Michael Malik's longtime D.C. lobbying firm Wheat Government Relations (WheatGR) and neophyte lobbyist Daniel Feliz (a rookie lobbyist whose family has political ties to Rep. John Doolittle and former Rep. Richard Pombo) are reporting mid-year terminations by Malik's Blue Water Resorts, L.L.C. Nothing has been reported yet to suggest Malik's Blue Water Resorts had retained the services of any new lobbying firms.
Blue Water Resorts, L.L.C. is noted as a Gaming Development Company that was formed by Malik in 2001 and has a mailing address at the Fox Theater Office Building in downtown Detroit where Malik's various enterprises and Ilitch Holdings, Inc. have their primary offices. A lawsuit Malik has filed against a competitor recently suggests Blue Water Resorts, L.L.C. is an enterprise Malik formed to support his activities surrounding plans for an off-reservation Bay Mills Indian Casino Malik's proposed for the Thomas Edison Inn site in Port Huron, Michigan.
Wheat GR and Feliz had been lobbying on H.R. 2176, a bill introduced in May by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI 1st) and co-authored by Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI 10th) to provide for and approve the settlement of certain land claims of the Bay Mills Indian Community. Both lobbying firms were terminated at the end of July. Malik's Blue Water Resorts had paid the two firms a total of $100,000 since January 1, 2007. H.R. 2176 has yet to make any progress in the House of Representatives.
Another Malik enterprise, MJM Enterprises (MJM Enterprises Development Company) has retained Potomac Partners D.C. (a lobbying firm headed by Richard Alcalde in which neophyte lobbyist Daniel Feliz is also an employee) to represent Malik's interests lobbying on H.R. 2176. Malik's MJM Enterprises paid Potomac Partners D.C. $60,000 for representation during the first half of 2007.
The Bay Mills Indian Community retained Drinker, Biddle & Reath lobbyist Virginia Boylan this past January (2007) but report paying less than $10,000 to the firm during the first half of 2007.
In July 2006, the Bay Mills tribe retained Zell & Cox to also represent the tribe's land claims interests and has paid that firm less than $20,000 for its services for the period from July 2006 through July 2007.
The Bay Mills Indian Community has been represented by Wheat Government Relations (a lobbying firm with multiple ties to Michael Malik) for nearly a decade but lobbying disclosures from WheatGR for the first half of 2007 were not yet posted.
Since January 2007:
- Blue Water Resorts/MJM Enterprises has paid $160,000 to D.C. lobbyists; and
- Bay Mills Indian Community has paid just $10,000 to D.C. lobbyists (absent any payments that may have been made to Wheat Government Relations but were yet to be recorded).
UPDATE: D.C. lobbying expenses logged by casino affiliates/partners of Michael J. Malik & Marian Ilitch top $3.53 million.
You may want to also review these related posts:
- Doolittle committee disclosure falsely reported young rookie lobbyist (son of a Doolittle political operative) as “retired”
- Rep. John Doolittle's longtime political operative maneuvering behind the scenes of Barstow casino project
- Alcalde is latest controversial player on the Ilitch/Malik DC Team
- UPDATED: Detroit casino syndicators had previously masked their $665,000 relationship with controversial D.C. Lobbyist
- Former Miss California lands job as lobbyist for D.C. health care association
- Appears lobbyist Maryanne Sapio has left Wheat Government Relations
- Team Ilitch directed $40,000 to RICH Political Action Committee
- $3.53 million paid to at least 8 D.C. lobbying firms
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