Chair of Middleboro Selectmen & leading advocate for Mashpee Wampanoag casino plan resigns

Adam Bond, Chairman of the Middleboro Board of Selectmen resigned this week. He cited the influence of tribal interests on the rest of the Board as a primary reason.

Click the arrow to watch Bond's resignation speech

Bond was tied to plans advanced by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and its developers Herb Strather, Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman to develop a large casino resort in Middleboro. Bond was out front as an advocate of the plan and brought in attorney Dennis Whittlesey to help him negotiate a contract between Middleboro and the Tribe and its developers.

The mega-casino project has not been without controversy. At times opponents of the gambling proposal accused Bond of being in the pocket of the tribe and its developers.

Then in December, a former chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, Glenn Marshall, was charged by the U.S. Justice Department with various counts of fraud and illegal campaign finance activity. Marshall has indicated he will plead guilty on all charges and will assist the Justice Department in its ongoing investigations. The case is one of the branches of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal that has unfolded in Washington D.C. in recent years.

According to the Cape Cod Times:

Since mid-December, when former Mashpee Wampanoag Chairman Glenn Marshall admitted to federal corruption and fraud charges, Bond has been pushing fellow board members to seize the opportunity to sweeten the casino deal. Bond has repeatedly said Marshall’s crimes could constitute a breach of contract with the town because Marshall was the person making promises to the town on the tribe’s behalf.

His fellow board members resisted, calling only for a meeting with the tribe’s new leaders who will be elected Feb. 8.

Last Wednesday, Bond lashed out at the board on his blog, specifically citing Selectman Mimi Duphily for contacting the tribe’s political consultant, Stephen Graham, and other tribe members.“I am concerned that the town’s interests and/or strategies are being overlooked (and leaked) for some esoteric and emotional reason relating to how certain individuals feel about the tribal members on a personal level,” Bond wrote.

Strather was seeking AtMashpee investors via GoBigNetwork.com

GoBigNetwork.com features a "member profile" for Herb Strather who reports he's looking for investors seeking to fund a Detroit-based start-up called AtMashpee.

Here's how the opportunity was described in Strather's GoBigNetwork.com profile:

AtMashpee’s purpose has been to assist the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribe by funding its efforts to become federally recognized which was successful last year and to meet federal and state legal requirements to develop and operate a Class III Indian gaming casino in the vicinity of Middleboro, MA. AtMashpee entered into a consulting and development agreement with the Tribe to support it in the development and operation of the Casino. Casino is expected to open within next 36 months.

According to a 10.31.05 brief written by Robert Ankeny and published in Crain's Detroit Business: AtMashpee LLC included $12 million syndicated through more than 200 investors.

About 150 of AtMashpee's investors are former Atwater Entertainment Associates (AEA) "investors."

Ankeny suggests that the name "AtMashpee," is a blend of "Mashpee," as in Mashpee Wampanoag Indian tribe, and Herb Strather’s "Atwater" affiliate. AEA, organized in the mid-1990s, helped to organize Detroit Entertainment LLC which does business as Detroit's MotorCity Casino.

Detroiters Strather, Deitch provided $4 million fund that enabled wrongdoing by ex-tribal chairman

Detroit casino syndicators Herb Strather and Laurence Deitch provided $4 million fund that enabled wrongdoing by former Indian tribe chairman.

According to details released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), a Michigan-based casino syndicate controlled by Strather and Deitch dumped $4 million into a dormant tribal enterprise enabling their partner, then the chairman of a Massachusetts Indian tribe, to commit wire fraud and carry out schemes that violated federal campaign finance laws.

All this and more is outlined in the DOJ release and in charges filed in U.S. District Court against former Mashpee Wampanoag tribal chairman Glenn A. Marshall who has admitted wrongdoing and plead guilty on all charges in order to realize reduced sentencing. Marshall also agreed to cooperate in other related investigations.

Marshall’s attorney Robert Craven told the Boston Globe, "Glenn didn't dream up the scheme himself. He was getting bad advice."

Strather formed AtMashpee LLC in 2000 to provide funding and direct legal and lobbying activity necessary to earn federal recognition for the Mashpee Tribe; ultimately paving the way to build a large casino resort on Cape Cod that was to rival Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun. In exchange for bankrolling the plans, AtMashpee LLC and Strather would get 6 to 6.5% of casino revenues over a 20 year period – a deal valued by some to have been worth up to $1.2 billion.

According to the Boston Globe, Marshall was elected Mashpee chairman shortly after Strather became involved with the tribe. And in 2005 when Marshall’s leadership was challenged, Strather took measures to ensure Marshall would be re-elected as chairman.

Strather the largest investor in AtMashpee, is noted as “Investor A” in court documents. He syndicated interest in the limited liability company with 200 other investors – perhaps some of the same individuals who invested alongside Strather and Deitch in the venture (Atwater Entertainment Associates) that eventually became Detroit’s MotorCity Casino.

It is worth noting that according to documents filed with the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth, Laurence B. Deitch, an attorney who is also a University of Michigan Regent, has been the Resident Agent for AtMashpee since 2001. While Strather has confirmed he is “Investor A” it is not clear if Deitch is the party noted in court documents as “Investor B,” a resident of Michigan and a fellow investor in AtMashpee LLC.

Another former Atwater investor and resident of Michigan, J. Ronald Slavik, is ties to the Mashpee casino scheme as well. Slavik was one of the original partners including Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman in Trading Cove Associates, which developed and managed the Mohegan Sun casino resort in Connecticut. Kerzner and Wolman have taken over controlling interest in the proposed Mashpee Casino. It's also possible Slavik is "Investor B."

From 2003-2007, AtMashpee pumped $4 million into a secret fund under the dormant Mashpee Fisherman’s Association. Those funds were used in part to pay lobbyists and political consultants. At one point, they retained the now disgraced former D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff to represent their interests and engaged him in their political contributions scheme. The tribe did receive federal recognition in early 2007 and has been pursuing controversial plans to develop a large casino resort in Middleborough, MA.

In addition to wire fraud and laundering campaign contributions, Strather gave Marshall $380,000 which he used to pay for personal expenses: groceries, jewelry, tuition payments for his daughter, vacations and his Countrywide mortgage. Strather also made other monthly payments to Marshall who failed to disclose the gifts and payments to the IRS and Social Security Administration.

DOJ Announcement
Complaint filed in U.S. District Court
Plea Agreement

Associated Press: Ex-tribal head in Mass. to plead guilty to fraud
Boston Herald: Ex-Mashpee Wampanoag chairman charged, tied to Abramoff
Cape Cod Times: Mashpee Wampanoag, Investors manipulate Cape tribe, Secretive club holding casino cards

EDITORIAL: Gov. Patrick gets tough over casinos

2.11.08

Patrick gets tough over casinos

Efforts by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe to place its planned casino site in Middleborough in a federal trust are more likely to end in a drawn-out fight than a healthy payoff for either the tribe or the residents of Massachusetts. The Patrick administration is right to resist the Wampanoags' efforts and to encourage the tribe instead to bid for a state-issued casino license.

The tribe, which won federal recognition last year, is now seeking to establish official sovereignty over more than 500 acres, which would place it largely outside the state's jurisdiction. The Patrick administration has sent an 125-page objection to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, arguing that the tribe has failed to provide adequate safeguards in such areas as zoning, public safety, labor, consumer protection, and the environment. These are substantive issues, but the real message is that the administration is serious about following its own casino plan.

Patrick proposes sensible legislation that would license three destination casinos across the state. The plan is carefully crafted to generate new jobs and new tax revenues, including an estimated $600 million to $900 million in one-time licensing fees and about $400 million in annual revenue. The proposal even offers special consideration to casino developers who join with federally recognized Indian tribes from Massachusetts. The Wampanoags' gambit could weaken this well-designed plan by diluting the worth of the licenses and reducing the state's take. And it opens the door to the snarled world of the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which poses risks for the tribe as well as the state.

The 1988 law, known as IGRA, provides the statutory framework for tribal gambling. But what, if anything, gets built on that framework is far from predictable. It often takes years for an Indian casino proposal to wind its way through the Department of Interior. More complicated still is the requirement that the tribe and the state negotiate a compact that can cover oversight, payments in lieu of taxes, and methods to handle civil and criminal matters. Such negotiations often break down when one side accuses the other of failure to negotiate in good faith.

The bramble of IGRA-related court cases should serve as a warning. Some decisions place few restrictions on the kinds of gambling that tribes can offer on their land, including full-fledged casinos in states where slots and table games are prohibited. Other decisions leave the tribe with little recourse if it believes a state has failed to negotiate in good faith. One day, the wind blows toward tribal self-determination. The next day, it shifts in the direction of state sovereign immunity. And the secretary of the Interior, not a state's elected officials, calls the final shot.

The federal law is too big a crap shoot. Massachusetts - and the tribe - can do better.

Gov. Patrick against Mashpee casino proposal for Middleborough

2.07.08

Governor opposes casino land request
Urges US to deny tribe's petition in effort to maintain state control

By Matt Viser
Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick asked the federal government yesterday to reject efforts by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe to place its planned casino site in Middleborough in a federal trust, an attempt by Patrick to steer the tribe toward a state-issued casino license that would garner far more money for Massachusetts.

With billions of dollars at stake, Patrick's move was part of a brewing dispute over what form expanded gambling could take in Massachusetts and whether it will be controlled by the state or by the tribe and the federal government.

If the tribe is able to win federal trust status for the land, the property effectively becomes sovereign territory, and the state risks being shut out of a share of gambling proceeds. State regulators would not have any sway over details like zoning, traffic, environmental impacts, and public safety. The value of any future state-licensed casinos would also be diluted.

By filing his 125-page objection with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the governor officially planted his flag in the Middleborough casino debate for the first time. While the subtext was clear - a fight over money - the administration hinged its arguments yesterday on jurisdiction, saying that trust status would deny the state any control over a host of issues.

Patrick supports tribal gambling, but on the state's terms. He has proposed a state licensing system for three resort casinos in the state and would give a bidding preference to Indian tribes in Massachusetts. Administration officials have been meeting with Wampanoag representatives to discuss the possibility of the tribe bidding on a state gambling license.

While Patrick's move could help him gain negotiating leverage, it is unlikely to persuade the federal government to deny the Wampanoag trust application, specialists say. States have little influence over whether Indian tribes are able to place lands in federal trust, even for the purpose of building casinos.

"The governor has no voice in the matter," said Dennis Whittlesey, a Washington-based lawyer specializing in Indian law. Last year, he represented the town of Middleborough in negotiating a deal that requires the tribe to pay the town $7 million a year if a casino is built.

"The governor can complain all he wants, but it does not matter," Whittlesey said. "He has no input."

The governor's filing yesterday questioned the actions of former tribal chairman Glenn Marshall, who resigned in August after news surfaced of a past rape conviction and his misrepresentation of his military record. The state's document states that Marshall, who was involved in negotiating the contract between the tribe and its outside partners, is a subject of a federal investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department.

It also says that the financial deal between the tribe and its outside investors has not been disclosed to the state and that, without details, there is no evidence that the tribe would receive the most benefit from a casino.

"We have significant concerns about the initial proposal," Daniel O'Connell, Patrick's economic development secretary and chief gaming adviser, said in an interview yesterday. "We don't think it has enough information provided. Not enough work has been done to make the case for land [to go] into trust."

Administration officials have met with tribal leaders three times and have another meeting planned later this month, to discuss both the tribe's plans for the land and the administration's concerns.

"The tribe continues to have productive discussions with the Patrick Administration," tribal council chairman Shawn Hendricks Sr. said in a written statement yesterday. "We have clearly stated our reasons for sovereign land, and the governor has clearly stated his questions and concerns for the Commonwealth. We look forward to working through the issues raised with him, and I am confident we can do so."

The tribe won federal recognition last year, which set it on course to build a resort casino with 4,000 slot machines, table games, a 1,500-room hotel, and a host of amenities, including a golf course. The next critical step for the tribe is getting federal approval to place its land in trust, a process that can often take years.

When the tribe won recognition, Patrick telephoned the tribal council to extend his congratulations, and they agreed to further talks about taking land into trust.

Tribal leaders have said they would pursue a casino license under the governor's proposed legislation, which would legalize three casinos in Massachusetts. But given the political uncertainty of the proposal, which has not yet been taken up in the House, the tribe is also pursuing a plan to put the 539 acres in Middleborough into federal trust, which would effectively make it part of the tribe's reservation.

Other states have handled the situation similarly, opposing initial applications on a legal or technical basis with the hope of gaining political leverage and negotiating power.

"Very few governors from the get-go come out in support of those applications," said Steven Light, codirector of the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy at the University of North Dakota. "It's a political thicket. It's a sticky issue for them."

What is unusual is that, in Massachusetts, the governor is simultaneously pushing for legalization of casinos under a proposed state law.

Governor Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin opposed applications in the 1990s. In Oregon, Governor Ted Kulongoski in 2005 came out in support for an Indian casino in the Columbia River Gorge. Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota initially opposed casinos, but then embarked on a failed bid to develop a joint partnership between the state and the tribes.

Sean Murphy of the Globe staff and Globe correspondent Christine Wallgren contributed to this report. Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe prefers Indian casino

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe prefers Indian casino

via Indianz.Com Indian Gaming News on 10/18/07

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts is moving forward with its plans for a casino despite a call from Gov. Deval Patrick (D) to pursue a commercial casino. The tribe wants to open a casino in the town of...

Part II: Strather fronting for big time casino owners all along

10.07.07

Casino deal remains clouded in secrecy

By STEPHANIE VOSK and GEORGE BRENNAN
Cape Cod Times

October 07, 2007 6:00 AM
Editor's Note: This is the last of a two-part series. (Part 1)

MASHPEE — South African casino moguls Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman resuscitated the Mohegan tribe's bid for federal recognition, and more than a decade later they continue to reap millions of dollars.

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe can only wonder how much of their sovereignty has been signed away to help Kerzner and Wolman continue their dominance of New England's gambling industry. Their ties to the 1,500-member Mashpee tribe pre-date their public relationship, perhaps by years.

The tribe's deal with the men ignited the renewed debate to legalize casinos in Massachusetts. With Gov. Deval Patrick's recent thumbs up on full-scale gaming, they could ultimately change the face of the Bay State.

In February, when the tribe received the final word it would receive federal recognition, the ink was already dry on a deal signed two months prior by tribal leaders and Kerzner, 72, and Wolman, 52.

Then tribal Chairman Glenn Marshall, 57, hid the fact that a casino deal was in place — both from the tribe at large and the public.

In a meeting with the Times editorial board in February, he hinted that the tribe's most public investor, Detroit casino developer Herb Strather, 56, would soon play a smaller role in the tribe's quest to build a casino. But Marshall hedged when he was asked about whether he would entertain signing a deal with other investors.

"Let me tell you, if (Strather) wanted out, he could sell and make money right now," Marshall told the editorial board. "But it would have to be somebody the tribe liked. Somebody who was successful in the arena. Somebody with style and grace."

In a letter to the tribal council in 2004, Strather already referenced other unnamed investors and warned that they might pull out if Marshall was voted out as chairman in the 2005 council elections.

But with Marshall's victory that year, the investors held tight — and silent — as the Bureau of Indian Affairs reviewed the tribe's petition for federal recognition. (Complete Story)


http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071007/NEWS/710070340

Part I: Strather was fronting for big time casino owners all along

10.06.07

Developers exercised control in tribe's casino push

By STEPHANIE VOSK
and GEORGE BRENNAN
Cape Cod Times

Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series. (Part 2)

MASHPEE — With a multimillion-dollar investment on the line and federal recognition within reach, it was casino developers, not Mashpee Wampanoag leaders, who controlled the tribe's interests, records indicate.

Investors, looking to expand their casino empire, and a few tribal council leaders kept most of the 1,500 tribe members in the dark about their secret deals. And with questions raised internally about tribe finances in 2004, Herb Strather, a Detroit casino developer who helped bankroll the tribe's quest for federal recognition, was desperate to keep Chairman Glenn Marshall in office.

That year, Paula Peters, whose father once held the council chairmanship, announced she would run against Marshall.

The announcement spurred Strather to write a letter to the council on Nov. 24, 2004, about three months before the election. Strather wrote that it would be a mistake to allow Peters to run against Marshall for the chairman's seat.

"It has always been my understanding that Ms. Peters is anti-gaming," Strather wrote. "... What happens to the confidence of our investors who have stuck by us in this long battle?"

Those investors would turn out to be South African casino moguls Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman, who have had their hands in a major portion of the gaming industry in New England: Mohegan Sun in Connecticut and Twin River in Rhode Island.

In the same letter, Strather endorsed Marshall. "If there were a change in leadership, I fear my financial partners would rethink their position, as the majority of them invested after meeting and being comfortable with Glenn and Shawn (Hendricks)."

At the time, Hendricks, now tribal council chairman, was vice chairman of the tribal council.

Strather told the Cape Cod Times in spring 2006 that he had given the tribe $15 million to help it gain federal recognition, making no public mention of other investors at the time. Without the designation, the tribe would be unable to open an Indian casino.

Through two spokesmen, Strather said Wednesday he remembered writing the letter but declined to comment.

But the letter is evidence that Strather, his investors in concert with Marshall, not the tribe at large, were the driving force behind the push to bring casino gaming to Massachusetts. (Complete Story)

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071006/NEWS/710060341/1018/OPINION

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe was up for sale to highest bidder

9.29.07

Tribe has been put up for sale to wealthy outsiders

By Peter Kenney (Gadfly)

The internal politics of any family, clan, tribe or race can be brutal. All of history shows us conflict among all people at various times. But the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe faces a challenge of unknown proportion as it attempts to stay the course toward a tribal casino. If the Mashpee casino is to be what some call the new buffalo, there is considerable housekeeping to be done, unfortunately as much for the benefit of outsiders as for the tribe itself.

Due process must be guaranteed for tribe's members

The tribe was committed to agreements and obligations unknown to the tribe's members.When a corporation borrows from a bank or issues stock shares or bonds, there must be a corporate resolution showing that due process was followed by those who govern the corporation, that the corporation's rules were followed to the letter. The same is true when agreements are cemented between a government or government agency and a corporation.

Currently it appears to observers outside the tribe and to many members of the tribe itself that under former tribal council chairman Glenn Marshall, the tribe was committed to agreements and obligations unknown to the tribe's members.

Questions are asked, answers are scarce

The first fruits of federal recognition appear to be lost to tribe members... rights they always had under U.S. law. As members of the tribe attempt to resolve issues that will affect how well the tribe can function as a partner in a hugely expensive undertaking, the politics of the absurd prevent progress. Questions are asked, but answers are scarce. While issues are raised, solutions are put out of reach. An important meeting is scheduled, but there is no quorum. Worst of all, the first fruits of federal recognition appear to be the loss by tribe members of rights they always had under U.S. law, and protections that accompany those rights. Secrecy, shunning, denial of free petition and leadership silence are the currency of the tribe's new sovereignty.

Investors have vested interest in tribe's competitors

There are those who feel that the tribe was put up for sale, but no one told the members, and the only buyers were already wealthy outsiders whose known history shows them all too willing to reap huge profits from gambling in Connecticut at the expense of a tribal partner.

The tribe was not told that Herb Strather, their angel from Detroit, was selling his interests in the tribe's future, or to whom, or at what profit. In fact, the great majority of the tribe's members do not even know what agreements and contracts Strather had with them originally, nor do they know what the new investors have on paper. It seems that the tribe/developer partnership will apply to the state for some sort of gaming license, but will the state be assured that it is not helping the tribe cut its own fiscal throat? I have recently learned, for example, that Strather's agreement to sell his interest began a year earlier than I first thought. His deal was done long before June of this year.

Tribe's governances must handled properly and fairly

The Mashpee Wampanoag obligation is first to themselves and only then to others, even casino partners. It is critical for the tribe's governance to operate properly and fairly. It is critical for the cultural and personal success of the tribe's members, but it is also necessary for the tribe's financial success, for its future and the future of its children. The Mashpee Wampanoag obligation is first to themselves and only then to others, even casino partners. A reorganized tribal council with a unified tribe can weather any storm and a strong and just council will present the right face to the world. Just as important, the tribe's spokesman should be a Mashpee Wampanoag with spiritual connections to his or her people, not a white guy from Boston with political connections known only to him.

Whatever Gov. Deval Patrick decides, whatever the Legislature decides, there should be a valid corporate resolution from and by the true people of Mashpee, an informed and widely supported decision by the entire tribe to move forward with a particular partner under predetermined conditions. If the governor settles for anything less, he will be doing a great disservice to this ancient and honorable people and giving his blessing to greed, fraud and exploitation.

We have consumer protection laws, banking laws, anti-fraud statutes ... what about tribal casino rip-off protections?

Boston Globe reporter's background feature on Mashpee Wampanoag's Middleboro casino proposal

The Middleboro Recall has posted a terrific background feature written by Sean P. Murphy of the Boston Globe on the proposed Masheepee Wampanoag casino. (Full Post)

...At about two in the afternoon on April 27, Jack Healey opened bidding on the 120-acre property once owned by Daniel Striar. A couple of dozen folks had gathered in the domed Middleborough Town Hall. When a man in a neat leather jacket and casual slacks offered the minimum bid of $1.5 million, heads turned. He was unfamiliar to people in the room. His name was Jason Wilson, general counsel of Strather & Associates of Detroit. Herb Strather, a Detroit-born businessman who had built a fortune investing in real estate and casinos, had funded the Mashpee Wampanoag with millions of dollars during its drive for recognition, and then gone into partnership with Kerzner and Wolman to back the tribe’s effort to open a casino.

By law, abutters had to be individually noticed of the auction by mail. One abutter, Richard Beal, happened to be in the real estate business. Beal stepped up with a bid $5,000 over Wilson’s. But Wilson had been instructed not to come home without the 120-acre parcel, a representative of the casino developers told me. “We needed to control that parcel for our plan to work,” the representative said. “We couldn’t afford to have another player involved.”

The competition wore on, with 31 bids in all.

“One million, seven hundred and sixty-five thousand,” Wilson finally said.

Silence.

“Sold,” declared Healey.

It was only after the auction, Healey told me, that he realized that it was a representative of the casino developers who had successfully bid on the property.

I called Marshall, the tribal chairman, on his cell phone a few hours after the auction. He said the casino developers were already in discussions with Healey and other town officials, and that the talks had predated the auction. “We’ve had a couple of good meetings,” he told me. “We’re still negotiating.”

Healey was only eight weeks from hanging a “gone fishing” sign on his career and retiring. But what a whirlwind six weeks it would be. ...

Original Post: Big money and tough times forces Middleborough's hand

Indianz.com: Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe hopeful on casino

as posted 9.23.07 at Indianz.com:

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe hopeful on casino

Acquiring land for a casino can take years but the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts believes it can beat the state to the market.

The tribe filed its land-into-trust application late last month. Completing the process will take at least 18 months, it not longer.

Gov. Deval Patrick (D) announced a proposal for three commercial casinos last week. He believes the casinos could be up and running by 2012.

A tribal spokesperson is skeptical of that claim. "If it takes two years to do the environmental review [for the tribe] I am skeptical that this (state) process is going to be quicker than that," the spokesperson told The New Bedford Standard-Times.

Other newly recognized tribes like the Mashpee have waited five years or more to clear legal hurdles and open casinos.

Get the Story:
Tribe eyes early casino (The New Bedford Standard-Times 9/24)

Indianz.com: Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe won't pull casino plans

as posted 9.21.07 at Indianz.com:

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe won't pull casino plans

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts will forge ahead with plans to build its own casino.

A spokesperson for the tribe disputed a report that said the tribe was interested in bidding on a commercial license. Gov. Deval Patrick (D) is proposing up to three casinos in the state.

The exact locations of the state casinos have not been specified. But the tribe says it will build in the town of Middleboro no matter what the state does.

Meanwhile, the Aquinnah Wampanaog Tribe says it is definitely interested in bidding on a commercial license. But Chairman Donald Widdiss said he wants the tribe to be given preferential treatment in the process.

Get the Story:
Tribe still focused on Middleboro (The New Bedford Standard-Times 9/21)

Indianz.com: Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe eyes state license

as posted 9.20.07 at Indianz.com:

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe eyes state license

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts is interested in bidding on one of the three casinos being proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick (D).

The tribe has already started the land-into-trust process to acquire an initial reservation where gaming can take place. But going through state process could put the tribe closer to its goal.

The Deval administration's three casino plan envisions one in southeastern Massachusetts, where the Mashpees are based. But tribe's chosen site is in Middleboro whereas the governor favors New Bedford.

The federal process will take at least 18 months. Patrick's proposal still needs legislative approval.

Get the Story:
Mashpee tribe eyes state license (The Boston Globe 9/20)
Username: indianz@indianz.com, Password: indianz
Race for a casino only just beginning: Tribe has 3 competitors for one license in region (GateHouse News Service 9/20)
Patrick's casino plan ups the ante in town (The Boston Globe 9/20)

Detroit-based casino developer convicted of bribing a police officer among Gov. Deval Patrick's donors

posted 9.18.07 at the Scotto Bloggo:

Only in Massachusetts...

...The question of casino gambling is hardly new to Massachusetts, but when confronted with the inevitability of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe building a casino in Middleboro, the Massachusetts government quickly hustled in to get a cut of the action. Massachusetts either gets a significant piece of the action or Massachusetts won't allow it. Overnight, Governor Deval Patrick went from having no opinion about legalizing casino gambling to supporting the legalizing licensing of three casinos in the state. Coincidentally, Detroit casino developer Herb Strather, a key financier of the Wampanoag tribe's activities and a convicted briber, was a maximum donor to Patrick's campaign last year...

Detroit casino developer Herb Strather, the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe's first and most visible investor, was arrested on a bribery charge in 1977 for trying to buy off a police officer in Michigan, according to a 1997 report in the Detroit Free Press.

Strather was previously one of the founders of MotorCity Casino and a partner of Marian Ilitch and Michael J. Malik, Sr.

Mashpee Wampanoag make $250,000 payment to Middleborough

9.19.07

Gaming News
Massachusetts tribe makes payment


MIDDLEBORO, Massachusetts -- As reported by the South of Boston Enterprise: "The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe presented a $250,000 check to selectmen Monday night as the first payment in the casino host agreement the tribe signed with the town.

"Newly named tribal Chairman Shawn Hendricks, who introduced himself to selectmen, reassured the board that he wanted to 'let everyone know we will continue on our course.'

"...Hendricks told selectmen he 'will not jump to any quick decisions,' referring to Gov. Deval Patrick's announcement Monday to support legalized gambling in three locations in the state, including southeastern Massachusetts.

"...The contract, signed by the town and the tribe and approved by a historic, outdoor town meeting in July, called for the first payment within 90 days, but the tribe made the payment within six weeks..."

Liars Poker

from a piece published 8.31.07 by Boston Globe columnist Steve Bailey entitled "Liar's Poker" regarding disgraced tribal Chairman Glenn Marshall and the Mashpee Wampanoag's grand billion-dollar-plus casino plans for Middleborough, Massachusetts (Cape Cod):

"This has always been less about sovereignty than about the rush by the tribe and its deep-pocketed financial backers, just as elsewhere around the country, to cash in on the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, one of the worst pieces of legislation ever to come out of Congress."

A one-time partner of Marian Ilitch & Mike Malik, had previous bribery conviction; bankrolled current plan for Cape Cod casino

9.01.07

Casino investor Strather has criminal past

By Stephanie Vosk
STAFF WRITER

Gambling tycoon Sol Kerzner isn't the only Mashpee Wampanoag casino investor with a charge of bribery on his record.

Detroit casino developer Herb Strather, the tribe's first and most visible investor, was arrested on a bribery charge in 1977 for trying to buy off a police officer in Michigan, according to a 1997 report in the Detroit Free Press.

Strather bankrolled the Wampanoag's effort to gain federal recognition, which cost millions of dollars. In exchange, Strather has said he would be given a portion of the development rights on a Wampanoag casino.

In 1997, two years before Strather started giving money to the Mashpee tribe, Strather told the Detroit Free Press that he was pulled over after drinking to celebrate a big real estate deal in 1977, and had an outstanding ticket on his record. When Strather offered the policeman a pair of new shoes if he let him pay the ticket the next day, he was arrested.

Strather paid a $500 fine and did community service for the misdemeanor, the Free Press reported.

The Times could not reach Strather for comment yesterday. Scott Ferson, the Wampanoag's spokesman, said yesterday that tribal leaders are aware of an arrest on Strather's record, though not of the specifics.

Shortly after federal officials granted the Mashpee Wampanoag preliminary federal recognition in March 2006, Strather told the Times he had given the tribe approximately $15 million, about two-thirds of which financed the tribe's quest for federal recognition.

Last spring, after the tribe officially received federal recognition, the tribe announced that Kerzner and his partner Len Wolman had signed on as the lead investors for a resort casino. Strather has since faded into the background of the tribe's quest to build a casino.

Kerzner and Wolman were the prime investors for the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut and Twin River gaming facility in Rhode Island.

Wolman said recently that he had a business relationship with Strather in Detroit prior to becoming involved with the Wampanoag.

Applicants for Indian casino licenses are intensely scrutinized by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Others involved in the casino business, including investors, do not go through such stringent checks, if any, Ferson said.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council plans to establish a gaming authority which will apply for, and if granted, hold the license for a casino, he said. The tribe never intended for Strather to hold the license, according to Ferson.

It's the licensees who have to be clean, he said. Bureau of Indian Affairs officials do not allow anyone with a felony conviction to be involved in casino operations.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council has been in damage control mode for the past week following revelations that tribal council chairman Glenn Marshall was convicted of rape, a felony charge, in 1981. Marshall, 57, was also found to have lied about his military record when testifying before Congress. He resigned Monday.

"This is why the government has regulations on gaming," Ferson said of Marshall's conviction. "When the tribe applied for a license, that would have been known."

Kerzner, who was charged in 1986 of trying to bribe a South African government official in exchange for exclusive gaming rights, was never convicted. The charge was dismissed in 1997. He has since received at least one license from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to operate Mohegan Sun in Connecticut for a time. Kerzner has also secured commercial licenses in several states and abroad.

Strather, however, has had trouble getting a license.

In the 1990s, Atwater Entertainment, of which Strather was a founding partner, poured money into supporting a referendum question to allow casinos in Detroit. The grass-roots effort came after the Michigan governor ruled against allowing casinos in Detroit .

The referendum passed, and one of three licenses was subsequently given to Atwater for what would become the MotorCity Casino.

Nelson Westrin, former executive director of the Michigan Gaming Control Board, told the Times in 2001 that state investigators place any investor holding more than a 1-percent interest in a casino through a thorough background check.

The Detroit News reported at the time that Strather and his partner had experienced financial difficulties over their 25-year business relationship. They paid taxes late, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development cited a real estate company they owned for several violations, the News reported.

Strather subsequently sold his interests in the casino, which opened in 1999.

John Page, deputy director of enforcement for the Michigan Gaming Control Board, would not release any details yesterday of Strather's involvement in Detroit casinos other than he was a license applicant and later sold his share.

Stephanie Vosk can be reached at svosk@capecodonline.com

Mashpee casino planned for Middleborough would allow much larger buildout

8.28.07

Casino foes fear Massachusetts casino will grow

MASSACHUSETTS -- As reported by the Boston Herald: "Proposed $1 billion casino by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Middleboro, already facing mounting concerns over its impact, could wind up being just the first installment of a much larger buildout, industry experts and critics suggest.

"The tribe has said repeatedly it wants to replicate Mohegan Sun, which has been held up as a 'model.'

"But the Wampanoag's $1 billion proposal, despite what seems to be its enormous size, falls far short of that goal, experts say.

"The proposed Middleboro casino would have to triple in size before it rivaled, let alone overtook, the Connecticut gambling resort, said Clyde Barrow, a gambling industry expert and professor at the University of Massachusetts/Dartmouth.

"...Scott Ferson, a spokesman for the tribe, said there are no plans to expand beyond the proposal that has been laid out, which includes a 1,500-room hotel, shops and restaurants, and 150,000 square feet of gambling space, and a golf course..."

Boston Herald: Trends show Mashpees’ $1B plan may grow

Mashpee Wampanoag leader stepping aside due to criminal record

Glenn Marshall, the Mashpee Wampanoag leader who secured federal recognition for the tribe and presided over its push to build a $1 billion casino in Massachusetts, stepped aside yesterday after acknowledging that he was a convicted rapist and that he had lied to Congress about his military service during the Vietnam War.

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Tribe gets option to purchase more land for proposed billion dollar casino project

8.15.07

Casino site would grow by 205 acres

By Christine Wallgren, Globe Correspondent

MIDDLEBOROUGH -- The Mashpee Wampanoag secured an option yesterday to buy an additional 205 acres in Middleborough, boosting its land holdings for a planned resort casino to 531 acres, the tribe said.

Tribal leaders expect to build the $1 billion casino, hotel, and resort facility on about 100 acres and leave the remaining acreage as a buffer. Wampanoag spokesman Scott Ferson would not disclose the price for the latest land deal, which he said would be the last in Middleborough for the Cape-based tribe.

"That is the entirety of the property," he said.

The tribe and its financial backers currently own outright 125 acres purchased from the town at an auction in April. In May, the Wampanoag secured an option to buy 201 contiguous acres owned by the family of Daniel Striar.

The land in the latest agreement is located off Precinct Street and is owned by Bruce Gates, a lieutenant in the local police force, and his two sisters.

Gates drew criticism from casino opponents because he headed security at the July 28 Town Meeting that sealed the casino deal while negotiations were still underway for the Precinct Street property.

Subsequently, several residents filed conflict-of-interest complaints against Gates with the secretary of state's office, where they are under review.

Town officials have said they were aware that Gates could benefit financially by approval of a local casino, but saw no conflict with his police duties at the meeting.

The options on the land will be recorded at the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds, and no further action is expected to be taken on them for more than a year, as the tribe negotiates with state and federal officials on building the casino.

The tribe intends to place the entire 531 acres in federal trust, a status that exempts the site from state and local control. The application process, done through the US Department of the Interior, is expected to take about 18 months.

"The tribe will exercise its option to purchase the properties when its application to place the land in trust is approved," Ferson said.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/08/15/tribe_gets_option_to_purchase_more_land/