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Kildee says Bay Mills Indians have 'probably impossible legal situation' to overcome before opening a Flint Township casino
Published: Friday, December 31, 2010, 4:00 AM
By Ron Fonger | Flint Journal
FLINT TWP -- If the Bay Mills Indian Community wants to build a casino on land it just purchased in the township, U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee says the tribe faces a "real tough -- probably impossible legal situation" if it tries to do it without state and federal approvals.
"It's going to be extremely difficult ... very unlikely," said Kildee, D-Flint, who said he would not support a casino here without a public referendum or vote of the township Board of Trustees as well as a federal court decision or act of Congress that would explicitly allow for it.
Bay Mills this month purchased 28 acres of prime commercial land just northeast of the Genesee Valley shopping center.
The Flint Journal has been unable to reach a representative of the tribe for comment, and township officials have said they have not been told of plans for the property.
But earlier this year, Bay Mills opened a casino in the village of Vanderbilit in northern Michigan without state or federal approvals that other tribes contend are required.
James Nye, a spokesman for several other tribes seeking to shut the Vanderbilt casino down, has said Bay Mills is using Vanderbilt as a test case and preparing to open casinos in Port Huron and Flint if it's able to fend off authorities.
"They are trying to just push their way in and see if they get pushed out," said Kildee, co-chairman of the Native American Caucus in Congress. "They should follow the ordinary path (to opening a casino)."
Bay Mills is locked in anything but the ordinary path to opening a casino.
A lawsuit filed by the state attorney general's office last week says Bay Mills began operating a casino in Vanderbilt on Nov. 3.
The attorney general's office says the gambling operation is not on "Indian lands," as required for a legal gambling operation.
A letter from the state says Bay Mills has argued the casino can operate without review or approval from the state or federal officials in part because the tribe already has an approved compact with the state. Bay Mills also operates two casinos in the Upper Peninsula, where it is based.
Kildee said there is a practical barrier to Bay Mills building a casino in the township now because it will have difficulty attracting investors when "there's a cloud" of uncertainty about its legal standing.
"To get any investors they are going to have to have some certainty," Kildee said.
The Bay Mills Web site says Tribal President Jeff Parker "stands firm in his belief that the tribe is operating within the law" in Vanderbilt and is prepared to defend its position in court.
"The biggest misconception is that tribes can purchase property with monies from whatever source of funding they have available and open a casino," Parker said on the Web site. "That's not the case. There are very few tribes that have been authorized by Congress to make land acquisitions in this manner. We are operating our venue in Vanderbilt legally."
Kildee said unless a judge or Congress overturns the opinion of the National Indian Gaming Commission's solicitor general, casinos opened off reservation by Bay Mills won't be allowed to operate.
The congressman said there isn't support in the House of Representatives for such a move, citing the 2008 rejection -- 298-121 in the House -- of a Port Huron casino bill that would have allowed gambling there.
"Congress is not going to do it. I would not even consider that a possibility," he said.
Kildee said he wouldn't even support a congressional initiative without a vote of township residents or at least the township board.
Neighbor Kelly Brisbin said sees the potential for good and bad in any casino plan.
"You roll with the punches," Brisbin said. "Whether you support it or think it's a bad idea, there's not a lot you can do about it."
"I support anything that brings in jobs (but) I wish it was manufacturing jobs," he said. |
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Fri Dec 31, 2010 8:52 am |
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munnbreslin
F L I N T O I D
Proposal would allow casinos in Flint
By Laura Misjak | The Flint Journal
February 28, 2010, 8:33PM
FLINT, Michigan — Another initiative to land casinos in Flint and six other spots throughout the state has sprung new hope into an idea that never quite got off the ground.
Past attempts to land a casino in Flint have failed, most recently in 2008 when a U.S. House Committee approved a possible Indian casino in the city, but that notion fell flat after the House of Representatives voted against the idea.
This proposal would authorize casinos in Flint, Benton Harbor, Detroit, Lansing, Muskegon and Romulus along with Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Sports betting would be allowed at Michigan casinos if the proposal makes the November ballot and is approved.
Flint Mayor Dayne Walling said he’s very open to the possibility of casinos in Flint, but said it’s too soon in the discussion to make any determinations.
“One of this community’s top priorities is jobs and economic development. Any prospective project has to be given serious consideration,” he said. “I’m 100 percent for economic development.”
And given the city’s history with trying to land a casino, Walling’s not the only Flint resident open to the idea.
A 2004 ballot proposal that would have allowed an American Indian-owned casino in Flint was approved by 55 percent of the vote. However the vote was advisory, meaning it had no legal weight, and no tribes ended up building in Flint.
Former Flint Mayor Don Williamson proposed a Mt. Morris Township development that included a casino run by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in 2005, but the idea didn’t pan out.
Lee Wilkes, 43, of Flint said he would welcome any casinos to the city. Wilkes said he plans to enroll in the culinary arts program at Mott Community College and a casino would mean more jobs hopefully for him and others.
“It will bring more jobs,” he said. “Hopefully more people would come to the city that way.”
If the proposal passes, Walling said the private sector would have to decide where or when a casino could open in the Flint area.
“The prospect of commercial casino licenses becoming available in other cities across Michigan will probably generate a lot of excitement and discussion,” he said.
The “Michigan Is Yours” organization backs the proposal and says it would use some of the tax revenue raised by the new gaming halls to help pay for college scholarships and promote tourism in the state.
Advocates say some of the taxes raised from casino wagers would help fund the state’s Promise grant college scholarship program, which was eliminated this fiscal year. Some tax revenue also would go toward the state’s “Pure Michigan” advertising campaign.
The Board of State Canvassers approved the form of the group’s petitions Friday, but the effort still has a long way to go. Supporters have until July 5 to collect the more than 380,000 signatures needed to make the ballot.
In a statement, the group said its campaign committee includes Benton Harbor Mayor Wilce Cooke.
A group called “Racing to Save Michigan” has a separate proposal that would permit up to eight new casinos, five of which would be at horse racing tracks. That effort also is in the preliminary stages of qualifying for the ballot.
Michigan has 22 operating casinos with another under construction. Gambling expansions require a statewide and local vote, unless it involves Detroit’s three casinos or those operated by American Indian tribes. Casinos already operating in Michigan have opposed expanding gambling.
The state elections board also approved on Friday the form of the petition for a proposal that would require state courts to award joint custody in child custody cases unless there is clear evidence that one of the parents is unfit or unwilling.
That effort is backed by a group called the Dads and Moms PAC, which has until late May to collect more than 304,000 voter signatures needed to make the ballot. The number of signatures differs from that needed for the gambling measure because the gambling one would change the state constitution.
The proposal is opposed by the Michigan chapter of the National Organization for Women.
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Smaller Government, Lower Taxes, More Freedom
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Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:03 am |
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untanglingwebs
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Adam
F L I N T O I D
My understanding is Flint voters approved for a casino in Flint and not Mt Morris Twp.
http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article15480.html
"Donald J. Williamson confirmed an offer for the participation by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe in the development of the Casino project located on Mount Morris Road, Mount Morris Township, alongside the I-75, in Genesee County, Michigan.
The 200-acre site owned by Sports Resorts is located on I-75 with 96,000 cars traveling by per day, which lies within one and a half hours drive of 95% of the population of Michigan, Toledo, Ohio, Sarnia and Windsor, Canada. The proposal calls for the building of a Casino project in a joint venture with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, who are experienced in operating casinos and currently own and operate the Greektown Casino in downtown Detroit, along with five other major casinos in the State of Michigan (see www.saulttribe-nsn.gov). The proposal consists of a shopping mall with 80 stores and a 500-room hotel in the first phase that can be enlarged to 1,500 rooms in the second phase and would include a 200,000 square foot casino to be operated by Sault Ste. Marie Tribe Chippewa of Indians subject to granting of the required Casino Gaming License and permits, acceptance of the proposal submitted to the board of directors of SPRI and to the Chippewa Tribe.
In order to maximize shareholder value for its stockholders, the majority stockholder of Sports Resorts International, Inc., Donald J. Williamson today announced that he has devised a strategic plan to enhance shareholder value and allow each of its businesses to grow as an independent, publicly traded, emerging growth company focusing on a particular industry sector, and to allow the company to focus all its efforts on development of its proposed Mount Morris Sports Entertainment Complex and Domed Stadium, while The Colonels, Inc., will develop the 500-room hotel, casino and shopping center in a joint venture with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Indians.
Donald J. Williamson stated that he will implement the strategic plan by voting in favor of declaring a special stock dividend of one share of SPRI for each share owned, as of the record date to be set as of June 30, 2005, and for spinning off three subsidiaries as independent public companies each concentrating in a specific industry and each having the ability as publicly traded companies to secure additional debt or equity capital required to grow their businesses without the constraints of being private entities owned by a holding company, thus enabling the realization of maximum shareholder value in each business sector.
SPRI will, under the proposal made to the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, implement its business plan that calls for the development of the 200,000 square foot Casino, the 500-room hotel and shopping mall with 80 stores, a truck stop gas station and 3,000 parking spaces. SPRI will immediately commence negotiations to raise up to $100 million in commercial mortgage debt to finance the construction of the stadium the hotel and shopping center."
Mon Mar 01, 2010 10:13 pm |
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Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:05 am |
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In 2008 the saginaw Chippewa Tribe accused an un-named Detroit attorney of conspiring to create new casinos and shopping the idea to the tribes.
Page 8 of the tribal paper has an article about hearings. Page one aloso has a story.Powered byGoogle
Mar 1, 2008 ... Tribal Chief Challenges Bay Mills and Sault Tribe on Land “Scam” By Joe ... Tribes for shopping these casino deals to several cities in Michigan. ... include Auburn Hills, Vanderbilt, Flint, Port Huron and Romulus. .
http://www.sagchip.org/tribalobserver/archive/2008-swf/030108-v19i03.htm - 35k - Cached - Similar pages
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Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:33 am |
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**Ananich, like Rosenthal, worked for the Indian Gaming Commission and Kildee.
From Turtle Talk
January 25, 2008 · 2:09 am ↓ Jump to CommentsGranholm Cuts New Deal on Port Huron Casino
I read this just after I assign my students a project to assess the Port Huron deal….
From the Port Huron Times Herald:
Gambling on Port Huron
Granholm’s support improves the odds for a riverfront casino
The long-stalled effort to open an Indian-owned casino in Port Huron has received a major boost from Michigan’s governor, who has thrown her support behind the project.
In exchange for her endorsement, Gov. Jennifer Granholm modified the state’s 5½-year-old agreement with an Upper Peninsula tribe.
The new deal would increase the state’s share of gaming revenues by as much as $30 million a year. It also opens the door for building the casino at Desmond Landing rather than at the Thomas Edison Inn.
“I strongly encourage you to support this legislation,” the governor wrote in a letter to Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, the leaders of the House Committee on Natural Resources.The committee has scheduled a Feb. 6 hearing on H.R. 2176, a bill introduced eight months ago by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee. The measure would pave the way for a Port Huron casino by providing congressional approval of a land-settlement deal originally made in August 2002 by former Gov. John Engler and the Bay Mills Indian Community of Chippewa County, which is in Stupak’s district.
Jeff Parker, the president of the tribe’s executive council, said the agreement he and Granholm quietly signed on Nov. 13 was a crucial step.
“It’s very important to have her support,” he said.
Leaders back casino
Significantly, the governor’s endorsement means the proposed casino has the backing of the political leaders who represent Port Huron in Lansing and Washington.Along with Granholm, a Democrat, and Engler, a Republican, the proposal has been endorsed by Michigan’s two senators, Democrats Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township, whose district includes the city, co-sponsored Stupak’s bill, as did Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., co-chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus.
The casino also has the backing of the local legislative delegation, the Port Huron City Council and the St. Clair County Board of Commissioners. City voters gave their blessing in a 2001 referendum.
A final step – congressional and presidential approval of the land settlement – has proven elusive. Several bills have gone nowhere. There have been hearings in both the Senate and the House, but the issue has yet to come up for a vote before a congressional committee.
Hearing set for Feb. 6
That could change next month when the House Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to debate Stupak’s bill.Allyson Groff, the committee’s communications director, said a specific date has not been finalized, but Larry Rosenthal of Ietan Consulting said the hearing will be Feb. 6.
Rosenthal, a former aide to Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Flint, is a lobbyist for the Saginaw Chippewa, whose casino in Mount Pleasant is Michigan’s largest. The tribe is a vigorous opponent of the Port Huron proposal.
Rosenthal described the land-settlement deal as a ruse meant to circumvent a 15-year-old compact between Michigan’s federally recognized tribes, which agreed they would not engage in off-reservation gaming unless all 12 tribes agreed. At least nine of the 12 tribes oppose the Port Huron proposal.
The Saginaw tribe includes descendants of the Blackwater River band, which had a 1,287-acre reservation from 1807 to 1836 in the frontier settlement that would become Port Huron.
“Those are the ancestral lands where the Saginaw Chippewa lived and died,” Rosenthal said. “This is a scurrilous attempt to undermine the Michigan gaming compact and to undermine the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.”
MGM, Detroit oppose deal
Along with the Saginaw Chippewa, other powerful foes of the Port Huron proposal include gaming giant MGM Mirage, which operates a casino in Detroit, and the political delegations of both Detroit and Nevada.Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said his city’s three casinos have created nearly 10,000 jobs.
“These jobs meet the original goal that the people of the state of Michigan endorsed (in 1994) when the casinos were approved – economic self-sufficiency for Detroit,” the mayor wrote in a letter to the congressional committee. “Any expansion of off-reservation gaming will not only compromise the economic strides that we’ve made, but will also contradict the will and intent of Michigan voters.”
The mayor reportedly will be the first witness called at the Feb. 6 hearing, although Groff said she could not confirm that.
Two months ago, the 48-member House Natural Resources Committee was scheduled to debate and vote on casino proposals for Port Huron and Romulus. At the last moment, those votes were delayed, reportedly at the request of Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Detroit.
She is the mayor’s mother and chairwoman of the influential Congressional Black Caucus. MGM Mirage is one of her most generous campaign supporters.
‘Fair playing field’
Proponents describe the casino as a life buoy for Port Huron, which has experienced double-digit unemployment for several years. The city is one of the most economically depressed communities in Michigan, the state with the nation’s highest jobless rate.Port Huron also is the only community on the U.S.-Canadian border where a casino exists on the Canadian side without competition on the American shore.
In fact, there are two casinos across the St. Clair River. The Point Edward Charity Casino sits directly across from the Edison Inn, while Hiawatha Slots is part of a harness-racing complex in Sarnia.
The two Canadian casinos are operated by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission, which last week shared quarterly payments of $451,282 with Point Edward and $390,840 with Sarnia. The two communities have split about $40 million in gaming revenues in the past eight years.
“Our studies show that about 77% of that is American money,” said Richard Cummings, president of the Michigan Machinists and a founding member of the Thomas Edison Casino Advisory Committee. “All we’re asking for is a chance to compete on a fair playing field.”
State’s share rises
In a letter to the congressional committee, Granholm described the Port Huron casino as “a win-win for everyone involved.”Elaborating on that point, she added: “Approval of this settlement will resolve outstanding land claims potentially affecting 200 families in the eastern Upper Peninsula, provide thousands of new jobs in the struggling border community of Port Huron, provide revenue sources to assist the Bay Mills Indian Community in its efforts to become economically self-sufficient and provide much-needed funds to state and local governments.”
Liz Boyd, the governor’s press secretary, said Granholm would not have endorsed a Port Huron casino without the modifications to the 2002 agreement.
The new deal raises the state’s share of so-called “net win” revenues from a flat 8% to a sliding scale of 9% to 13%, depending on how much business the casino does. “Net win” refers to the amount the casino takes in from slot machines and other electronic games, minus the amount paid out in winnings.
If the casino opens, the governor said her cash-strapped state would see its share of annual revenues increase by $20 million to $30 million, depending on how successful the facility is.
Local share is 2%
Boyd said payments also would be more stable than under the Engler deal, which subjected the state’s share to possible termination if new gaming was allowed elsewhere. The agreement also provides the state with a share of revenues from Bay Mills’ two existing casinos in Brimley, a resort town on Lake Superior.Bay Mills also would be required to pay 2% of its net win to local governments. The tribe also could be asked to make other concessions.
St. Clair County’s administrator, Shaun Groden, and Port Huron’s city manager, Karl Tomion, said they are awaiting congressional action before negotiating with Bay Mills.
Both men have argued that congressional approval of a casino would be one way to offset the damage that seems inevitable if Homeland Security levels dozens of Port Huron homes and businesses to expand the border-inspection plaza.
Boyd said local governments have the option of creating a revenue-sharing board to receive and disburse casino funds, which are intended in part to compensate for lost property taxes.
Dispute dates to 1850s
The land-settlement deal resolves a dispute that dates to the 1850s, when Michigan Gov. Kinsley Bingham promised the Chippewas a 110-acre parcel on the St. Mary River. Despite that pledge, the property was seized by local officials for back taxes and sold off.Today, dozens of families own property at Charlotte Beach, the disputed parcel. Under the terms of the settlement, the Indians are to surrender their claims to the 110 acres, giving clear title to the current property owners.
In exchange, the Chippewas are to receive reservations – land that will be held in trust for them by the Interior Department – in southeastern Michigan.
A complicating factor is that the Bay Mills band split from Michigan’s largest tribe, the Sault Chippewa, in the late 1940s. Both tribes have claims to Charlotte Beach, and both agreed to settlements in exchange for casinos hundreds of miles from their reservations.
The Sault’s deal with Engler, which also has been restructured by Granholm, allows the tribe to open a casino at one of three locations – Romulus, Flint or in Monroe County south of the River Raisin. The Sault’s preference is a site near Metro Airport in Romulus.
2nd site is option
Under the 2002 deal, Bay Mills could build its casino only at the Thomas Edison Inn, a 12½-acre parcel adjacent to the Blue Water Bridge.The new deal gives the tribe an alternative site – a 19.6-acre parcel at Desmond Landing. It amounts to about one-third of the acreage put together in the past decade by philanthropist James Acheson, who owns a mile of waterfront property on the St. Clair River between the mouth of the Black River and the Seaway Terminal
Casino developer Mike Malik said the Edison Inn remains the preferred site. He said he has an option to buy the inn and has made payments for several months to help keep its doors open.
“I have a considerable investment in the Edison Inn,” he said.
Malik said Bay Mills asked the governor for an alternative site because of concerns that Homeland Security might oppose the construction of a high-rise hotel beside the bridge, one of the busiest crossings on the Canadian border.
A proposed $433 million expansion of the border-inspection plaza is expected to come up for final approval later this year. If the project goes forward as expected, it would mean five years of construction near the Edison Inn.
“We all have questions about what the federal government intends to do,” Malik said.
‘Nice, safe, fun city’
Malik is a Detroit native whose family moved to Clay Township when he was a youngster. He is a former Algonac city councilman and a business partner of billionaire Marian Ilitch, who owns the MotorCity Casino in Detroit. Her family holdings also include the Detroit Tigers, the Red Wings and Little Caesar’s Pizza.Ilitch supports the Port Huron casino but has said she is playing no role in its development.
If the casino opens, Malik stands to receive 30% of its revenues for seven years through a management contract with Bay Mills. In part, the money would reimburse him for start-up costs as well as the millions he already has invested in lobbying, legal, architectural and other expenses.
“Our biggest job is to get it up and running, and to pay the debts,” Malik said. “I see Port Huron as a tourist destination, a great place to come for two or three hours to see the river and the boats. This is a nice, safe, fun city.”
Doug Austin, executive vice president of Acheson Ventures, said negotiations with Bay Mills and Malik are ongoing.
“We still have questions,” he said. “Nothing is resolved.”
He said a promenade will be built from the Military Street drawbridge to the Seaway Terminal, a distance of more than a mile, to guarantee public access to the waterfront.
Austin also said any proceeds Acheson receives from the casino “will be pumped back into the community. … The money will be used to pursue what our original stakeholders, the people who live on the south side (of the Black River), told us they wanted.”
Filed under Author: Matthew L.M. Fletcher, gaming, Legislation, Michigan Indian, News |
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Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:45 am |
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Copyright © 2006 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Robert Siegel.
MICHELE NORRIS, host:
And I'm Michele Norris.
In Florida today Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to more charges of conspiracy and fraud. He admitted faking documents in buying a fleet of casino gambling ships. Yesterday in Washington the former lobbyist told a federal judge he was guilty of conspiring to defraud clients and bribe government officials. He also agreed to cooperate in what could turn out to be the biggest corruption scandal in Washington in decades.
SIEGEL: Among those implicated is former House Majority Leader Republican Tom DeLay of Texas. Abramoff funded his political influence business with vast sums of money from clients, most of it from newly wealthy Indian tribes with gambling casinos. NPR's John Ydstie has been covering this story and he joins us now.
John, let's talk about this money machine that Abramoff set in motion using the Indian tribes. How did it work?
JOHN YDSTIE reporting:
Well, back in 2001 Jack Abramoff teamed up with Michael Scanlon, who is a former press secretary for Tom DeLay. Scanlon had just set up a public relations firm. Abramoff would go to the tribes and he would convince them that they needed representation in Washington to protect their tax-exempt status, things like that, and he had convinced them to hire Scanlon. Scanlon would bill the tribes exorbitant amounts of money and then kick back 50 percent of the profits to Abramoff. Those kickbacks totalled $20 million according to investigators and they're really at the heart of the fraud that Abramoff admitted to yesterday in court.
SIEGEL: Well, did the tribes get anything of value for the fees that they paid?
YDSTIE: Well, compared to the $80 million or so that they were billed, not much, but many of them did get some services. For instance, the Louisiana Coushattas wanted to keep a rival tribe from setting up a casino across the border in Texas and Abramoff and Scanlon did some behind-the-scenes work to help get a ban on tribal gaming in Texas and the casino was never opened. But this Texas gaming ban also set up one of the most brazen schemes--scams really perpetrated by these two. It forced another tribe, the Tiguas to close their casino in El Paso.
SIEGEL: And because the ban was statewide?
YDSTIE: Exactly.
SIEGEL: All the way across the state in El Paso.
YDSTIE: Right. And so Abramoff sees an opportunity. He flies to El Paso, shows up on the Tiguas' doorstep says, `It's a travesty that your casino was shut down' and he says, `I'll work for free to get my friends in Washington to reopen it.' Of course, Abramoff tells the Tiguas to hire Scanlon.
SIEGEL: He'll work for free but you've got to pay Scanlon.
YDSTIE: Right, and Scanlon bills him $4 million. Abramoff gets kicked back $2 million. Now Abramoff does go to Ohio Republican Bob Ney, who we've heard a lot about, and asks him to try to help fix this thing. And he does try, but the effort flops. Nevertheless, his political action committee is paid by the tribe, and Ney, for his part, denies any wrongdoing.
SIEGEL: Well, mentioning Ney brings up the question of Abramoff's friends in Congress and the most important among them, of course, was Tom DeLay, who was formerly the very powerful House majority leader. Is DeLay involved with Abramoff's tribal business in any way?
YDSTIE: Well, Abramoff cultivated a relationship with DeLay and then used it as a calling card with his clients, including Indians. Let's play a piece of tape
from an interview that I did with Bernie Sprague, who was with the Saginaw Chippewas, a Michigan tribe, that paid them $14 million. When Sprague got elected to tribal council, he went to the chief and asked `Why are we spending so much money on these guys?'
(Soundbite of interview)
Mr. BERNIE SPRAGUE (Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Council): And the response was always he has Tom DeLay and he's top guy out there. And these guys don't mess around with little people, they go--you know, they use Tom DeLay and he knows this guy and he knows that guy. He has Tom DeLay. We never met Tom DeLay. I haven't met Tom DeLay to this day.
SIEGEL: That's what Mr. Sprague said. Is there any evidence that Tom DeLay ever did anything specifically for the Saginaws?
YDSTIE: No, but at Abramoff's direction they did pay $18,000 to DeLay's political action committee. The lawmaker who ended up helping him was Conrad Burns of Montana who got legislation amended for $3 million so that they got a school built. It came from a fund for needy tribes and the Saginaws are among the richest tribes in the country.
SIEGEL: And did Senator Burns recognize anything related to this?
YDSTIE: Well, he got $150,000 from Abramoff and his clients and, of course, he's under scrutiny now.
SIEGEL: Well, it doesn't leave Tom Delay off the hook entirely. There are other points of connection here.
YDSTIE: Right. DeLay traveled on elaborate trips with Abramoff. He also got more in contributions from Abramoff and his wife directly than any other lawmaker. And DeLay's wife was employed by a former DeLay aide Ed Buckam, who founded a nonprofit group to--called the US Family Network--and they got contributions from Abramoff.
SIEGEL: Thank you, John. NPR's John Ydstie.
Copyright © 2006 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used
in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio. |
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Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:55 am |
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Hayworth Wrote Letter To The US Department Of Interior Lobbying On Behalf Of And Abramoff Client – The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe Of Michigan
Hayworth lobbied the US Department of the Interior on behalf of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian tribe of Michigan – an Abramoff client. “More than a dozen members of Congress intervened to help Indian tribes win federal school construction money while accepting political donations from the tribes, their lobbyist Jack Abramoff or his firm. … Most wrote letters that pressed a reluctant Bush administration to renew a program that provided tribes federal money for building schools. Others worked the congressional budget process to ensure it happened, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press … One of Abramoff's client tribes, the Mississippi Choctaw, was using the program, and his team was lobbying furiously to extend it for other tribal clients, including the Saginaw Chippewa of Michigan. The Saginaw prevailed the next year …
Another letter, according to Abramoff's e-mails, came from Hayworth and Michigan Rep. Dale Kildee, who run a congressional group on tribal issues. Hayworth got about $64,520 and Kildee $10,500 in Abramoff-related donations between 2001 and 2004.” (John Solomon and Sharon Theimer, “Lawmakers Helped Tribes; Took Donations from Indian Clients of Lobbyist Abramoff,” The Associated Press, 11/25/05)
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Fri Dec 31, 2010 10:00 am |
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Indian Tribe Severs Ties to Federal Abramoff Money
Friday, April 07, 2006
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — One of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff's former tribal clients is severing ties to millions of dollars in federal aid he helped arrange.
Leaders of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian tribe of Michigan said Thursday in two letters to lawmakers that they will not move forward with plans to build a school on the reservation. The project received $3 million in funding from the federal government with help from Abramoff, who has pleaded guilty in a Justice Department corruption probe.
The letters, obtained by The Associated Press, were addressed to Sens. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Reps. Charles Taylor, R-N.C., and Norm Dicks, D-Wash. The lawmakers chair the Senate and House appropriations subcommittees that oversee the Interior Department.
Saginaw Tribal Chief Fred Cantu and Tribal Sub-Chief Tim Davis said they were "writing to express our appreciation for the $3 million appropriation" approved in November 2003.
But "after careful consideration," they wrote, the tribal council voted against the construction because "it is not financially prudent to pursue this project at this time."
The tribe asked that the funds be redirected to programs targeted for cuts by the Interior Department. Messages were left Thursday with tribal officials.
Through letters and legislation, more than a dozen lawmakers stepped in to protect the school funding program for Indian tribes while receiving political contributions from the tribes, Abramoff or his firm.
One of Abramoff's client tribes, the Mississippi Choctaw, was using the school program, and his team was lobbying to extend it for the Saginaw Chippewas and other clients.
The members of Congress came from both parties, including Taylor, Burns and Dorgan, the top Democrat on the Senate committee which has investigated Abramoff.
Most received donations, ranging from $1,000 to more than $74,000, in the weeks just before or after their intervention.
Both Burns and Dorgan received thousands of dollars from Abramoff's tribal clients, money they pledged to give away late last year. Dorgan returned $67,000 in contributions from tribes and other Abramoff associates, while Burns returned or gave away about $150,000.
Burns, who is seeking re-election this year, has said he wrote the letters at the request of Michigan lawmakers who represented the Saginaw and wasn't influenced by Abramoff. Democrats have tried to make Abramoff a campaign issue, running a television ad last year that specifically mentioned the Saginaw school construction money.
The Michigan lawmakers — Democratic Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow and Republican Rep. Dave Camp — wrote a letter to the Interior Department on Jan. 23, 2003, on the Saginaw's behalf. All three received donations from the Saginaw.
Officials with Levin, Stabenow and Camp have said there was no connection between the letter and the contributions and said they were working on behalf of Michigan constituents. The tribe is located in Camp's central Michigan district.
Burns spokesman James Pendleton said Thursday that "questions about this issue need to be directed to the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe and Senators Stabenow and Levin since they were the ones who requested the money in the first place."
Levin spokeswoman Tara Andringa said the senators sought the funding from the appropriations subcommittee during the previous year — in March 2002. But she said Levin and Stabenow did not pursue the funding from the subcommittee in 2003.
Abramoff worked for the Saginaw Chippewas from late 2001 to late 2003. The tribe said they paid about $14 million to Abramoff and his former associate, Michael Scanlon.
Scanlon pleaded guilty in November to conspiring to bribe public officials, a charge stemming from the investigation into work he and Abramoff performed for Indian tribes in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Michigan. In January, Abramoff pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud and agreed to cooperate in the influence-peddling investigation.
A Senate panel learned in 2004 that Abramoff and Scanlon spent $100,000 to help get eight supporters elected to the Saginaw Chippewas' 12-member council in 2001. Two days after the election, the new council voted to hire Abramoff and Scanlon.
According to a federal complaint against Abramoff issued in January, prosecutors said the lobbyist encouraged the Saginaw Chippewas to expand their contract with the company in June 2002 without telling them he would receive about 50 percent of the profits.
From June 2002 to October 2003, the tribe paid the firm about $3.5 million. About $540,000 was secretly kicked back to Abramoff as part of the scheme, the court documents said.
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