to higher office, Governor Slot Barns Patrick crammed through a flawed deal, demands the BIA act within 45 days to fulfill his timeline, and ignores the Genting Tribe's failures to submit a completed application.
Predatory Lending and Predatory Gambling are this Empty Suit's legacy to Social Justice.
Don't forget that Taunton has been the only community foolish enough to fall for the false promises.
State pushing hard for tribe's land trust
The tribe seeks to have 170 acres in Mashpee — in 11 different parcels — and 146 acres in Taunton — a combination of 13 parcels — taken into federal trust as an initial reservation. The property in Taunton, located within the Liberty and Union Industrial Park, is the site of the tribe's proposed $500 million casino, which would include three hotels and a water park.
According to a copy of the tribe's application, obtained by the Times through a Freedom of Information Act request, the paperwork is incomplete. Several key reports — the tribe's historic ties to Taunton, its business plan and how it will overcome a U.S. Supreme Court ruling known as the "Carcieri decision" — are not yet filed. Instead, the application contains placeholders that say "to be submitted."
Cedric Cromwell, tribal council chairman, issued a statement Wednesday saying the tribe is working on finalizing those documents.
"The process of completing our application for land in trust is well under way, and we expect it to be completed very shortly," he said.
Critics said the state's support of the Taunton proposal is premature.
"We're supporting land in trust and the compact, and I don't know why we're doing that when things are not complete," state Rep. Keiko Orrall, R-Lakeville, said. Orrall represents the East Taunton neighborhood where the casino would be built.
But the state refuted her comments.
"We are comfortable with the status of the application and feel our comments are appropriate in terms of timing as we continue to work with the tribe to bring new economic development and job creation opportunities to Southeastern Massachusetts," Jason Lefferts, a spokesman for the state Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, said in an email Wednesday responding to criticism.
The state's support of the trust application was promised as a concession in the tribal-state compact negotiated between Patrick and tribe leaders.
Late last week, Patrick sent a letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior asking that the deal struck between the state and tribe be approved within the next 45 days.
Federal approval of the compact is by no means guaranteed. Indian gaming experts have told the
Times that the compact likely will be heavily scrutinized because it calls for the state to receive 21.5 percent of gross gambling revenue, a figure that makes it the most lucrative compact for a state in the nation.
In exchange, the state offered its unwavering support of the land application, help for the tribe to solidify aboriginal hunting and fishing rights, and assistance with settling land claims in and around Mashpee.
"This reiterates (the) commonwealth's strong support of our land in trust, which is integral to our tribe's ability to provide economic development and jobs for our tribal citizens and neighbors," Cromwell said.
The state objected to the tribe's land-in-trust application in 2008 when the Mashpee Wampanoag proposed a $1 billion casino in Middleboro. Those concerns were related to environmental impact, transportation, education and public safety.
"Most [Huh?] of those concerns have been addressed in the compact and the (tribe's agreement with Taunton)," Reilly wrote.
Reilly added that the state is confident the tribe will work cooperatively in mitigating environmental impacts in Taunton and the surrounding communities.
Sure is alot of confidence in a Tribe's future negotiation after surrendering leverage.
Some concerns raised by the state about public safety were not addressed in the compact, Reilly noted. In the future, he said, the state intends to ask the tribe to adopt the state's Civil Defense Act and develop a protocol to allow the Massachusetts National Guard to respond to emergencies on trust land.
In closing, Reilly indicated the state's support is preliminary and based on information available at the time.
The commonwealth reserves the right to supplement and expand on these comments as the process proceeds," Reilly wrote.
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