Bob Steele’s Provocative Novel Demands Readers Face Ongoing Casino Saga
Are Indian casinos the just revenge against the white man for the genocide of Native Americans?
This point of view is not dismissed easily.
The tension and interplay of race, money and politics in the tribal recognition process, however, can make the search for truth a murky process. Who is really descended from Native Americans? Does genealogy count? Jeff Benedict’s book published in 2000, “Without Reservation,” raised those issues and challenged the legitimacy of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.
Even then, what could we reasonably expect from records kept by the occupiers who certainly displaced the indigenous people, time and time again?
As the casino and internet gambling industries evolve in a fragile economy, a companion narrative to “Without Reservation” has emerged. This time it’s an historical novel, written from the point of view of an old-line Connecticut family. “The Curse: Big-Time Gambling’s Seduction of a Small New England Town,” is former Congressman Bob Steele’s vehicle to put a lot of touchy issues back on the table.
Steele is one of those rare talented and successful guys secure enough to remain open, accessible and not full of himself. He is a striking figure in the most understated way, especially given his life roles which have also included CIA agent, bank president and international retail consultant.
The last time I saw Steele was in a Stamford warehouse in 1997. The 30,000-square-foot facility was hidden in plain sight. I remember Steele pushing a button in one of the building’s theaters opening up a wall that led to a mock city street. It was sort of a Disneyworld for bankers, filled with prototype branches of the future designed to lure and serve customers. Steele didn’t seem to mind when I told him the scene was reminiscent of 1960s TV secret agent Maxwell Smart’s journey to headquarters.
Now he tops it off with this novel set mostly in eastern Connecticut where he lived near the Mashantucket’s Foxwoods Resort Casino for 21 years.
His story begins with events leading to the massacre of Pequot Indians in Mystic in 1637, then jumps to the 1980s and 1990s when as many as a dozen tribes sought federal recognition and the opportunity to get rich quick via legalized gambling. The narrative plays out through a family with intriguing genealogy and local townspeople whose lives are impacted by embezzlement, organized crime, international finance and, of course, political corruption. It would be challenging to count the number of ironies presented within the characters and their deeds.
Steele’s strategic skills developed from other endeavors are evident in the pacing of the novel and the unraveling of history and intrigue. The sympathetic characters and the villains and their dialogue are credible for the most part, although perhaps a bit forced toward the finale. The nitty-gritty of local, state and national politics is revealed by a master. He uses the device of a stone wall late in the narrative to tie together most of the story of 13 generations on native or Connecticut land. It is among the elements that keep the reader in suspense.
There are some good action scenes, including occasional doses of fisticuffs, sex and homicide. We even get to see how “bill collectors” from Providence set up lucrative scams and otherwise ply their trade preying on growing numbers of gambling addicts.
Also striking was an example of how the federal government systematically stiffs citizens who try to use the Freedom of Information Act to retrieve documents the public owns, employing delays and omissions to frustrate and drive people away.
Steele mixes fictional characters with actual historical figures including former Gov. Lowell Weicker, Hartford Courant columnist and former state Sen. Kevin Rennie and former U.S. Rep. Sam Gejdenson, who followed Chris Dodd and Steele himself serving in the Second District seat.
In interviews and radio broadcasts, Steele makes the point that gambling has grown to become a politically-active, $63 billion industry. “The Curse” is about the sordid underbelly of what Steele says happened and almost happened in eastern Connecticut.
It is also a frame of reference for how Connecticut will be affected by our border states – Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York – as they deal with the rise of casino gambling. Will on-line gambling, as Steele predicts in his public appearances and interviews, put a casino on everyone’s “Smartphone?”
Steele continues to make almost daily rounds of libraries and social and professional clubs throughout the spring. He appeared in Litchfield last week and has upcoming appearances scheduled in Cheshire, Wethersfield, Griswold, South Windsor, New Canaan, Salem and Hebron over the next few days.
Andy Thibault is a contributing editor for Journal Register Co.’s Connecticut publications and the author of Law & Justice In Everyday Life. He formerly served as a commissioner for Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Commission. Reach Thibault by email at tntcomm82@cs.com. Follow him on Twitter @cooljustice.
http://www.countytimes.com/articles/2013/04/09/opinion/doc51641ef0854f8678824850.txt?viewmode=default
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