Festivals. They have used the company for numerous years and have never once received any complaints from participants, she says.  

“We don’t believe the company was doing anything wrong and we plan on using them in the future. They have been with us for numerous years and we have never once had a complaint from any participants,” Beydoun stated.