Doolittle, Young, Pombo and others tied to yet another Detroit casino syndicator

from a story first published 2.21.06 in the Cape Cod Times

Tribal Lobbying Produced Results

...Documents obtained by the Times from the Bureau of Indian Affairs under the Freedom of Information Act contain several letters, most written in October 2003, from those congressmen and senators, including Massachusetts Democratic Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry; U.S. Reps. Tom Cole, R-Okla; George Nethercutt Jr., R-Wash.; John Doolittle, R-Calif; U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska; and U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass.

• On Oct. 7, 2003, Doolittle, deputy whip and House Appropriations Committee member, wrote to Gale Norton in support of the Wampanoag after he was briefed by tribal members.

"It appears that they have been forced to wait too long to receive an answer to their petition for recognition. I ask that you do everything in your power to work with the tribe to resolve this matter."

He also noted the "substantial contributions to the history and freedom of the United States," referring specifically to Wampanoag Chief Vernon Lopez's military service that landed him on Omaha Beach on D-Day and Glenn Marshall's service in Vietnam with the U.S. Marine Special Forces. Marshall was a "hero of the Battle of Khe Sanh," Doolittle wrote.

Two months later, Herb Strather, a Detroit real estate developer with ties to Michigan casinos and a Wampanoag benefactor, sent Doolittle a $2,000 contribution.

Strather bankrolled $40,000 to the tribe when it hired a lobbyist from Greenberg Traurig, the same firm that once employed Jack Abramoff who has since pleaded guilty to fraud, public corruption and tax evasion in connection with defrauding Indian clients.

• Over a span of several years, beginning in 1999, Doolittle received $45,000 in contributions from Abramoff.

• In November 2003, Strather also gave $1,250 to U.S. Rep. Nethercutt, who wrote Norton on Oct. 15, 2003.

• On Oct. 16, 2003, U.S. Rep. Cole, former committee member of the House Resources Committee, which has budgetary oversight of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, wrote a letter to Norton saying he was recently briefed by the tribe.

"I want to ask you to personally review the situation and ensure that prompt action occurs on the petition."

Since 1999, Cole has received $5,000 from three Indian tribes that had been clients of Abramoff.

• On Nov. 25, 2003, Troy A. Eid, a shareholder with the lobbying firm of Greenberg Traurig LLP wrote Norton.

"Thanks for taking the time to visit last week. I really enjoyed seeing you," the letter begins. "The Mashpee would like to meet with Interior to discuss the concept of developing a timetable for resolving the tribal recognition issue one way or another."

Instead of agreeing to a meeting, Norton sent back a letter detailing the status of the tribe's petition.

Tribal council spokesman Scott Ferson said that the congressmen and senators who wrote letters to Norton and other BIA officials were briefed in Washington by tribal leaders over the course of a year in 2003.

"The letters clearly prove the sincerity of their sentiments," he said.


Tribe takes a new tack

Political campaign contributions from tribe members were far and few between before Marshall was elected in 2000. But after the tribe lost a 2001 U.S. Appellate Court case that would have ordered the BIA to rule on the Mashpee petition by the end of 2002; tribal council leaders, with the financial help of Strather hired lobbyists and began giving thousands of dollars to members of Congress.

Beyond what Cole and Doolittle received, a Cape Cod Times review of campaign finance records reveals the congressman and senators who wrote letters on behalf of the Mashpee tribe, each received contributions to their campaigns or political action committees from tribal officers or lobbyists beginning in 2003. The contributions ranged from $250 to $11,500.

The congressman who received the most money from tribe members - a total of $18,000 from Marshall, tribal council Vice President Shawn Hendricks and council secretary Desire Moreno - was U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., chairman of the House Resources Committee.

Tribal lobbyist Kevin Ring also donated $1,000 to Pombo, according to Federal Election Commission data posted at www.opensecrets.org.

There were no letters of support for the Wampanoag from Pombo among the bureau documents released to the Times. But Pombo did sponsor legislation in 2004 that would have compelled the bureau to review and issue a decision on a dozen petitions submitted before 1988, including the Wampanoag's.

In December, the Associated Press reported that Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., received $11,500 from Abramoff associate Michael Smith, the Mashpee tribe's lead lobbyist.

Dorgan is the top Democrat on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. The AP reported that Dorgan met several times with Abramoff's lobbying team and arranged congressional help for the Mashpee tribe.

Strather, who could not be reached for comment, told the Times in an interview last summer that he gives ''a substantial amount of money'' to the tribe to help shoulder the cost of seeking federal recognition because he was dismayed to learn they had not yet been federally recognized and was grateful for the tribe's history of helping fugitive slaves... (Full Story)