In the case of the Mashpee Wampanoags, sometimes the wheels of justice grind slowly, but the long overdue housecleaning appears to be moving forward.
.Cape Cod Today is reporting --
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No information was available Friday on whether William McDermott, the West Roxbury lawyer who plans to resign next month as counsel to the Mashpee Wampanoag tribal council, has become the subject of a federal investigation.
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In other developments, the tribal council voted in an emergency meeting Friday night to place chairman Shawn Hendricks and secretary Desire Hendricks Moreno on paid administrative leave.
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Marshall resigned his post in 2007 after it was revealed that he had lied about his military record and was a convicted rapist. [Glenn Marshall and, in alphabetical order, about 1/3 of the way down the page, Stolen Valor , CCT, Globe, cctoday]
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There is no indication of why William McDermott's name is being included at this time.
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The Cape Cod Times is reporting:.
The shunning of tribe members Amelia Bingham, her son, Stephen, Stephanie Tobey-Roderick and Michelle Fernandes was also rescinded immediately.
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You may remember that Amelia Bingham was the elderly woman that Middleboro Board of Selectmen Chairwoman Marsha Brunelle, nicknamed The Gavel Queen for her willingness to gavel people into silence, refused to allow to speak after forcing the woman to stand in the sweltering heat of the Town Hall Auditorium.
.Of Scott Ferson, Mrs. Bingham said "He (Scott Ferson) doesn't speak for me or the tribe. He's not even one of us. He's a white man from Boston."
.Peter Kenney included McDermott in his comments in February 2008 --
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We can certainly see that open government is not something Shawn Hendricks or his masters -- Ferson, McDermott, Kirzner and Wolman -- want. Instead of shunning tribe members who demand access to the records of their own affairs and instead of allowing outsiders to run their tribe's future, perhaps the Mashpee Wampanoag should fire the outsiders who have corrupted their culture and sold their future, elect a Tribal Council that responds to members and hire some real fire eaters -- lawyers of the type who can gain for the tribe and all Wampanoag descendants what is rightfully theirs.
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cct in 2006 ---
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The Wampanoag's tribal council last year paid $100,000 to lobbyists Kevin Ring and Michael Smith, who worked with Abramoff at law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP until 2004, said Scott Ferson, an outside spokesman for the council with Liberty Square Group in Boston. The council hired the lobbyists in 2003 because it was frustrated with the languishing application, Ferson said.
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Maybe the Mashpee Wampanoags will regain control of their heritage.
Maybe the Tribe will re-negotiate the terms of the casino agreement with the investors.
Maybe the Middleboro Board of Selectmen will address this as a business agreement.
Maybe casino supporters will recognize that this is what is inherently wrong with gambling.
Maybe .....
9 comments:
Maybe? I for one do not think the investors will let anyone off the hook. They want the casino and those still on the tribal council who were allowing Marshall, Hendricks and McDermott to run the show want it also. I don't hold out much hope for a change.
Until the head is cut off, this will continue.
BS, if I may call you that, how do we know the feds aren't after the 'head' ?
Who signed the contract? Was it the convicted felon and the about to be convicted felons? And was the other party an about to be convicted felon?
Do you know about contract law and can explain how felonies and fraud impact the contract?
Will there be local casualities?
We're still waiting for the other shoe to drop ... and they do seem to be dropping pretty quickly.
When Wayne Perkins, Chairman of the Board of Selectment when this deal was negotiated and still on the Board when the land was auctioned at a poorly advertised auction acknowledged in a public meeting that the 'town' (whoever he meant by that) was negotiating with the 'Tribe' (whoever he meant by that) prior to Tribal recognition, some of us recognized the stench.
And when the Gavel Queen, Marsha Brunelle, the subsequent Chairwoman of the Board, so fiercely prevented any casino opponents from speaking at ANY public meeting, that reeked as well. Marsha gavelled Middleboro taxpayers and voters to silence when they attempted to prevent the land auction "We won't discuss the land auction!" Period! End of Discussion!
And Wayne Perkins said "The Town is not in the real estate business.' That's the same Wayne Perkins who said 'towns in Connecticut with casinos don't pay taxes.' (Of course, Wayne Perkins is the same political hack who assured his re-election by negotiating 36% pay raises and extending benefits no other town offers, denied it all, and helped put the town in the position where a loosing deal of $7 million a year looked good. And he did much else for which we'll forever remember him, but I digress.)
And what of Jack Healey?
When the process has the stench of sewerage, I don't expect to find a bouquet of roses at the bottom.
Too many rushed to endorse the IGA before its existence, including the school committee. If this was a great deal, it would have withstood the scrutiny of public discussion, without intimidation.
Although this pertains specifically to Middleboro at this time, my concern is also with the broader issue.
Casino gambling has created widespread corruption, fraud, politicians for sale, and hypocrisy.
When Grovoer Norquist and Ralph Reed laundered gambling proceeds to proclaim their opposition to gambling, huh?
And Abramoff had his sticky little fingers in a multitude of things, including HAVA and the new IGRA regs. And what went on with McCain?
Casino corruption has erupted across the nation and with the collapse of the businesses erected on that corruption, the results will surprise some. And maybe we can have an honest discussion about the effects of campaign contributions and predatory gambling.
Maybe we'll behave like adults and examine the facts.
Maybe...just maybe...
How can we even think of doing business with these people? It's not the whole tribe, but the leaders who were bad.
I love mysteries and can't wait for the next chapter. Are you writing a book?
and maybe all parties will see that everybody got screwed except the investors.
Can we visit Glen in jail? Does anyone know? Do they teach them to make widgets?
I watched as Mrs. Bingham stood at the microphone. Marsha was disgusting and no other member of the spineless bord said a word. This isnt about the casino. This is about treating others respectfuly. Roger will tell Marsha what to say and how to react. You'll hear his words monday. Is this really the best we can find to elect in this town? This is our chance to judge how they represent us. Voters need to pay attention. Your right about shoes dropping. Someone locally will fall. I just know it. Coakley's running for higher office and she's like a pitbull.
Hendricks on "Paid Leave"? I think he has already been paid plenty:)
My guess is he knows where the bones are buried and they are afraid to drop him completely.
If the Feds nail McDermott he will sing like a canary.
Note to all involved:- Make your deal now- They are coming for you!
The failure of the BOS to 'invite' the Tribe to a public meeting or to reopen negotiations or to even have an open mind on the need to address the IGA, defines how poorly voters chose their elected leaders.
The Board invited Rep. Calter to their meeting to criticize him.
The Board invited Smith from SRPEDD to their meeting to criticize him.
Yet 4 members of that Board refused to insist that the Tribe appear in public to address the issue(s).
The voters were offered choices in the last election. There were qualified candidates who were informed, articulate, well-educated, willing to do their homework and willing to do the research on the issues - any issue.
The Town would have been better served by any single other candidate than the ones they elected. And Adam helped elect them.
You're right, Nocasino.
They're coming!
And I, for one, simply can't wait to see what happens on the local level.
There was simply too much cash floating around not to wonder.
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