Barstow official & Barwest attorney kept their knowledge of reported Chemehuevi campsite in City of Barstow hush-hush

Although publicly denying any awareness of a Chemehuevi archaeological site in Barstow at City Council meetings and in Sacramento, a string of 2005 e-mails obtained by TVT clearly indicate that Barstow Economic Development Director Ron Rector and Barwest attorney Lance Boldrey as well as others in the City of Barstow and associated with Barwest LLC were fully aware of the remains of a former Chemehuevi campsite within Barstow City limits -- less than one mile from the proposed Barwest/Big Lagoon Rancheria/Los Coyotes Band of Indians casinos and resorts.

Boldrey and others speaking on behalf of Barwest LLC and its tribal partners have repeatedly insisted in public testimony that no modern-day tribes have any ancestral histories in Barstow.

They may have kept this information from Governor Schwarzenegger's representatives as well while they were negotiating agreements in 2005 that would give Detroit-based Barwest LLC the right to develop and manage two side by side casino resorts in Barstow and earn up to 30% of the net proceeds of the two Indian casinos.

Curiously, The City of Barstow has been delaying public participation in the legally mandated update of its ten year old General Plan, last updated in 1997.

* * *

FROM: Ron Rector (Barstow Economic Development Director)
SENT: February 23, 2005
RE: HCED Listserve Draft Tribal Consultation Guidelines Regarding Local Land Use Planning

Lance:
Looks like the Chemehuvis’ [sic] may get a shot at you yet.

------

FROM: Boldrey, Lance R. (attorney, Barwest LLC)
SENT: February 23, 2005
RE: HCED Listserve Draft Tribal Consultation Guidelines Regarding Local Land Use Planning

I would not necessarily jump to that conclusion, although I’d be interested to get Scott’s [Priester, then-Barstow Planning Director] perspective after he’s reviewed the materials and gone through the workshop (if he’s going).

First, these appear to be triggered only upon adoption or amendment of “general” or “specific” plans. I defer to you guys and the CEQA experts as to whether that is required by our development and a new MSA.

Second, and more to the point, these require consultation only when a tribe has a “cultural place” within the city’s limits. As I read the definitions and examples of such sites (page 4 of the supplement document), the asserted Chemehuevi “place” does not appear to fit. “Cultural place” appears to be intended to capture those sites of either permanent habitation or of particular religious significance, with the caveat that the term also includes sites listed or eligible for listing in the CA Register of Historic Places. The Chemehuevi “site” within the city’s limits was only a campground on a trading route from, I believe the late 1800’s. We also do not know if any historical evidence has actually established it as such. (All we know is someone from the City contacted the tribe several years ago to see if this campground was linked to them, and they of course agreed that it was.)

As you know the historical research we commissioned from experts in the field shows that the Barstow area was inhabited historically by a band that is now extinct. Any other tribal ties to the area would have been tenuous ties from tribes essentially just passing through. Accordingly, I would not conclude that the Chemehuevi will have standing to weigh in even if a new or amended “general” or “specific” plan is required.

(From an outside perspective, I think this bill is likely to lead to real chaos, as many tribes will undoubtedly “overclaim” the protections of the act to demonstrate power over larger areas of territory. If there is no real independent check to determine if a site is, in fact, a “cultural place” expect a nightmare.)

Finally, this issue does present one potential problem with moving the site for the gaming development, if, in fact, the parcel that Argovitz is pursuing is the same parcel that the Chemehuevi had optioned, the Chemehuevi’s fee-to-trust applications asserts that the so-called Chemehuevi campsite is actually located ON THIS PARCEL. This could complicate matters if different tribes seek to have the land placed into trust ...

------

FROM: Scott Priester (Barstow Planning Director)
SENT: March 03, 2005
RE: Lance Boldrey Comments

Thoughts/comments on Lance Boldrey’s comments

1) I am not attending the workshop – it’ll likely be in northern California;
2) The destination resort project is located in the adopted Lenwood Specific Plan area. Depending on the details of the development that will be off federal lands, an amendment to the specific plan may be needed to carry out the project (the devil’s in the details).
3) It doesn’t appear to matter if there is a “cultural place” in the City – if their name is on the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) list, we’re subject to it. I have requested a list from the NAHC of the tribes with whom the City will have to consult. It was faxed to NAHC in Sacramento today, so stay tuned.

All in all, I don’t necessarily think this will be a way to tube a project, but it could cause delay, mitigation negotiations, etc. on certain projects.

Barwest Agent Tom Shields still carrying nearly $150k debt for Barstow Political Committee's June 2006 campaign tsunami

Sworn court depositions indicate, agents for Michael Malik and Marian Ilitch -- namely Tom Shields (Marketing Resource Group) and attorney Michael Yaki -- formed Barstow Citizens for Real Economic Development and recruited a couple of locals to front for them during the 2006 Primary and General Elections.

Lansing-based Tom Shields ran Barstow Citizens for Real Economic Development. The committee bombarded the small Barstow community with a $200,000 political advertising tsunami during the June 2006 primary election in order to bury a local ballot measure and keep control of the Barstow City Council. (NOTE: That's likely much more than the sum of all Barstow's local political campaigns over the last quarter of a century.)

What's interesting is the Barwest driven campaign spent $200,000 or more primarily in the June 2006 election; however, more than a year later the Barwest controlled committee still carries a debt of more than $147,000. That's how much money campaign manager Tom Shields advanced in payments to vendors, campaign committee workers, etc. during the June primary election. The committee reports Shields' Marketing Resource Group has yet to be reimbursed for $147,055.93.

In advancing payments of nearly 75% of the campaigns total costs and carrying that burden for more than a year, Shields has operated as a lendor/major donor.

Shields' firm represents numerous other affiliates of Barwest principals Marian Ilitch and Michael Malik including the Detroit Tigers, Little Caesars Pizza, MotorCity Casino and the Detroit Red Wings as well as several other off-reservation casino efforts in Michigan and New York.

The Committee has been carrying a deficit since June 30, 2006. It spent another $6,000+ during the November 2006 General Election campaign; however, the committee has not raised any additional funds since the week before the June 2006 Primary Election.

On May 18, 2006, Barwest principal Marian Ilitch contributed $20,000 as did her partner Michael J. Malik's affiliate MJM Manistee, Inc.; approximately $8,000 in misc. cash and in-kind contributions was raised from other sources including Tom Shields. The committee raised a total of just $47,937, less than 25% of what the committee likely spent (with more than 83% of that coming from Malik & Ilitch). The committee carries a cash balance of $3,947.29 as of June 30, 2007.

So how will (did) Tom Shields get paid?

Why haven't Marian Ilitch and Mike Malik covered the debt?

Or is someone else expected to pay?

Who funded Barstow Citizens for Real Economic Development?

Certainly a seasoned campaign manager like Tom Shields certainly isn't going to put his company out on the line and lose almost $150,000 in payments to vendors he made on behalf of the Barstow Citizens for Real Economic Development political committee?

WheatGR has re-assigned nearly a decade of financial disclosure records filed for the Bay Mills Indians to the Shinnecock Indians

UPDATE: Within 48 hours of this original blog post, corrections were made to filings with the U.S. Senate Office of Public Records by Wheat Government Relations regarding its longtime client the Bay Mills Indian Community.

Wheat Government Relations (WheatGR), a D.C. lobbying firm headed by former Rep. Alan Wheat, has apparently either confused its two clients The Shinnecock Indian Nation (New York) and Bay Mills Indian Community (Michigan) or in fact, has intentionally masked (or merged) all the records regarding Wheat GR's nearly 10-year engagement with the Bay Mills Indian Community available on the Secretary of the Senate's Office of Public Records lobbying disclosure Web site (select "Registrant Name" and holding down the control key select "Client Name," then click "Go;" in Registrant type "Wheat Government Relations" and in Client type "Shinnecock")

Records for the Bay Mills Indian Community, a significant client of Wheat Government Relations from 1998 through 2006 are now found under the client name "Shinnecock Indian Nation" for those years 1998 - 2006.

Records for the Shinnecock Indian Nation, also a Wheat client, are now found under the client name "Shinnecock Indian Nation of New York" for the years 2004 - 2006.

It's unclear why this has happened, but the staff in the Secretary of the Senate's office has indicated they plan to look into the matter and follow up with Wheat GR.

Disclosure records filed August 2004 by Kessler & Associates Business Services regarding its client Wheat Government Relations indicate oddly that Kessler was representing WheatGR on the following specific lobbying issues: "Bay Mills/Shinnecock Land Swap." The two tribes are located in Michigan and New York respectively and there is nothing to suggest the tribes share common history or ancestral territories.

Both the Shinnecock and Bay Mills Indians have pursued schemes for off-reservation Indian casinos backed by Mrs. Marian Ilitch and Michael J. Malik, Sr., Detroit casino syndicators.

Andrea Hoch's husband appointed to top board post by Gov. Schwarzenegger

8.13.07

Hoch's husband appointed to top board post

By Shane Goldmacher - Sacramento Bee's Capitol Alert

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed the husband of legal affairs secretary Andrea Hoch to a post on the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board last Thursday.

Hoch's husband Stephen Egan, who has served as a deputy attorney general for the California Attorney General's Office since 1974, is a Republican. His position on the board, which meets monthly, pays $123,897.

The appeals board, which grants or denies unemployment insurance benefits on appeal, has long been a desired political appointment.

Earlier this year, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata appointed former colleague Sen. Liz Figueroa, and Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez appointed former Assemblywoman Cindy Montañez to the board.

Other current members include Terri Carbaugh, former press secretary to Maria Shriver, and Fred Aguiar, Schwarzenegger's former cabinet secretary. There is one holdover appointment from Gov. Gray Davis, who gave Ann Richardson, his chief deputy legislative secretary, a seat on the board.

Last week, Schwarzenegger also named Richard Rice, formerly undersecretary at the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, as chair of the board.

Tom Shields, Liar! Liar!

Another fine example of why you can't trust anything that comes out of Ilitch/Malik/Bay Mills/Shinnecock/Barwest spokesman Tom Shields' mouth.

One has to wonder, "does he really believes the hogwash that comes out of his own mouth?"

Shields recently told the San Bernardino Sun regarding the Barst0w casino plans hatched by Shields' client Barwest and the Big Lagoon Rancheria tribe from Humboldt County, CA:

"It's a settlement of this lawsuit for them to go to Barstow. That is the furthest thing from reservation shopping," Shields said. "They're not looking to be millionaires, they're just looking for an opportunity to become self-sufficient."

[are you laughing hysterically?]

The Big Lagoon Rancheria has approximately 20-24 tribal members. Tom Shields' clients want to build a casino resort for the tribe in Barstow expected to generate at least $160 million in annual net revenue -- even after payments to state and local agencies the casino would generate more than $5 million to $6 million annually per tribal member seemingly making each of them "millionaires."

Consider that in recent years, in addition to its 20-acre reservation, the small Big Lagoon tribe has somehow amassed additional Humboldt County fee property valued at $2.65 million. Few family's have amassed that kind of real estate.

And consider that annual income flowing to the Big Lagoon Rancheria tribe today is equal to a standard of living for tribal members four times greater than even what most California families enjoy.

It would seem the Big Lagoon Rancheria is more than self-sufficient today.

Threatening to build a casino on the tribe's existing reservation, knowing that it could create environmental problems for what Shields calls the "pristine" Big Lagoon and surrounding area, is nothing short of greedy and irresponsible given the tribes' current assets and annual revenues.

And Tom Shields knows it!

When it comes right down to it, you really can't trust anything you hear from Tom Shields unless you've verified it somewhere else.

Ilitch Malik Team desperate; rather than address own shortcomings, go on attack

Casino syndicators Marian Ilitch and Michael J. Malik are showing signs of desparation this past week relative to several of their off-reservation Indian Casino schemes:

Apparently this past week; Malik's Blue Water Resorts LLC has filed a lawsuit against fellow casino syndicator and competitor Tony DeFeo trying to block DeFeo's competing casino scheme in the Port Huron area. Malik and Ilitch have been attempting to site an off-reservation casino for the Bay Mills Indian Tribe in Port Huron for the last 15 years with little progress.

Ilitch/Malik spokesman Tom Shields flew half-way across the Country last week to attend the Barstow City Council meeting where he attacked Southern California's established gaming tribes, a Barstow area Citizen Activist and TheVerifiableTruth.com. He made outrageous claims against all three -- claims and half-truths he manufactured in a desperate attempt to defend his clients. Shields' made allegations and innuendos without ever providing any verifiable resources to back up his claims; or addressing his clients own shortcomings.

Shields and his Detroit clients have been pushing casinos in Barstow since 2001, and have failed to ever sit down with or negotiate with any of Southern California's existing tribes or any San Bernardino County tribes; rather the out of state casino syndicators have gone on the attack and have shown blatant disregard for the tribes' ancestral heritage.

Shields is so frazzled these days that in an interview regarding the Big Lagoon Rancheria, a tribe Shields' clients have adopted and want to relocate to Barstow some 750 miles from its reservation, he told the San Bernardino Sun:

"It's a settlement of this lawsuit for them to go to Barstow. That is the furthest thing from reservation shopping," Shields said. "They're not looking to be millionaires, they're just looking for an opportunity to become self-sufficient."

A) Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's negotiators made it clear previously that Big Lagoon shopped around for 20 acres in Humboldt County near its own Reservation but it couldn't find anything "suitable" -- read that as "as lucrative as Barstow." That's "reservation shopping." The Big Lagoon Rancheria doesn't need a casino on the Big Lagoon or anywhere else for its 20 members to be self-sufficient.

B) The 20 members for the Big Lagoon Rancheria, all part of tribal Chairman Virgil Moorehead's immediate family stand to become Millionaires -- Yes, Millionaires -- if they open a casino like Tom Shields' clients hope to build in Barstow. The Tribe already operates a million dollar hotel in Arcata, California and has purchased land valued at several million dollars in recent years. The Big Lagoon Rancheria has annual revenues that should provide each of its members with annual incomes far exceeding (four times) the median household income for California.

• A desperate Tom Shields was compelled to fly to Barstow in the middle of Summer to attack TheVerifiableTruth.com
• Barstow Attorney Dennis Whittlesey says tribes can't build casinos outside of their ancestral territories
• DOI Associate Secretary encourages Big Lagoon Rancheria to re-consider casino location closer to reservation; discourages Barstow scheme
• Big Lagoon Rancheria has received $1.9 million in federal grants since 2000
• 'Disadvantaged' Tribe has amassed additional property valued at $2.65 million
• Even without Casino, Humboldt Tribe’s Standard of Living is four times greater than most California families
• Casino developer's fear of competition drives them to push for Barstow

A desperate Barwest spokesman Tom Shields once again fails to deliver the truth; Cheryl Schmit manufactures rumors too

8.13.07

Tribe fails in attempt to head off 2 casinos

Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians failed to win support last week at a legislative conference in its effort to change U.S. law governing Indian casinos.

Jacob Coin, tribal spokesman, cut short his attempt to win support at the National Conference of State Legislatures in Boston for a change in the law that would bar tribes from building off-reservation casinos unless they can prove an ancestral tie to the land where the casino is to be built.

Billions of dollars are at stake. And Barstow is the prize. Three tribes are vying to build a casino in that city on the solitary route to Las Vegas from Southern California over which thousands of cars travel every day.

San Manuel is opposed to the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians of northeastern San Diego County and the Big Lagoon Rancheria tribe of Humboldt County building a casino in Barstow, near the outlet malls because, according to Coin, the tribes do not hold ancestral ties to the land.

The Chemehuevis along the Colorado River also want to build a casino in Barstow. The Chemehuevis have ancestral ties to Barstow.

The National Conference is a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of all 50 states, as well as the commonwealths and territories.

Coin said he was hoping to schedule meetings with legislators or members of their executive staffs to organize a congressional push to amend the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. But those efforts were unsuccessful.

The casino project has enthusiastic support from the city of Barstow, which stands to gain 4.4 percent of an estimated $160 million to $170 million in net gaming revenue annually, a new fire station and an ambulance in the deal, said Tom Shields, spokesman for the Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon tribes. Shields also represents Bar-West, the Detroit-based company that hopes to build and operate twin casinos for the Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon. Its parent corporation already operates casinos in other states.

He said San Manuel's push to thwart the two tribes from getting a casino built is part of a larger effort to keep poorer tribes from competing with high-profit-generating casinos like San Manuel.

"They are just trying to prevent competition. They want to be the only casino between Las Vegas and San Bernardino," Shields said. "They're trying to introduce bogus issues which have nothing to do with the law."

Coin denied the allegation.

"Our response to that, very simply, is that the Chemehuevi tribe along the Colorado River, they are also proposing a casino in Barstow, and we're not opposed to that because they share ancestral connections to the Barstow area with the Serrano Indians," said Coin. San Manuels are Serrano.

But Shields and others say the San Manuels have a commercial interest in Barstow, and are working with the Chemehuevis in trying to get their own casino built.

"There appears to be some sort of business relationship between the two tribes (San Manuel and Chemehuevi)," said Cheryl Schmit co-director of Stand Up for California, a nonprofit organization focusing on gambling issues in California. "It would appear that in trying to pass legislation making a historical nexus to the land, San Manuel would benefit from being partnered with Chemehuevi for a casino in Barstow. It would be a mandatory acquisition."

But Coin maintains the issue of "reservation shopping" has become a huge one at the state level, with concern centered primarily on tribes not only moving hundreds of miles across county boundaries in their own states, but crossing state lines as well to build casinos.

"It's not just these two tribes. There's states all over the country where this kind of reservation shopping has raised alarms," Coin said, adding that the states of New York, Illinois and Ohio are all experiencing situations where tribes are vying to build casinos off their reservations.

In California alone, about 40 tribes are trying to get casinos built off their reservations, Schmit said.

The provisions provided in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, Shields said, were drafted for tribes like Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon.

The Los Coyotes reservation comprises 30,000 acres on a mountaintop in northeastern San Diego County unfit for a casino project.

"This is a reservation that's just received electricity around its edges in the last decade," Shields said.

Big Lagoon sits on 20 acres of environmentally sensitive and picturesque coastline in Humboldt County. It has one of the few natural working lagoons in California, Shields said.

The tribe planned to develop on the land but was sued, and as part of a settlement in 2005, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a compact with the tribe the would allow it to build a casino in Barstow. But the Legislature has refused to enact a measure that would permit the casino. Even if it overcomes that obstacle, the tribe still must obtain permission of the federal government before the casino can be built.

"It's a settlement of this lawsuit for them to go to Barstow. That is the furthest thing from reservation shopping," Shields said. "They're not looking to be millionaires, they're just looking for an opportunity to become self-sufficient."

Friend-of-the-Ilitches in nasty squabble with fellow casino syndicator

as posted 8.12.07 by George James Malik at

"On the business side of things, nasty squabble between casino developer Tony DeFeo and "Friend-of-the-Ilitches" Mike Malik (no relation) about building a casino in Port Huron is worth noting.

"Malik's been intimately involved with Marian Ilitch's attempts to build casinos in New York and California, as well as their successful Motor City Casino in Detroit, and the two have made some very suspect political donations to congresspeople who happen to approve casino gaming proposals.... "

Michael Malik sues Port Huron Casino competitor

8.11.07

DeFeo hit with lawsuit
One casino developer sues another

By MIKE CONNELL
Times Herald

St. Clair County’s dueling casino proposals clashed Friday when one developer sued the other, claiming trademark infringement and deliberate efforts to deceive investors.

“Our dream is for a successful project in Port Huron,” said Mike Malik, who hopes to replace the Thomas Edison Inn with an Indian-owned casino and a resort hotel built with a curving, ship-like shape. “We can’t let someone like this spoil all our dreams, all of our years of work.”

He was referring to Tony DeFeo, the Clinton Township entrepreneur whose proposed $600 million development in Kimball Township may — or may not — be anchored by what would be Michigan’s largest casino.

Malik’s lawsuit, filed in St. Clair County Circuit Court by attorney Gary Fletcher, seeks injunctive relief that would stop the Kimball project.

“It’s our hope that the court here will shut him down,” Malik said.

DeFeo referred questions to his attorney, Bob Vickrey of Clinton Township, who said he had not been served with the lawsuit as of Friday evening.

“Until I see it, I cannot comment on it,” he said. “I hope you can understand that.”

Malik has Ilitch ties
DeFeo and Malik share a common destination — establishing an Indian-owned casino in St. Clair County — but they have taken very different paths to get there.

Malik, 53, a former Algonac city councilman who grew up in Detroit and Clay Township, is closely associated with the Ilitch family, the founders of the Little Caesars pizza chain and the owners of the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings. He has been trying to develop a casino in Port Huron for more than 15 years.

His latest effort began in 2001, when city voters approved a casino in a nonbinding advisory referendum. Don Reynolds, the co-owner of the Thomas Edison Inn, led the effort to get the issue on the ballot.

A year later, Gov. John Engler and the Bay Mills Chippewa band agreed to a land swap. The tribe surrendered its long-standing claim to 110 acres at Charlotte Beach on the St. Marys River south of Sault Ste. Marie in exchange for a reservation at the 15-acre Edison Inn property. It does not authorize a casino at any other location.

The Engler-Bay Mills agreement requires congressional approval. Several bills have failed in the past five years, but the effort got a significant boost last month when Michigan’s senior senator, Carl Levin, announced his support. Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is one of the most influential figures on Capitol Hill.

"We are professionals at what we do," Malik said from his office on the 10th floor of the Fox Theatre Building in Detroit. "And by the way, we’re not looking for anyone’s money."

DeFeo gets Kimball OK
DeFeo, 55, a native of New York state, has been energetically seeking investors in his projects.

Two years ago, he proposed building a casino, water park and two separate 500-room hotels in downtown Port Huron. At a presentation to the City Council in March 2006, he also spoke of taking over the management of McMorran Place.

When the Port Huron project stalled, he shifted his target to a 420-acre site beside the Horizon Outlet Mall. Last month, the Kimball Township Planning Commission signed off on plans for a $600 million development that would include a 505-room hotel, 7,800-seat arena, 8,000-seat stadium and a 400,000-square-foot convention center — a facility larger than the Novi Expo Center.

Township Supervisor Tom Portis confirmed Friday there has been no formal mention of a casino.

“The township has received nothing in writing about a casino,” he said.

Malik’s lawsuit contains a floor plan that he said was provided to a potential investor in the Kimball casino. It promises a 307,000-square-foot casino — or seven acres — with 5,310 games including 5,220 slot machines.

If built, the Kimball casino would surpass the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mount Pleasant as the state’s largest.

The label on the Kimball floor plan calls it the Blue Water Resort Casino, a name that Malik contended is meant to cause confusion with his company, Blue Water Resorts LLC.

“DeFeo’s use of the name Blue Water Casino is confusingly similar to plaintiff’s name and appears purposefully designed to confuse investors, the public and public officials,” the lawsuit said.

Lawsuit outlines troubles
Dykema Gossett, one of Michigan’s largest law firms, helped prepare the lawsuit, a hefty document that includes a detailed summary of DeFeo’s past legal problems.

Malik said the intent was to show a “pattern of deception, and it’s not a new pattern for DeFeo. We believe he is intentionally deceiving investors.”

The lawsuit indicates DeFeo has been arrested multiple times on federal drug charges, although he was convicted only once. Five years ago, he was sentenced to time served and three years of probation on a charge of conspiracy to sell marijuana. A clerk with the U.S. District Court in Albany, N.Y., confirmed the conviction Friday and said it followed a plea agreement.

DeFeo also filed for personal bankruptcy protection in June 2001. That was two months before several of his partners agreed to pay more than $1 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a company that had accused DeFeo of fraud. The partners left on the hook included Barry Switzer, the former coach of the Dallas Cowboys and the University of Oklahoma; former Democratic congressman Dave McCurdy of Oklahoma; and former Oklahoma attorney general Larry Derryberry.

DeFeo also was sued by a landlord, who accused him of owing back rent for a house in Farmington Hills. The court entered a default judgment against DeFeo for $36,375.

Investors sue in Oakland
Three months ago, TransNav Properties LLC and three individuals — Konstantine Kapordelis, Ilja Vreeken and Steven Vreeken — sued DeFeo and two of his companies in Oakland County Circuit Court.

The plaintiffs said DeFeo’s lawyer, Richard Lehr, offered to sell them 1% ownership interests in a Port Huron casino for $100,000. They said they paid $200,000 for two shares.

Their lawsuit accused DeFeo of fraud and violations of the Michigan Uniform Securities Act. The plaintiffs based their claims in part on a “confidential information memorandum” dated October 2005.

“Economically depressed, the City expressed great support for a casino in downtown Port Huron and are prepared to provide up to 38.5 acres for its development,” the memo said. “The land is comprised of several parcels all contiguous to each other.”

According to the memo, the 38.5-acre site included the old county jail, the YMCA and Bank One, which “has indicated a willingness to sell. All other parcels are owned or controlled by the City and will be available to the Company for sale.”

The memo also indicated DeFeo’s company had invested more than $2 million in an escrow account “to place a hold on the aforementioned property.”

Prospective investors also received this assurance: “The City of Port Huron and County of Saint Claire (sic) both fully support the development of a casino in downtown Port Huron, which will complement Mr. Atchison’s (sic) $200 million development south of downtown.”

The Oakland County lawsuit claims there was never any deal with Port Huron. It noted that City Attorney John Livesay sent DeFeo a cease-and-desist letter in December 2006 that warned him to quit making misleading claims.

Malik raises doubts
Malik first went public with his doubts in March 2006, when DeFeo met with the Port Huron City Council and unveiled plans for a downtown casino. Malik, who was in the audience, spoke out and said DeFeo did not appear to understand the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act or other laws that govern Indian-owned casinos.

“Until there is money on the table, everyone should be cautious,” he said at the time.

In an interview with the Times Herald, Malik listed several reasons for doubt. He said:

• DeFeo is working with the Lac Vieux Desert Band, a Chippewa tribe from the western Upper Peninsula that has never asserted a land claim that would entitle it to a reservation in St. Clair County.


• Financial projections show the Kimball casino producing a staggering $470 million in revenues in its first year. What isn’t mentioned, Malik said, is that DeFeo cannot collect the profits from an Indian casino and the public cannot buy shares in one. A manager or developer such as Malik, DeFeo or the Ilitches can take no more than a 30% cut of the tribe’s proceeds.


• Investors reportedly are being told a reservation will be established via an executive order from President Bush. Lance Boldrey, an attorney with Dykema Gossett, said a president’s ability to do this was removed by Congress before the Civil War.

"If you could do this with an executive order, we would have done it,” Malik said.

Boldrey, who now represents Malik, was Engler’s chief legal counsel for Indian affairs. He negotiated the land deal with Bay Mills in August 2002.

“Somehow, the train has to come to a halt,” he said. “We want to get the story out there so that Blue Water Resorts is not tainted.”

Motown Museum brings trademark charges against Strather, Hitsville

Motown Historical Museum, Incorporated

v.

Hitsville Venture, LLC et al

Plaintiff: Motown Historical Museum, Incorporated
Defendant: Hitsville Venture, LLC and Herbert Strather (Herb Strather)

Case Number: 2:2007cv12548
Filed: June 14, 2007

Court: Michigan Eastern District Court
Office: Detroit Office [ Court Info ]
County: Wayne
Presiding Judge: John Feikens
Referring Judge: Steven D. Pepe

Nature of Suit: Intellectual Property - Trademark
Cause: No cause code entered
Jurisdiction: Federal Question
Jury Demanded By: Plaintiff

You may want to review these additional posts:

• Herb Strather behind new online slots featuring Motown Legends
• Is Michael Malik renewing interest in online gambling ventures?
• Michael Malik, a casino syndicator, has never been approved for gaming license
• Mashpee Wampanoag backers initiated gambling in Detroit but were never licensed
• Mashpee Wampanoag, Strather involved with Abramoff and associates
• Big Lagoon Rancheria chairman intended to operate online gambling venture
• Six dropped from Atwater Casino Group
• Three investors must sell their Detroit casino interests
• Investors have troubled histories

Indianz.com: Shinnecock Nation still wants shot at gaming

as posted 8.10.07 at Indianz.com:

Shinnecock Nation still wants shot at gaming
The Shinnecock Nation of New York still wants to enter the casino market but is feeling left out of the game.

The tribe wants to build a gaming facility on its reservation in Long Island. But the state is blocking the move, saying it has jurisdiction over tribal lands.

As part of the case, a federal judge determined that the Shinnecocks are an Indian tribe. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, however, won't recognize the decision.

That leaves the tribe in the same place as it was four years ago. Now that video lottery terminals are coming to three major racetracks, the Shinnecocks are worried that the Mohegan Tribe, the owners of a highly successful casino in Connecticut, could be running the new machines at a facility on Long Island.

Get the Story:

Shinnecocks want piece of track action (Newsday 8/10)
Username: indianz@indianz.com, Password: indianzcom

Sun Joins New York Bidders For Track (The New London Day 8/10)
Username: indianz@indianz.com, Password: indianzcom

Ilitch backed Tribe wants a piece of New York racetrack action; particularly on Long Island

8.10.07

Shinnecocks want piece of track action

BY MITCHELL FREEDMAN
mitchell.freedman@newsday.com

Just weeks before Gov. Eliot Spitzer names the group he wants to take over operations of New York's three major racetracks, the Shinnecock Tribal Council has complained that the Mohegan Tribe -- based in Connecticut -- is being considered to run proposed video lottery terminals at Belmont Park and Aqueduct.

That, the Council says, would unfairly allow an out-of-state tribe to run a gambling operation on Long Island while the Shinnecocks continue their legal struggle for approval to run a casino on the East End.

"What happens 10 years from now if we're still in court and gaming facilities are springing up in the New York metropolitan area? What happens to us?" asked Tribal Trustee Chairman Randy King.

Trustee Frederick Bess said the potential market for casino gaming is limited on Long Island. "The window of gaming opportunities is, I believe, closing. It makes sense for New York businesses to be done with New York tribes."

The tribe has not filed a formal proposal with the state to operate gaming at the tracks, declined to discuss whether it has any financial backing to do so and has no experience in gaming operations.

In New York State, casinos can only be on Indian lands. But video lottery terminals -- which can look like slot machines but are run by computer chips -- can be installed anywhere with state approval.

That, a spokesman for Gov. Spitzer said, means that proposals to install VLTs to bring in bigger crowds and additional revenue at Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga do not require an Indian tribal sponsor.

It's an important distinction, because the state hopes that installing thousands of the machines -- along with restaurants, nightclubs and, possibly, a hotel or two -- will rejuvenate the three tracks.

That's what David Matos hopes, too. He took over the Talk of the Town Deli across the street from 430-acre Belmont Park in Elmont 24 years ago. "I think gambling will help racing and will help the neighborhood," he said. "I hope for something big, and I hope it comes through."

Capital Play Inc., an Australian firm seeking to take over the tracks' management, has asked the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority to handle the VLT part of the operation because of its experience with the machines all over the country.

Capitol Play has offered the state three options to take over the track, the largest of which would cost the firm $1.8 billion. It calls for $50 million a year for 20 years in lease payments to the state, plus $700 million in track and facility improvements. Two options call for VLTs at all three tracks, while the third would place them only at Aqueduct and Saratoga.

The other bidders seeking to operate the tracks are:

Empire Racing, a Saratoga Springs group that includes the Churchill Downs track in Kentucky and Magna Entertainment.

Excelsior Racing Associates, which includes casino operator Steve Wynn and real estate developers Steven Roth and Richard Bronson.

The New York Racing Association, the current operator of the tracks, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization proceedings.

Empire revised its proposal Tuesday and said it could team with its competitors to form a board, which would include representatives of state government, local communities, the racing industry and OTB.

Earlier this year, it appeared the NYRA would continue operating the tracks and install VLTs at Aqueduct, but that plan fell apart when MGM Mirage -- which was to have financed the work -- dropped out as a partner.

There also have been proposals to close Aqueduct and sell some or all of the 192-acre property, or to have one firm operate the three tracks and another firm run the VLT operation.

The four companies recently were asked to re-submit proposals, or to propose a joint operating venture. The new submissions are being reviewed by Richard Rifkin, special counsel to the governor. Spitzer plans to announce his decision on which group to negotiate with by Sept. 5. Spitzer's choice will have to be approved by the state legislature.

A spokesman for the governor's office said it expects the transition to new management will take place smoothly, and that the change should not affect the racing season, which begins in November.

Tommy Lee, who owns the Belmont Diner near the track, said there are a lot of empty stores along Hempstead Turnpike, and that things seem to get a little worse each year. He, too, wants to see VLTs and a revamped racetrack.

"It would be good for the neighborhood. It would attract more people, which means more business," Lee said. "Business is slow. The economy is down. Anything that would bring businesses up would help."

Staff writer Timothy Robertson contributed to this story.

www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-lishin081007b,0,2592563.story

Gun Lake casino foes vow to block compact

8.09.07

By Nate Reens
The Grand Rapids Press

WAYLAND TOWNSHIP -- Opponents of an Allegan County casino knew months ago that the battle to block a gaming agreement centered in the state Senate.

It remains to be seen if leaders of 23 Is Enough and the Michigan Gambling Opposition have enough votes to stop a compact with the Gun Lake Band of Pottawatomi Indians.

John Helmholdt and Todd Boorsma, who head the casino rival groups, think they do.

State Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, isn't so sure.

"If it's going to happen, it's going to happen without my support," Kuipers said Wednesday. "But, when it comes down to it, the votes are likely there to pass it."

The state House on Wednesday approved a compact that could generate $3 million annually for local governments and an estimated $15 million for the state from the proposed casino along U.S. 131.

West Michigan's contingent voted against the deal, but were overwhelmed by a 63-41 tally.

Tribal leaders call it the most generous revenue-sharing agreement in the state's history and say it sets a new level of regulation, upping a gambling age requirement to 21 and dictating how money is prioritized to cover public safety costs.

Without a state agreement, but with federal approval, the tribe could decide against revenue-sharing.

The band plans to build a $200 million facility with 2,500 slot machines and 80 gaming tables. It could add as many as 1,800 jobs with pay averaging $40,000 per year, supporters say.

"At the end of the day, the Legislature will look at this from a common-sense approach," tribal spokesman James Nye said. "This (compact approval) is the only way to mandate the level of control.

"If opponents don't want gaming to go unfettered, they should support the compact."

However, Boorsma feels gambling is being shoved down the throats of county residents. He said all state legislators in the area oppose the casino, and the will of the majority is being ignored.

Boorsma maintains gambling is not an economic development tool and will only spur social losses from addiction and crime.

"People in Allegan County don't want it," he said. This has to stop somewhere, and I hope the dead end lies in the integrity of the Senate."

Nye counters the lack of popularity by saying local governments, including Wayland Township, support the casino. A tribe-sponsored poll also shows support for casino gambling, he said.

Boorsma and Helmholdt said any compact negotiation should wait until after a federal court has rendered a final ruling on whether the land where the casino is to be built can be put in trust.

A federal appeals court could hear oral arguments this fall, but Nye said similar claims raised by opponents against other tribes have lost at every turn.

Helmholdt said House members who pledged to vote against the casino "caved under the pressure of the bright lights and empty promises."

He said 22 of 38 senators plan to fight the compact.

"We believe we have the votes, but we know it's going to stay an uphill battle and a challenge to keep them," Helmholdt said.

-- Press Booth News Service reporter Peter Luke contributed to this story.

Michigan House approves casino compact with Gun Lake tribe

8.08.07

By TIM MARTIN
Associated Press Writer

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A deal that would give the state a slice of the revenue from a planned American Indian casino in southwestern Michigan was approved Wednesday by the state House.

The resolution, passed 63-41 in the Democrat-led House, approves a compact negotiated by Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, also known as the Gun Lake tribe.

The resolution also must be approved by the Republican-led Senate.

The tribe plans to build a casino in Allegan County's Wayland Township, about 20 miles south of Grand Rapids. It would employ about 1,800 people and have about 2,500 electronic gambling machines and 80 gaming tables.

The casino has been in the works for several years.

"The compact is the only way the state is going to secure important regulatory agreements," negotiated in the pact, said James Nye, a Lansing-based spokesman for the Gun Lake tribe.

The tribe and Granholm signed the compact earlier this year.

Under the compact, the state would receive 8 percent of the casino's take from slot machines for the first $150 million. The state would get 10 percent or more of the revenue from slot revenue above that amount. Tribal officials calculate the state would get about $15 million from the casino in its first full year of operation, while local governments would get another $3 million.

The Gun Lake compact would require gamblers to be 21 or older. Compacts with other tribes that operate Michigan casinos set the age limit at 18.

States often seek compacts with tribes to gain some regulatory authority and generate revenue for the state treasury. Without a compact, states risk missing out on revenue from casinos that the federal government would allow to open anyway.

In return, compacts offer tribes a measure of territorial protection from state-authorized gambling competition and may expedite the process of opening new casinos. In some cases, compacts also foster cooperation between tribes and surrounding local and state governments.

"The question is, do we want to have a say in this casino, or do we want to have no control and no say and no revenue," said Rep. Barbara Farrah, a Democrat from Southgate and sponsor of the resolution that passed the House.

An Allegan County lawmaker spoke in opposition to the casino.

"The majority of the people in my district don't want this," said Rep. Fulton Sheen, a Republican from Plainwell.

There are 18 tribal casinos in Michigan and three Detroit casinos. At least two other tribal casinos are in the planning stages.

Several of the tribal casinos no longer have compacts attached to them. Some were suspended when the state allowed non-tribal casinos to open in Detroit in the late 1990s. Some other tribes stopped making payments to the state in 2003 because of a dispute over the Lottery starting a game called Club Keno. The tribes said that game violated their compacts with the state.

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On the Net:

Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians (Gun Lake tribe): http://www.mbpi.org

Michigan Gambling Opposition: http://www.michgo.com

OPINION: Reservation Shopping Has Far-Reaching Consequences

Given Tom Shields attack this past week on Southern California's tribes and the fact that they were unable to have equal time at Barstow's City Council meeting, we're posting this from the archives of IndianGaming.com:

Casino developers representing the Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon Indian tribes, who are devising plans for off-reservation gaming in Barstow, continue to mislead the public about the basic facts.

A recent editorial in the Desert Dispatch, “Political maneuvers threaten casino delays” (January 24, 2006), states, “...despite the claims of historical ties to Barstow by some California Indian Nations, this conflict is about greed, not heritage.”

Indigenous peoples of America have strong and unique cultural connections to their lands. The ancestral lands of my people, the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians, cover a vast area encompassing most of what is San Bernardino County today. Our lands cover an area that includes Barstow in the north to the San Bernardino Valley to the south; and from Los Angeles east to Twentynine Palms. It is the home of our Creator.

We call ourselves Yuhaviatam, which means “People of the Pines.” San Manuel, a clan of the great Serrano Indian people, today resides on some 820 acres of our ancestral lands, a miniscule portion of what was once a vast territory.

Today, developers are exploiting the tribal status of three tribes, the Big Lagoon Rancheria, the Timbisha Shoshone and the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla, and seeking to move onto our ancestral lands in order to build casinos. In attempting to move these three tribes hundreds of miles away from their ancestral lands, these out-of-state casino developers are putting at risk the cultural heritage of those tribes and, in the process, undermining the sanctity of the ancestral lands of other tribes.

Contrary to the position stated in the Desert Dispatch editorial, we oppose the Timbisha Shoshone, Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon proposed land acquisitions because they involve encroachment on our ancestral lands by outside or “foreign” Indian tribes. Big Lagoon would move more than 750 miles from their Humboldt County reservation in faraway northern California near the Oregon border; the Shoshone would propose to move more than 100 miles from their existing reservation; and the Los Coyotes tribe would propose to move more than 150 miles from their existing reservation.

The land being targeted by Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon for their casino project is 15 miles from where a Serrano village once stood. Human remains found in the area were recently repatriated to San Manuel and carefully reburied at San Manuel under direct protection of the Tribe.
by Derron Marquez

Protecting our Ancestral Lands

On November 10, 2005, Virgil Moorehead, chair of the Big Lagoon Rancheria, was quoted in an Indian Country Today column, supporting the principle of protecting the integrity of ancestral lands: “I am fortunate to be part of a culture that has a continuing and rich spiritual history. My people have a continuing and unshakable commitment to our ancestral lands. In our actions, we never think only of ourselves; we live with respect for all things, in balance.”

Given these words, Chairman Moorehead's actions are troubling. How is it that a tribal leader can so eloquently state what is the bedrock principle for all Indian nations to protect ancestral lands and, with the very next breath, dismiss the same by saying, “... it's just a business transaction.”

San Manuel strongly supports the rights of tribes to develop their ancestral lands as a basic and fundamental principle. To that end, we have made clear that we would not oppose a land acquisition by the Chemehuevi Tribe – even for gaming purposes – because the Chemehuevi also have ancestral ties to the Barstow area. However, we also very much support the basic and fundamental principle that an outside casino developer should not exploit a tribe's status and attempt to move that tribe hundreds of miles away to develop a casino on the ancestral land of another tribe. (Complete Story)