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Tribal Leaders Respond To Accusations Of Financial Mismanagement
GEOFF SPILLANE
Friday, October 10, 2014
It has been a tumultuous three weeks for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.
Two tribal council members, Carleton H. Hendricks Jr. and Laura E. Miranda, have publicly accused tribal leadership of accumulating massive debt from casino investors and paying themselves inflated salaries as full-time tribal employees. They also raised concerns that repayment responsibility of the debt amassed in recent years could be passed on to future generations of the tribe should a destination resort casino in Taunton not be realized.
The two tribal council members held a meeting last Saturday, October 4, at the Mashpee Wampanoag Rod and Gun Club to line up opposition support for the current administration. Paul E. Mills, a tribal elder, said that approximately 70 to 80 tribal members attended.
A Mashpee Enterprise reporter was denied access to the meeting.
In an interview on Tuesday morning, October 7, at the tribe’s community and government center, tribal chairman Cedric Cromwell and vice chairman Jessie (Little Doe) Baird addressed the accusations head-on.
Mr. Cromwell and Ms. Baird expressed concern and disappointment that the two tribal council members—as elected government officials—had violated tribal law by releasing confidential financial documents to the media and others.
“They are hurting the tribe,” Mr. Cromwell said, noting that it was too early to speculate as to whether the actions of Mr. Hendricks and Ms. Miranda would result in their removal from the tribal council.
They also said that recent tribal council meetings have become so contentious and out-of-order that many families, especially those who bring children because they do not have childcare, have stopped attending.
Mr. Cromwell and Ms. Baird, citing confidentiality agreements, said that they could neither confirm nor deny published reports that the tribe has to date borrowed $90 million at 16.5 percent interest from Genting Group, a Malaysia-based casino developer. They did, however, reference figures spent by Mohegan Sun and Wynn Resorts to prepare plans, hire professional consultants, and bid for a resort casino in the Boston area that were near or over the $100 million mark.
Mr. Cromwell also said that the two council members clearly know that, should a casino not be built in Taunton, the tribe is not obligated to pay back the funds borrowed from Genting. As for claims that there is a lack of financial transparency in the gaming arm of the tribe, he also noted that the two councilors are welcome to attend meetings of the Mashpee Wampanoag Gaming Authority, and were even asked to become members.
“We are developing a business and there is a provision in our agreement that should the business not be developed, then the tribe is not responsible for the debt. What they are saying is simply not the case. My children and their children will not be responsible for the debt. As councilors, they are given the meeting minutes. They know that we have no obligation to repay that debt if the resort does not get developed,” Ms. Baird said, further noting that as elected council members, she does not believe Mr. Hendricks or Ms. Miranda have the best interests of the tribe at heart.
Mr. Cromwell also stressed that the tribe continues to have a solid and sound relationship with Genting.
“We at the Genting Group remain extremely enthusiastic about the tribe’s resort casino project in Taunton, and we support the tribe in its effort to complete the project. We have met in person with the tribal council and the tribal membership on numerous occasions to present information about our role and the project, we have answered, and will continue to answer questions as necessary to ensure the tribe is fully informed,” Michael Speller, president of Resorts World Massachusetts, a Genting subsidiary, said in a written statement.
Mr. Cromwell and Ms. Baird also said that the accusations made against tribal leadership are politically motivated, with six council seats—including those of Mr. Hendricks and Ms. Miranda—up for grabs in the tribal election in February.
They also said that Mr. Hendricks and Ms. Miranda are closely aligned with the previous, scandal-ridden administration of Glenn A. Marshall. Mr. Marshall spent three years in federal incarceration on charges that he defrauded the tribe and the federal government. He was released from prison in 2012.
“There is an election coming up that will require candidates to stand on their record of accomplishment, and if you haven’t accomplished anything, you can only go on the offensive,” Ms. Baird said.
Mr. Hendricks and Ms. Miranda are among three of the 11 council members that are not employed full time by the tribe, nor are they required to work for the tribe, but Ms. Baird would like to change that.
“In most governments, if you’re elected to be a legislator it is a full-time job, so I have proposed an initiative that all council members should be full-time employees. The chairman can’t assign a duty to non-employees, so if you’re willing to sit on the council, you should be willing to sit in this building as an employee,” Ms. Baird said.
Mr. Hendricks did not respond to a request for an interview, but Mr. Mills, who supports the opposition movement against the current leadership, explained concerns of some of the rank-and-file tribe members and most of it involves a lack of transparency.
“Unfortunately the general public knows almost as much as we do. The machinations of our government have been secret for a while—not everything, but issues associated with the gaming authority. We don’t know what happens once the money is approved and borrowed from Genting. When we go to vote on the tribal budget in January, two-thirds of it will belong to the gaming authority. People are concerned because this was, in Cedric Cromwell’s words, supposed to be the most open and transparent administration ever,” he said.
Mr. Mills also said there is concern about the salaries of tribal leaders, which he believes are out of proportion to the tribe’s resources.
“We have very little income other than grants and casino backers. Our income is almost nil. Before the casino pursuit, most of our income came from the powwow, now we turn a loss at it. The tribal leaders have been very extravagant with a lot of things, and it is upsetting to other tribe members who are not doing as well,” he said.
According to Mr. Mills, there is also concern among the opposition that the 2009 Carcieri ruling is a “brick wall” facing the tribe’s casino hopes, and that the chances are remote that the tribe will have land placed into federal trust, not to mention that it is not the best time to enter the casino gambling business.
He also said that many members of the opposition speculate that there may be improprieties with the allocation of the Genting funds, but they do not have definitive proof.
Ms. Baird did note that while she feels that a majority of the tribal community is coming under attack from the recent allegations, she agreed that tribal leadership could be communicating better about progress being made on several fronts.
“Culturally we are not raised to pat ourselves on the back but as council members we are so ‘heads-down’ working that maybe we don’t stop enough to communicate. People could stand to hear more from us,” she said.
http://www.capenews.net/mashpee/news/tribal-leaders-respond-to-accusations-of-financial-mismanagement/article_87fba474-507d-11e4-8463-27fd4e088b8b.html
MASHPEE — Two Mashpee Wampanoag tribal councilors who spoke out about the tribe's growing casino debt face possible sanctions for speaking out, according to multiple tribe sources.
At a highly anticipated meeting of the tribal council Wednesday night, most of an executive session was about what council members Carleton Hendricks Jr. and Laura Etta Miranda said in an interview last week with the Times, sources said. The council then resumed its regular session with discussion of how to punish Hendricks and Miranda, according to multiple sources who were at the meeting.
In a story published Oct. 2, Hendricks and Miranda said they wanted to make fellow tribe members aware of the extent of borrowing and spending on a proposed $500 million casino in Taunton.
As of last week, the tribe had borrowed $90 million and was paying 16.5 percent interest on loans from affiliates of Genting Group, a Malaysian casino giant, Hendricks and Miranda told the Times.
Chairman Cedric Cromwell said in a response at the time that tribe finances are proprietary and called the reporting of them by councilors "irresponsible."
On Wednesday night, the tribe council voted to borrow another $9 million, taking $2 million off the top to pay interest on the loan, sources said. The vote was 8-2 with Miranda and Hendricks opposed, sources said.
Wednesday's meeting attracted an overflow crowd that sources estimated at 75 to 100 people with some watching on a screen in the building's gymnasium. By the time a vote was taken six hours later on whether to sanction Hendricks and Miranda, an estimated 15 tribe members remained in the audience, sources said.
After the executive session, the tribal council as a whole discussed how to punish the two elected tribal councilors, according to multiple sources who were at the meeting. But a motion made by tribe Secretary Marie Stone to expel them — seconded by Councilor Trish Kellinui — never made it to a vote.
"It was a charged atmosphere," a tribe source said. "The room went crazy." At one point members of the audience said, "Go ahead, expel them," and then vowed to oust tribal councilors who did so in an upcoming election, the source said.
Ultimately, the tribal council voted unanimously to support an amendment by Miranda to rescind Stone's motion to expel and instead meet with the tribe's traditional leaders — the chief and medicine man — to work together, sources said.
The press is not allowed into tribal council meetings. Though it is a government meeting, the tribe is a sovereign nation and is not subject to the state's Open Meeting Law.
Hendricks declined to comment Thursday and Miranda could not be reached. A source said the two councilors fear repercussions because of how close they came to being expelled.
Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell issued a statement Thursday declining to discuss details of the meeting and rejecting comments that leadership is attempting to silence dissent.
"As with any family there are differences of opinion, and we have a fair and open process for dealing with those differences, which includes calling on the wisdom of our elders," Cromwell said. "Of course, there are certain strategic details that are better kept in-house as we work toward goals that will enhance the economic prospects of each of our tribal citizens."
Several tribe sources contacted by the Times Thursday said they were shocked that Miranda and Hendricks could face sanctions for speaking out.
"That would have been a violation of their civil rights," one said.
In the days leading up to the meeting, Cromwell warned on the tribe's website that participants in Wednesday's meeting would be subject to the tribe's laws of decorum and anyone causing a disturbance would be removed by police.
The post was later taken down, but Wednesday's meeting began at 5:30 p.m. with a large police presence. Two marked police cruisers were parked near the entrance to the tribe's headquarters.
Inside, up to five police officers were present, said Police Chief Rodney Collins, who was there briefly.
Collins said the tribe hired two detail officers, but that he decided to deploy more after hearing from sources about potential trouble at the meeting. He said he also spoke with Cromwell during the day.
Police were there to diffuse any conflicts, Collins said. In one instance an officer, who is also a tribe member, was able to calm a family member, he said.
"I am pleased that there was no disturbance, no arrest and cooler heads prevailed compared to some reports of potential problems earlier in the day," Collins said.
Some tribe members complained that the police presence was meant to intimidate.
Cromwell defended the police presence. "Just as there are police officers at municipal government meetings everywhere, there is nothing untoward or unusual with public safety officers being present at our tribal council meeting," he said.
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20141010/NEWS/410100307
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