1. After 20 months since the plans surfaced, there is still no casino.  Even though Scott Ferson, the Mashpee's paid spokesman stated they would start building in 18 months.

2. Began petitioning my legislators on how wrong it was for the state to even consider casino gambling as a legitimate source of revenue for the state.  And, then watch Gov. Deval Patrick's 3 casino plan go up in smoke.

3. I participated in my first federal public hearing in March as the Bureau of Indian Affairs heard my comments and the throng of others who opposed any such use of the land for a casino.  The proponents were out numbered 3 to 1.  To be "accidentally" elbowed afterwards by one of the tribal members was an honor.

4. To organize and enjoy a sucessful No Casino Yard Sale in my town of Lakeville.  The ill-conceived notion by the chairman board of selectman to actually cut all groups off from using town property for fundraising activities was enlightening.  It brought to light Charles Evirs' true colors of being pro-casino and he would do anything to stop those who disagreed with him.  It was a pleasure to watch his plan back fire, with his arms crossed and red-faced.

5. A couple federal court cases came up that does and change much of what could be done in Middleborough. 

A. Kickapoo v Texas was ruled that any tribe wanting a casino can't get any form of gambling beyond what the state has without an agreement to do more.  No class III gambling means no class III gaming.  A bingo hall is all the Mashpee can dream of in this state right now.

B. Carceiri v Kempthorne, a Supreme Court case, soon to be published should nail the coffin shut on the Secretary of the Interior's "authority" to put land into federal trust over a state's sovereignty, specifically for tribes who were not part of the initial Indian Reorganization act of 1934.  The final decision won't be out until February, but it doesn't look good for the SOI and tribes, including the Mashpee.

6. The end of year CasinoFacts Gala was a moderate success.  The best part, besides the hanging out with fellow casino opponents, was the speech by Les Bernal of Stop Predatory Gambling.  A very enthusiastic speaker with an excellent understanding of the gambling industry and how it effects common man.

7. The indictment of Glenn Marshall, former chairman of the Mashpee Tribal Council.  This brings much more needed light to expose the corruption so deeply involved with this casino proposal starting back to 2003.  The money changing hands, investors, lobbyists, congressmen, other tribal leaders.  Marshall is only the beginning.  Prominent members of the tribe are ready to purge the rest of the corrupt out.  But the Middleborough BOS just wants to "wait to get all their ducks in a row" before they make any decisions as to whether the IGA was made in "good faith" or not.  So what if Glenn Marshall was the front man and the investors and lobbyists were the ones making the agreement in the first place.  "Hey Spongebob, pass me another nail."

• Unshun the shunned.
• Their leadership was currupt and must go.
• The needed funds for the tribe were misused.
• The federal government system that was supposed to help tribes financially "...created a recognition process that is by far the most cumbersome, bureaucratic and expensive legal litmus test known to man. They created the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988, producing an environment where fledgling Indian tribes on the brink of recognition became ripe for the picking for greedy investors. They developed the congressional ballroom where lobbyists like Jack Abramoff penned in every vulnerable pending tribe on his dance card for fleecing and corrupting."

Hopefully the coming new year can bring some well needed change for the Mashpee Tribe and the rest of us who do not want a casino and the corruption the one proposed for Middleborough has brought with it.
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COMMENTS:

Jacquie said:
Cheers to Ms. Peters!  She makes a lot of sense (at least someone does).

Meanwhile, tribal council member Aaron Tobey, who is a Lakeville resident, said he has called on any member of the council or employee of the tribe who "has been involved with any of the illegal activities of Glenn Marshall or who made a political contribution and was reimbursed to step up and resign for the betterment of the tribe."

It was reported here first of the apparent involvement of current Mashpee Tribal Chairman, Shawn Hendricks in the illegal campaign contribution scheme to help win federal recognition initiated by Glen Marshall.  Mr. Tobey calls for you to resign, so the tribe can "take a huge step in the direction of healing" from what has tainted its reputation and put into doubt any agreements made by its leadership.  The tribe may be asked to reopen casino contract and federal recognition of the tribe is being questioned because that is what the money was to be used for.  Read this from the charges against Glenn Marshall on page 7.

30.  MARSHALL also hired Washington DC lobbyists recommended and paid for by ATMashpee to make the Tribe's case to members of Congress.  From time to time, these lobbyists arranged meetings for MARSHALL and others principals in the Tribe with Congressional staffs in order to discuss the status of the Tribe's recognition petition.  These lobbyists also recommended that MARSHALL and the other members of the Tribe make campaign contributions to certain Members of Congress and political action committees as part of the Tribe's effort to win support for the recognition effort.  From time to time, MARSHALL and others affiliated with the Tribe made such contributions.

The whole purpose to give contributions was to win the favor of congressmen with influence.  It is a shame that it is even entertained that in order to receive help from our elected officials that you need to give to their campaigns.  It doesn't say much about them either. 

As more about this mess is exposed and identities confirmed and guilty brought to justice, hopefully not only the tribe can be healed, but also the town of Middleborough and the rest of the region.  We saw this coming, but no one wanted to listen.

Daniel W. Hynes, D IL Sen.        $250

Stephen Lynch, D MA Rep.     $1,000

Hendrick Meek, D FL Rep.       $1,000

William Delahunt, D MA Rep.    $2,500

Edward Kennedy, D MA Sen.   $2,900

Richard Pombo, R CA Rep.       $9,000 (includes PAC $)

Corruption allegations

Main article: Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal

Pombo and his political action committee RICH PAC^[19] are among a dozen leaders in the House of Representatives reportedly under investigation as part of the corruption and influence-peddling scandal centered around disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and his policy issues including Indian gaming. Pombo has taken more money from Abramoff than any other member of Congress ($500,000). Fundraisers organized by Indian gaming interests and tied to the 2005 MLB All-Star Game are among those activities under scrutiny.^[20]

On January 8, 2006, the Los Angeles Times alleged that Pombo helped one of Abramoff's clients, the Mashpee Indians in Massachusetts, gain official recognition as a tribe. In return, Pombo received campaign contributions from both the tribe and Abramoff.^[21]

In the 2006 cycle, Abramoff was one of the top donors to Pombo's political action committee.^[22] Several of Pombo's top five donors are political influence brokers from Detroit, Michigan who mingled gambling with major league baseball when they hosted several $5,000 per person fundraisers for Pombo in their owners box at Comerica Park during the 2005 MLB All-Star Game. News reports indicated contributions from the two day fundraising event would go to RICH Political Action Committee; however, FEC reports filed by RICH PAC show only one such contribution and apparently contributions were diverted to some other entity making it difficult to track who attended and contributed.

As it is, the Ilitch family, owners of the MLB Detroit Tigers and Detroit's MotorCity Casino, are also financial backers of various Indian Tribes including one (Shinnecock Indians) seeking to build an Indian casino in the Hamptons, Long Island, New York. Various issues and tribal disputes involving the Shinnecock were before the House Resources Committee chaired by Pombo just days after the fundraiser.^[20]

On October 11, 2006 it was reported that Pombo "says he never worked with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff in his fourteen years in Congress, but billing records suggest at least two interactions between the two in 1996."^[23]

^{Guess who made almost the same exact contributions during the same period of time?}

Stephen Lynch, D MA Rep.     $1,000

Hendrick Meek, D FL Rep.       $1,000

William Delahunt, D MA Rep.    $2,500

Edward Kennedy, D MA Sen.   $1,400

Richard Pombo, R CA Rep.       $8,500 (includes PAC $)

Shawn Hendricks, former Vice Chairman and now Chairman of the Mashpee Tribal Council.  I think that you some explaining to do as a "straw contributor", Shawn.

On the road just in front of the grand entrance, he saw a dead fox, its full bushy tail lifting and falling in the wake of the indifferent passing cars and buses.

"Trying to preserve all of these things (a community's rural and cultural roots) isn't easy."

Later in the conversation, ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that heknows Lobbyist 1 is “down there (Springfield, Illinois)” with Contributor 1 “pushing a bill.”  In a series of calls since that time, it became clear that the bill Lobbyist 1 is interested in isin the Office of the Governor awaiting ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s signature. The bill (probably SB 2702 and/or HB2651), which is believed to be a law which involves directing a percentage of casino revenue to the horse racing industry, is expected to be signed as soon as next week. In a call on December 3, Lobbyist 1 advised ROD BLAGOJEVICH that Lobbyist 1 had a private conversation with Contributor 1 about the contribution (“commitment”) Contributor 1 had not yet made and advised Contributor 1 “look, there is a concern that there is going to be some skittishness if your bill gets signed because of the timeliness of the commitment” and made clear that the contribution “got to be in now.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH commented to Lobbyist 1 “good” and “good job.” In a call the next day, Lobbyist 1 asked ROD BLAGOJEVICH to call Contributor 1 “just to say hello, I’m working on the timing of this thing, but it’s gonna get done.” Lobbyist 1 suggested that it is better for ROD BLAGOJEVICH to make the call personally “from a pressure point of view.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that he would call Contributor 1 and indicate that ROD BLAGOJEVICH wanted to do an event (fundraiser) downstate “so we can get together and start picking some dates to do a bill signing.” Lobbyist 1 assured ROD BLAGOJEVICH that Contributor 1 would be good for the donation because Lobbyist 1 “got in his face.”

Contributor 1 is listed on the Friends of Blagojevich spreadsheet as someone from whom Friends of Blagojevich was seeking $100,000 in contributions and Lobbyist 1 is listed as one of the contacts for Contributor 1.

What a piece of work.  Can't let "timing" spoil a good fundraiser and gambling bill signing, can we?  Jobs for the wife, picks to replace President-elect Barak Obama's US Senate seat, nice union job when out of office, sweet heart deals for contributors and lobbyists and never forget the gambling industry.  You just can't make this stuff up.  It falls right into your lap.

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COMMENTS:

Anonymous said:
Good blog!
I haven't had a chance to read all of the info on this Gov. but I listened to some comments on WBUR.
What testicles!

1)  As noted, those who want to continue drinking after 1 or 2 AM will leave local establishments (possibly drunk already) to go to drink more at the casinos and leave drunker than they entered, and...

2)  They will skip going to local establishments all together and just drive to Foxwoods & Mohegan Sun and stay.  This of course would negatively impact the revenue of the local business.