Former Mashpee Wampanoag leader pleads guilty to tax charges as tribe’s controversial casino grows

28th July 2025 | By Jess Marquez

Cedric Cromwell, a former tribal leader in Massachusetts, will face sentencing this fall for federal crimes related to a casino project that now seems to be on track after years of delays.

On Friday the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced that Cedric Cromwell, the former chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and president of its gaming operations, pleaded guilty to four counts of filing a false tax return. It is the latest chapter in a winding, multi-year legal saga surrounding the disgraced chairman and his former tribe.

Cromwell failed to report more than $177,000 in income on federal tax returns between 2014 and 2017, authorities said. About two-thirds of that was connected to the tribe’s First Light Resort and Casino project in Taunton, Massachusetts, which is a decade in the making and still ongoing. The other income came from side deals not related to the casino scandal.

Sentencing is set for 5 November before US District Court Judge Nathaniel M Gorton. Cromwell could face up to three years in prison, a year of probation and a $100,000 fine for each charge. But in addition to the tax counts, the 60-year-old Cromwell will also face sentencing for three extortion charges and one charge of conspiracy to commit extortion. Those charges were originally dropped by a lower court in 2022 but were reinstated by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in September 2024.

The extortion charges carry sentences of up to 20 years, three years of probation and a $250,000 fine, per count.

From bribery to extortion

Originally, Cromwell was indicted in November 2020 alongside David DeQuattro, CEO of prominent development firm RGB Architects. Authorities alleged that Cromwell conspired with RGB to be the “owner’s representative” for the casino project and that he received more than $57,000 from DeQuattro between 2014 and 2017 in exchange for a lucrative development contract. This was in addition to about $45,000 of other unreported income from a previous architectural partner who is not named.

According to prosecutors, Cromwell received a home gym and a hotel suite vacation from DeQuattro in addition to the money.

“Instead of working honestly on behalf of the Mashpee Wampanoags as their duly elected representative, Cedric Cromwell is accused of using his position as chairman of the tribe to enrich himself by extorting tens of thousands of dollars in bribes and engaging in a conspiracy with David DeQuattro to commit bribery,” Joseph Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division, said at the time.

Both men were convicted of bribery in May 2022, although the trial court severed the tax charges and ruled only on the extortion and bribery charges. However, after appealing to the First Circuit, DeQuattro was ultimately acquitted of all charges in 2024, whereas all of Cromwell’s charges were reinstated.

Now back to work, DeQuattro has emerged as a victim, with Cromwell now pegged as the extorter and ringleader. He will now face his dual sentencing for both sets of charges this fall.

“One of the greatest things that has happened throughout this whole thing is it’s almost like you wear a set of X-ray glasses, where you can see people for who they are,” DeQauttro told GoLocalProv in March. “And I think I did that at a young enough age, where you know who your real friends were.”

Casino saga just as complicated

As Cromwell’s legal troubles have played out, his former tribe has had no better luck in its quest to develop the casino project without him.

The Mashpee Wampanoags were federally recognised in 2007, and the city of Taunton in 2012 signed an Intergovernmental Agreement with the tribe for a massive casino development that came to be known as First Light. The first phase of the project alone was slated for 3,000 slots and 150 tables.

More than a decade of legal battles ensued after the original agreement, keeping the project at a standstill. Several court rulings during that time flip-flopped on the legality of the project and the original agreement.

A detailed breakdown of these rulings, compiled through mid-2023, is available on PlayMA.com. In 2024, the tribe finally came out victorious in its legal defence of First Light and announced plans to build a temporary “welcome centre” in Taunton.

From 10 to 50 to 250?

Adding to the complexity of the case is the fact that Genting is funding the casino project and is partnered with the tribe to operate it. That relationship was rocky in previous years due to the project’s legal troubles but seems to have improved. When the temporary welcome centre was opened in January, Kevin Jones, chief strategy officer for Genting Americas, was on hand.

He told the Taunton Daily Gazette that the facility was meant to educate the public about the tribe and its future casino plans. It also included a “sampling” of gaming, in the form of 10 slots.

In the months since, the small facility has continued to expand. It has grown from 10 to 50 slots, lengthened its operating hours and obtained an alcohol licence. An updated agreement with the city could allow the centre to further expand to 250 slots.

The Daily Gazette has also noted the tribe is now directly referring to the center as a “casino” instead of a welcome centre, as it did previously. If the tribe does intend for the facility to become a permanent casino, it would still be far below the scope outlined in the original 2012 agreement under Cromwell.

iGB 

 

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Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe elects Brian Weeden as new tribal council leader

Jessica Hill Cape Cod Times 

Published May 18, 2021 

MASHPEE — The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has a new chairman who aims to unite tribal members, promote economic development and preserve the tribe’s culture. 

In its May 16 election, members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe elected 28-year-old Brian Weeden as chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council.

“I feel ready to get to work,” Weeden said. “There’s a lot of things that need to be done for the tribe and the community.” 

Weeden won by 20 votes, garnering a total of 241 votes to 221 for Nelson Andrews Jr.. Aaron Tobey Jr. received 167 votes, and Robert “Kyle” Bassett had 20. Carlton Hendricks Jr. was elected vice-chairman, Marie Stone elected treasurer and Cassie Jackson elected secretary. 

“I hope the tribe’s future is bright with the newly elected leadership,” Bassett said. “I know everybody that got elected, and I hope that they’re up for the challenge.” 

Weeden is the youngest person to serve as Tribal Council chairman, the head of the tribe’s executive and legislative government branch.

Weeden graduated from Mashpee High School in 2011 and attended Cape Cod Community College. He works for the Mashpee Department of Public Works as a custodian at the K.C. Coombs School. 

For years, Weeden has been involved in both tribal and town organizations, such as the Mashpee Conservation Commission and the Mashpee Historical Commission. He was most recently elected to the Mashpee School Committee. He is also on Mashpee’s Town Seal Design Committee, and is representing the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe on the state seal commission.  

In 2009, Weeden founded the Youth Council, and created the Mashpee Youth Commission in 2019 to give young people a voice and experience in tribal and local politics. 

Weeden said his main priority is to restore unity in the tribal community by talking with members and listening to them, he said. He said he plans to organize more unity conferences and ceremonial gatherings. Hendricks, the vice-chairman, also wants to have an open, transparent government where members are aware of what is going on, he said.

Weeden said another goal is to preserve and emphasize the tribe’s culture through more language classes and cultural programming, such as summer camps and Quahog Day for children. He said the tribe used to have a toddler hour at the tribal museum, where day care providers would come in with their children, and a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe would host a cultural activity. 

Weeden and Hendricks say they also want to find ways to improve the tribe’s financial status through the implementation of a finance committee as well as find new streams of revenue.  

The tribe has been in a dire financial situation for years, and with the plans to build a Taunton casino halted, there is a serious need for economic development.

Weeden’s past two predecessors, Cedric Cromwell and Glenn Marshall, were both indicted on felony charges while in office. Cromwell is currently facing bribery and extortion charges, and Marshall pleaded guilty to several charges in 2009, including embezzling nearly $400,000 from the tribe.

Weeden said he hopes to turn the tide and restore the tribe’s integrity.

“The Cromwell administration left the tribe devastated,” said Hendricks, who has a couple of plans to bring economic development to the tribe, although he declined to provide specifics until he shares them with tribal members and the Tribal Council. He hopes to see two viable economic plans bringing in revenue to the tribe within two years. 

One of Weeden’s ideas is to create a deer farm in Mashpee. The tribe could replenish the woods and restock the Cape’s game, he said, as there are a lot of tribal members who still hunt. The tribe could sell venison to local distributors, tan the deer hide and make traditional clothing. Another idea is to do canoe tours along Mashpee’s rivers and waterways, Weeden said. 

Now also president of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s Gaming Authority, Weeden plans to get input from members of the tribe and the Tribal Council about what route the tribe plans to take with its casino projects. 

Weeden said he plans to put policies and procedures in place so the tribe “can never be in this situation again.”

“I think people that do wrong by the tribe should not be allowed to receive services” or be a part of the tribal government, he said. 

As someone who attended White House gatherings as a tribal youth delegate, Weeden said he plans to continue making sure the tribe is represented on a national level and build relationships with potential economic partners, he said. 

And at a local level, Weeden said he will also negotiate with the Town of Mashpee and review their intergovernmental agreement, and make sure the town is consulting with the tribe on matters such as development projects. 

Tribal members continue to get harassed for practicing their aboriginal rights to fish and hunt, Weeden said. Members have been arrested for trespassing while trying to access waterways. The Mashpee Pond, for instance, is locked, and Weeden plans on working with the Town of Mashpee to improve treatment and access to waterways. 

He also wants to work on the tribe’s land-in-trust status and continue land and restitution negotiations with the commonwealth. The tribe’s constitution also needs to be reformed, he said. Certain clauses about Tribal Council requirements and tribal enrollment should be amended to give more power to tribal members, he said.

“The constitution took away the voice of the people and gave a lot of power and authority to the chairman and the council,” Weeden said. 

“This administration is going to lead the way for future generations and get everything back in order around here, culturally, spiritually, physically, mentally,” Weeden said. “And do what’s right by our people.

 

Cromwell, DeQuattro plead not guilty to bribe, extortion, tax charges

Jessica Hill Cape Cod Times

Published Apr 2, 2021 

BOSTON — Cedric Cromwell, former tribal council chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, and David DeQuattro, owner of a Rhode Island architectural firm that worked with the tribe, pleaded not guilty Thursday during their arraignment in U.S. District Court on charges of bribery and extortion, and, for Cromwell, filing false tax returns.

Cromwell, a 55-year-old Attleboro resident, was charged in March with four counts of filing a false tax return on top of other charges of bribery and extortion from November. He and DeQuattro were each indicted by a federal grand jury in November on two counts of accepting or paying bribes as an agent of an Indian tribal government, and one count of conspiring to commit bribery. Cromwell was also indicted then on four counts of extortion under color of official right and one count of conspiring to commit extortion.

They both had pleaded not guilty to the November charges, but were back in court Thursday after the "superseding indictment" was returned alleging the further tax-related charges against Cromwell.

The charges are in connection with the tribe’s plans to build a resort and casino in Taunton. DeQuattro’s company, Robinson Green Beretta Corp., was contracted to serve as the “owner’s representative” for the tribe for its casino project, and the indictment alleges that Cromwell used his role as chairman of the tribal council and his role on the tribe’s gaming authority to ensure that DeQuattro’s company would remain the representative for the project. 

DeQuattro allegedly provided Cromwell with a stream of payments and benefits valued at about $57,549.37. In exchange, DeQuattro’s company was paid approximately $4,966,287.16 under the contract between July 2014 and February 2018, the indictment alleges. 

Thursday's arraignment, conducted via Zoom teleconference, was on the superseding indictment for the tax charges. Cromwell on Thursday pleaded not guilty to all charges, including both the original bribery and extortion charges as well as the new tax charges. DeQuattro also pleaded not guilty on his charges from November.

The defendants argued during the hearing that Judge Marianne Bowler should grant a motion for what is called a “bill of particulars,” saying that the plaintiff’s indictments were vague about the allegations and requesting more specific details about what happened. 

DeQuattro’s attorney, Martin Weinberg, wanted to know what exactly the government claims Cromwell communicated to DeQuattro as well as the times, places, manner and means by which the criminal conduct allegedly occurred.  

“Despite the allegations, there (are) no specifics as to what Mr. Cromwell told Mr. DeQuattro,” Weinberg said in the hearing. 

Prosecutor Christine Wichers countered that the 23-page indictment and the 31-page superseding indictment offer many details, including dates and payments. She said that she has produced all of the discovery on the underlying charges, although not yet on the recent tax charges, which will be submitted within two weeks.

Another hearing for Cromwell will be scheduled when the discovery evidence is presented on the tax charges.

The next status conference is scheduled for 3 p.m. May 18. In the interim, Bowler will send the case up to trial judge Douglas Woodlock to begin setting a date for the trial. 

When the case does go to trial, Wichers plans to call 30 witnesses and estimates the trial will last two weeks.  

On Thursday, Weinberg also filed a motion for the production of exculpatory evidence — or evidence that would free DeQuattro from blame — asking that the court review a limited subset of the discovery that includes the statements and testimony of Joseph Beretta, the former president of Robinson Green Beretta Corp.

Beretta is the government’s cornerstone witness in the case, Weinberg said during the meeting. 

Weinberg said that when Cromwell asked DeQuattro for a donation on June 25, 2014, DeQuattro did not immediately write a check. He went to his company’s then president, Beretta, and they discussed the request for the donation. Beretta went to the company’s longtime attorneys and asked for legal advice, Weinberg said. 

The attorneys provided opinions approving and/or not prohibiting or discouraging those donations, Weinberg wrote in the motion filed March 15. He argued that some of the attorneys told Beretta to proceed with caution and make sure the entity they were donating to was in good standing.

Beretta authorized each of the subsequent donations that DeQuattro made to Cromwell, Weinberg said. He authorized that in action and in words because he reimbursed DeQuattro, Weinberg said. 

“This goes right to (DeQuattro's) good faith,” Weinberg said. “Did he give these donations as a corrupt bribe, or as a good faith campaign or political donation?”

Weinberg asked the court and the government to take Beretta’s statements and see that it shows DeQuattro was acting in good faith and could be "exculpatory" for DeQuattro. 

Wichers said that Beretta’s statements do not include anything that would be exculpatory other than what she already disclosed in the discovery.

Bowler took the motion for a bill of particulars under advisement and denied the defendants’ motion for exculpatory evidence.  

The defendants also filed motions Thursday for a speedy trial, describing the harm that could come by waiting longer. Weinberg was concerned the delay could be nearly a year because of additional discovery and motions related to the tax charges against Cromwell.  

DeQuattro’s architecture firm has suffered a substantial loss of business as a result of the government’s allegations, Weinberg wrote in a motion. DeQuattro’s company had a contract canceled with Johnston, Rhode Island, schools for a project that was going to generate millions of dollars in fees, Weinberg wrote. 

“Continued delay of these proceedings will only cause further damage, quite possibly irreversibly so, to Mr. DeQuattro’s business interests,” Weinberg wrote. 

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Indictment: Cedric Cromwell failed to report alleged bribes as income

Jessica Hill Cape Cod Times

Published Mar 24, 2021 

BOSTON — Cedric Cromwell, former tribal council chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, has been charged with filing false tax returns on top of pending bribery and extortion charges. 

A federal grand jury in Boston returned a superseding indictment Monday with the new charges, acting U.S. Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell announced in a statement Tuesday night, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service criminal investigation divisions in Boston.

Cromwell, an Attleboro resident, was charged with four counts of filing a false tax return, bringing the total number of charges he faces to12. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the new charges on April 1 before Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler in federal court in Boston. 

The superseding indictment alleges that between 2014 and 2017 Cromwell failed to report a total of $177,392 on his tax returns. That includes $39,000 of personal income in 2014; $57,374 in 2015; $26,884 in 2016; and $54,134 in 2017.

Cromwell's attorney, Tim Flaherty, said Wednesday that the "recent indictment relates to tax irregularities that have no overlap and no connection to the early allegations."

“Chairman Cromwell looks forward to presenting a vigorous defense to the extortion and bribery claims and continues to state his innocence," Flaherty said.

Cromwell was charged with bribery and extortion in November along with David DeQuattro, 54, the owner of a Rhode Island architecture firm, in connection with the tribe’s plans to build a resort and casino in Taunton. 

Cromwell, 55, and DeQuattro were each indicted on two counts of accepting or paying bribes as an agent of an Indian tribal government and one count of conspiring to commit bribery, according to Mendell's statement. Cromwell was also indicted on four counts of extortion under color of official right and one count of conspiring to commit extortion.

When Cromwell filed his personal income tax returns for tax years 2014 through 2017, he failed to report bribes that he allegedly received from DeQuattro’s company, Robinson Green Beretta Corp., which was contracted to serve as the tribe’s “owner’s representative” for the casino project, according to the superseding indictment. 

The indictment alleged that DeQuattro provided Cromwell with a stream of payments and benefits valued at about $57,549.37. In exchange, DeQuattro’s company was paid approximately $4,966,287.16 under the contract between July 2014 and February 2018. 

Cromwell did report receiving $180,377 in salary from the tribe in 2017 in his federal personal income tax returns, which he filed jointly with his wife, the indictment states. 

Cromwell is accused of failing to report payments for consulting services he performed for a company that developed and supplied forest carbon offsets. 

While being questioned in a civil lawsuit in 2018, Cromwell said he was a consultant/owner for three limited liability companies, and more specifically a “consultant on carbon sequestration and an Indian Country liaison to Tribal Carbon Forestry Markets,” according to the indictment. 

Cromwell was paid the consulting income through an intermediary identified as “P-Co.”, which was formed by a lawyer who was one of Cromwell’s business associates, the statement says. That associate was the only authorized signatory on a bank account identified as the “P-Co. Shell Company Account,” according to the indictment.

Cromwell also failed to report income made by his company, One Nation Development, which was paid through the P-Co. account and the bank account of a Florida limited partnership that originated with an investment holding company in Las Vegas, the indictment said.

On multiple occasions between December 2014 and January 2016, the Las Vegas investment holding company wired money to the Florida limited partnership, which wired money to the P-Co. Shell Company Account. P-Co. then wired money to the One Nation Development account controlled by Cromwell, the indictment alleges.

The only authorized signatory on the investment holding company’s bank account was the CEO of a Las Vegas-based architecture firm hired to be the architect for the tribe’s casino project, the indictment says. 

If found guilty, Cromwell could face up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $100,000,according to the statement. Cromwell and DeQuattro could have to forfeit any property constituting or derived from proceeds traceable to the offenses. 

Cromwell was first elected to the tribal council in 2009 and was reelected in 2013 and 2017.

When Cromwell was initially charged with extortion and bribery, the council voted to remove him from his post as chairman. But some tribe members had already been pressuring the tribal council for the previous few years to remove Cromwell.

Petitions bearing the signatures of 100 registered tribal voters were certified April 2019 calling for Cromwell’s resignation or removal, along with the removal of Treasurer Gordon Harris.

For several months before the indictment was returned, a grand jury subpoenaed the tribe multiple times for records from 2013 to 2020. Those records include Cromwell’s personnel records, the tribe’s financial records and expenditures, election records and internal communications between the tribe's Gaming Authority and its partners, including the Robinson Green Beretta Corp. and Genting Malaysia, the tribe’s financial backer that invested $440 million into the casino project.

In October 2020, another petition signed by 35 tribe members requested Cromwell's removal. 

"Cromwell’s conduct is a breach of public tribal trust and an abuse of authority," the petition stated. "Cromwell has been dishonest and exercises a lack of integrity by his unwillingness to be transparent about the $500 million dollars that was borrowed from the investors. He is and has been a target of a federal investigation and has not been transparent about it either."

Cromwell would not be the first tribal council chairman to be convicted of filing false tax returns if he is found guilty. The council's prior chairman, Glenn Marshall, was sentenced to 3½ years in federal prison after pleading guilty to embezzling nearly $400,000 from the tribe to pay his own bills, making illegal campaign contributions, filing false tax returns and fraudulently receiving Social Security benefits while holding a full-time job. 

“The new charges are extremely serious, and we are watching the proceedings closely,” Tribal Council Vice Chair Jessie “Little Doe” Baird said in a statement. “Of course, we will continue to work with the U.S. attorney’s office.” 

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Mashpee Wampanoag tribal members sue over mail-in voting plan

Jessica Hill  Cape Cod Times

Mar 2, 2021 

MASHPEE — With the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s general election only a few weeks away, a few members have raised concerns about the decision to hold the election exclusively through mail-in voting. 

Tribal members Aaron Tobey Jr., Crystal Asiwe and Steve Helme are suing members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Election Committee at the tribal court, arguing that holding the March 26 election through mail-in voting is against the tribe’s constitution. 

“What my client is arguing, is that the constitution really prescribes the election process for the tribe,” attorney Jonathan Polloni, representing the plaintiffs, said in a phone interview, “and what’s happened is that the tribal council has really buried that process. That is significant and deserves a lot of caution.”  

A preliminary injunction hearing will be held in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal District Court at 10 a.m. Tuesday regarding the lawsuit.

The election will determine who the next tribal chairman or chairwoman will be, as well as other positions in tribal government. 

On Jan. 25, the tribal council passed an emergency tribal ordinance to address voting in the 2021 Regular Election during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ordinance allowed for the election to be held through mail-in voting and/or voting by ballot drop box.

In conjunction with passing that ordinance, the council also requested an advisory opinion from the Mashpee Wampanoag Supreme Court to determine whether voting by mail conflicts with the tribe’s constitution. The court has not yet made a ruling on that question.

That request was made in order to “bolster the tribal membership’s confidence in the integrity and legality of the modified voting method for the 2021 Regular Election,” according to the defendants’ brief filed Feb. 19 in opposition to the plaintiffs’ motion.

The plaintiffs argue that while the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Constitution provides for the adoption of ordinances, as well as emergency ordinances, the constitution requires voting by “secret ballots cast at polls” in all tribal elections and prohibits absentee voting, according to the plaintiffs’ complaint obtained by the Cape Cod Times. 

“By permitting mail-in ballot voting, the Defendants have caused election irregularities that violate the Constitution and will affect the outcome of the election when it is held,” the complaint states.

The plaintiffs ask that the tribal court annul the election and require a new election be held in conformance with the constitution. 

“The timing to experiment with mail-in voting is not now,” Tobey, a plaintiff, said in an interview, noting that information on past elections has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury. 

Helme, another one of the plaintiffs, said he does not understand why the tribe cannot follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s rules to allow both voting in person and mail-in voting for those who would like the option. He also thinks all tribal members should have a say in how the election will work. 

The defendants, on the other hand, argue that the tribal council and election committee did follow the constitution, which does not require in-person voting. They argue that all-mail voting still ensures that ballots are cast at “polls,” as the constitution requires. They defined “polls” as the location where the committee designated mail-in ballots to be sent as well as the secure ballot drop boxes. 

The mail-in election does not violate the rule against absentee voting, as all-mail voting is different from absentee voting, the defendants state in their opposition. That opposition brief was submitted by Alexandra Deal, the attorney for the tribal council members, and R. Reid LeBeau II, attorney for the election committee members. The attorneys did not respond to requests for comment Monday, nor did tribal council Vice Chairperson Jesse "Little Doe" Baird.

The defendants argued that voting in person could risk serious, and even deadly, health consequences.

“In the extraordinary time of a worldwide pandemic, the priorities and needs of the Tribe have changed,” their opposition states, “and the Tribal Council has determined that in-person voting on election day during a 3-hour window at a single polling location is no longer a tenable option for the 2021 Regular Election.” 

The defendants also argued that the defendants, as members of the tribal council and election committee being sued in their official capacities, are immune from being sued as they are "entitled to sovereign immunity from unconsented (lawsuits) as officers of the tribe."

John “Jim” Peters Jr., a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and executive director of the Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs, was also on the tribe’s constitution committee. One of the justifications for not allowing mail-in ballots, he said, was that tribal members live all over the country, and not everybody knows what is happening in Mashpee and might make uninformed decisions. But the constitution was never written to prevent the tribal council from having flexibility to meet the needs of the tribe, he said. 

“I understand both sides of it,” he said. “Given the pandemic, it’s kind of difficult to require people to come to the tribal grounds and so forth.”

Grand jury subpoenas more documents from Mashpee tribe

Jessica Hill

Aug 29, 2020 

MASHPEE — The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council voted in an emergency meeting Friday night not to remove Chairman Cedric Cromwell. The vote came after the tribe received another subpoena related to a federal grand jury investigation.

On the meeting agenda, listed under executive session, was a discussion of “grand jury subpoena” with tribal attorney Benjamin Wish. Also on the agenda was an item labeled “committees, commissions, appointments, resignations and removals.”

The council voted 5-3, with one abstention, not to remove Cromwell from the position he has held since 2009, a source with knowledge of the vote told the Times.

As part of a grand jury investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston subpoenaed the tribe demanding records related to its elections and finances.

The Aug. 10 subpoena was signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers on behalf of U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling. In lieu of a tribal representative appearing physically in court before the grand jury Aug. 25, it requested all records be sent electronically to Wichers.

The subpoena requested all documents and records for the 2013 and 2017 tribal council chairperson elections. It requested a list of registered voters eligible to vote during those elections and a list of people who actually voted, along with the final certified election results.

It also called for documentation identifying the number of tribal members for each year between 2011 and 2020 along with any other annual census data.

The tribe also was to send any complaints it had received related to the elections, the candidate or any candidate’s campaign, and submit policies or rules related to campaign contributions and campaign expenditures.

Finally, the subpoena requested copies of all contracts between the tribe and the Robinson Green Beretta Corp. from January 2011 to the present. It also requested the minutes from January 2014 to the end of 2016 of all meetings of the committee that selected the corporation to work with the casino and from the committee that was authorized to terminate Robinson Green Beretta Corp.

The Robinson Green Beretta Corp. served as the owner’s project manager for the design and construction of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Community and Government Center on Great Neck Road South, which was completed in 2012. It also took on the role of owner’s representative in 2014 for the tribe’s First Light Resort & Casino, according to the company website, working with the tribe and the Genting Group, the tribe’s financial backer.

The $1 billion casino project in Taunton is at a standstill amid a yearslong legal battle over tribal sovereignty. Without the projected millions of dollars in revenue, the tribe has struggled with its finances.

This latest subpoena comes about two months after a federal grand jury issued a subpoena requesting all personnel records for Cromwell, Treasurer Gordon Harris and former Treasurer Robert T. Hendricks, as well as Mark Harding, founder of construction company WampWorx, and Louis Catarina Jr., who helped manage development for the First Light Resort & Casino project.

The June 5 subpoena requested many of the tribe’s financial records, including copies of checks, expense reports and payments to other organizations. It also sought documents concerning any internal or external investigation or audit looking into any suspected theft, embezzlement or other wrongdoing by a tribe official, employee or contractor.

Last year, a federal grand jury subpoenaed Harris and Hendricks, but the reason is still unclear.

Federal grand jury investigations are traditionally secret, with about two dozen citizens serving as jury members to examine documents to determine if sufficient evidence exists that a crime occurred.

Cromwell and Harris also had faced allegations last year from some tribe members who accused them of wrongful conduct in connection with $500 million owed to the Genting Group.

In June 2019 a robocall circulated within the tribal community alleging that $250 million handled by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Gaming Authority was unaccounted for.

In January 2019, the tribal council had taken a vote of no-confidence and stripped Cromwell of his financial responsibilities in connection with the tribe and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Gaming Authority. Cromwell is president of that five-member board that oversees the tribe’s gaming operation.

The tribal council, however, voted in February 2019 to restore all of Cromwell’s financial responsibilities.

Last fall, some tribe members sought to recall Cromwell and Harris for malfeasance, but the tribe’s Election Committee canceled the recall election three days before it was to take place.

Cromwell did not respond to a request for comment Saturday. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts also did not respond to a request for comment about the investigation.

Wish, the tribe’s attorney, said the tribe would comply with the grand jury’s requests for information.

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