Legalized Corruption of Government Exposed by Abramoff

CLICK HERE FOR Real Writing Jobs Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff (who spent time in prison after pleading guilty to corrupting public officials) exposed how the U.S. government is legally corrupted. The Young Turks Cenk Uygur breaks down clips from his 60 Minutes interview.

Jack Abramoff

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jack Abramoff (/ˈeɪbrəmɒf/; born February 28, 1959) is an American former lobbyist, businessman, movie producer and writer.^[1][2] He was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to his conviction and to 21 persons either pleading guilty or being found guilty,^[3] including White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and Congressional aides.
Abramoff was College Republican National Committee National Chairman from 1981 to 1985, a founding member of the International Freedom Foundation, allegedly financed by apartheid South Africa,^[4][5] and served on the board of directors of the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank. From 1994 to 2001 he was a top lobbyist for the firm of Preston Gates & Ellis, and then for Greenberg Traurig until March 2004.
After a guilty plea in the Indian lobbying scandal and his dealings with SunCruz Casinos in January 2006, he was sentenced to six years in federal prison for mail fraud, conspiracy to bribe public officials, and tax evasion. He served four years before being released on December 3, 2010.^[6] After his release from prison, he wrote the book Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist which was published in November 2011.
Abramoff's lobbying and the surrounding scandals and investigation are the subject of two 2010 films: the documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money, released in May 2010,^[7] and the feature film Casino Jack, released on December 17, 2010, starring Kevin Spacey as Abramoff.^[8][9]


Choctaw Gambling
In 1995, Abramoff began representing Indian tribes with gambling interests. He became involved with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. One of Abramoff's first acts as a tribal gaming lobbyist was to defeat a Congressional bill to tax Indian casinos, sponsored by Bill Archer (R-TX) and Ernest Istook (R-OK). According to Washington Business Forward, a lobbying trade magazine, "Tom DeLay was a major factor in those victories, and the fight helped cement the alliance between the two men".^[29] DeLay has called Abramoff "one of (his) closest and dearest friends".
The Washington Post, on December 29, 2005, reported: "Jack Abramoff liked to slip into dialogue from The Godfather as he led his lobbying colleagues in planning their next conquest on Capitol Hill. In a favorite bit, he would mimic an ice-cold Michael Corleone facing down a crooked politician's demand for a cut of Mafia gambling profits: 'Senator, you can have my answer now if you like. My offer is this: nothing.'"^[30]
Salon.com political writer Thomas Frank considers Abramoff to have acted as a con man.^[31][32] In an appearance with former U.S. Representative Bob Ney and former Greenberg Traurig lobbyist Neil Volz on Kojo Nnamdi's National Public Radio affiliate WAMU-FM radio show, Alex Gibney, director and writer of the 2010 film Casino Jack and the United States of Money elaborated on Abramoff's criminal modus operandi. Gibney remarked, "one of his (Abramoff's) great gifts was being able to tell people what they wanted to hear, and this was how he was able to sell things and get them into trouble."


Later lobbying efforts involved mailings from a Ralph Reed marketing company to Christian conservative voters and bribery of Roger Stillwell, a Department of the Interior official who in 2006 pleaded guilty to accepting gifts from Abramoff.

eLottery, Inc.

Main article: Internet Gambling Prohibition Act

In 1999, eLottery hired Abramoff to block the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, which he did by enlisting Reed, Norquist, and Tom DeLay's former chief of staff, Tony Rudy.^[39]
Emails from 2000 show that Susan Ralston helped Abramoff pass checks from eLottery to Lou Sheldon's Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) and also to Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), in route to Reed's company, Century Strategies.<sup>[40][41]

Tribal lobbying</sup>

Main article: Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal

Abramoff's Tribal Clients

Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla IndiansCherokee Nation of Oklahoma Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana Mashpee Wampanoag people of Massachusetts Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Pueblo of Sandia Pueblo of Santa Clara Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe Tigua Indian Reservation

Around the time he joined Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff's choice of lobbying clients changed to focus much more on Native American tribes. While Abramoff was a registered lobbyist for 51 clients while working at Preston Gates, with only four being tribes, Abramoff would eventually represent 24 clients for whom he was registered lobbyist at Greenberg Traurig, of which seven were tribes.

On May 9, 2001, Chief Raul Garza of the Kickapoo tribe of Texas met with Bush, with Abramoff and Norquist in attendance. Abramoff was identified in the background of a photo taken at the meeting.^[63] Days before the meeting, the tribe paid $25,000 to Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform at Abramoff's direction. According to the organization's communications director, John Kartch, the meeting was one of several gatherings with Bush sponsored by ATR. On the same day, the chief of the Louisiana Coushattas also attended an ATR-sponsored gathering with Bush. The Coushattas also gave $25,000 to ATR soon before the event.

The details of the Kickapoo meeting and a letter dated May 10, 2001, from ATR thanking the Kickapoos for their contribution were revealed to the New York Times in 2006 by former council elder Isidro Garza, who with Raul Garza (no relation), is under indictment in Texas for embezzling tribal money. According to Isidro Garza, Abramoff did not say the donation was required to meet Bush; the White House denied any knowledge of the transaction.^[64]

SunCruz Casinos fraud conviction

Main article: SunCruz Casinos

On August 11, 2005, Abramoff and Adam Kidan were indicted by a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on fraud charges arising from a 2000 deal to buy SunCruz Casinos from Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis. Abramoff and Kidan are accused of using a fake wire transfer to make lenders believe that they had made a $23 million down payment, in order to qualify for a $60 million loan.^[74] Kidan received the same sentence as Abramoff — 5 years, 10 months — which he began serving at Fort Dix Federal Penetentiary, in Fort Dix, New Jersey, on October 23, 2006. Ney also was implicated in helping to consummate the deal.
After the partners purchased SunCruz in September 2000, the business relationship with Boulis deteriorated, culminating in a fistfight between Kidan and Boulis in December 2000. In February 2001 Boulis was murdered in his car in a Mafia-style attack. The murder investigation, which presently includes three mobsters who had received payments from Kidan, is ongoing. Two of the suspects face the death penalty. SunCruz is now owned and operated by Oceans Casinos Cruises.
On January 4, 2006, Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud in Miami, related to the SunCruz deal. The plea agreement called for a maximum sentence of over seven years and would run simultaneously with the sentence in the Washington corruption case, but could be reduced if Abramoff cooperates fully. The remaining four counts in the Florida indictment were dismissed.^[75]
On March 29, 2006, Abramoff and Kidan were both sentenced in the SunCruz case to the minimum amount, 70 months, and to pay US$21.7 million in restitution. According to the "memorandum in aid of sentencing", the sentencing judge, U.S. District Judge Paul C. Huck, received over 260 pleas for leniency from various people, including "rabbis, military officers and even a professional hockey referee."^[76] The defendants are still cooperating with federal investigators and will be sentenced later in the Indian lobbying case.

How the gambling industry has made Newt Gingrich a viable candidate

How the gambling industry has made Newt Gingrich a viable candidate
Gail Russell Chaddock The Christian Science Monitor
Casino billionaire Sheldon Anderson has had more raw impact on the 2012 GOP presidential contest than any other person in the United States, via his donations to the pro-Newt Gingrich super PAC "Winning our Future".


Wall Street executives and hedge fund managers are so far the most conspicuous donors to "super political action committees," followed by titans of energy. But for raw impact, no one beats casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, whose extended family has contributed $11 million to a super PAC backing Newt Gingrich.

Recent financial disclosures from super PACs give insight into which people, corporations, and unions are writing big checks in hopes the super PACs can succeed in influencing the 2012 presidential race. Mr. Adelson's contributions, say political analysts, helped Mr. Gingrich to get back in the race after fourth-place showings in Iowa and New Hampshire.

The Adelson-Gingrich connection dates from the candidate’s tenure as US speaker of the House in the late 1990s, when the two men conferred over legislation in support of Israel. Those ties are especially on display in Nevada, which holds its presidential caucuses Saturday.

As of Feb. 2, the Gingrich campaign itself had yet to buy TV, cable, or radio ads in the Las Vegas media market. But the Adelson-funded Winning Our Future super PAC did give Gingrich a radio presence in the run-up to the Nevada caucuses, running 203 pro-Gingrich ads and 62 anti-Mitt Romney ads, according to Media Monitors, based in White Plains, N.Y. The Romney campaign and Restore Our Future, a super PAC backing Romney, otherwise dominated TV, cable, and radio in the Las Vegas market, producing 1,116 spots overall, compared with 277 for Gingrich, 256 for Ron Paul, and seven for Rick Santorum.

Typically, the Nevada caucuses begin at 9 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. But in an 11th-hour decision, the Nevada Republican Party, with support from Mr. Adelson, added a special caucus venue at the Adelson Educational Campus, a private school in Las Vegas, to encourage participation by Orthodox Jews after sundown. This caucus begins at 7 p.m. As a footnote, Gingrich is staying at the Venetian resort, a subsidiary of Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands.

Often viewed as a conservative counterpart of financier George Soros – whose millions helped fund organizations that set out to defeat President Bush in the 2004 campaign – Adelson has been an ATM machine for GOP candidates and party organizations, especially in his home state of Nevada and other states with gambling interests.

Some examples:

• Mr. Adelson has given $361,900 directly to GOP congressional and presidential campaigns since the 2008 campaign cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington.

• From 2000 to 2010, Adelson and his companies donated $5.3 million to state-level Republican candidates, party committees, and causes, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics.

•He also spent $3.3 million backing conservative advocacy groups in the 2008 campaign cycle, just behind Mr. Soros, at $4.5 million, and Hollywood producer Stephen Bing, who also backs liberal causes, at $3.3 million.

By contrast, Adelson wrote a $2,500 check to the Gingrich presidential campaign back in August, the maximum allowed under campaign-finance law.

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Until the US Supreme Court’s 2010 decision Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, federal law limited the amount individuals and corporations could contribute to directly advocate for or against a candidate. In this decision, the Supreme Court called such advocacy an expression of political speech that government has no business to regulate, but also provided that Congress could require corporations and individuals to disclose their spending.

“Disclosure permits citizens and shareholders to react to the speech of corporate entities in a proper way,” said Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority.

So, what are citizens to make of the largest contributions in support of a political candidate in US political history? If Adelson’s funding proves to be a game-changer in Gingrich’s quest for the White House, does the casino operator expect anything in return?

Both men describe their common cause as the survival of the state of Israel. “This one-sided continuing pressure that says it’s always Israel’s fault, no matter how bad the other side is, has to stop,” Gingrich said at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s 2012 Republican candidates forum on Dec. 7. In an interview with the Jewish Channel on Dec. 10, Gingrich described the Palestinians as “an invented people.”

Asked why Adelson gave Winning Our Future $5 million (Adelson’s wife, Miriam, delivered a second $5 million), Gingrich said in an interview on NBC: “He knows I’m very pro-Israel, and that’s the central value of his life.” Miriam Adelson was born in Israel and served in the Israeli military.

“Our motivation for helping Newt is simple and should not be mistaken for anything other than the fact that we hold our friendship with him very dear and are doing what we can as private citizens to support his candidacy,” the Adelsons said in a statement.

But any point of congruence between the interests of a corporation and the capacity of a politician to help out is grist for alternative versions of possible motives behind a big gift.

What's known is that Adelson fought hard and successfully in the 1990s to block unionization at his Las Vegas casinos. Currently, the Department of Justice and the US Securities Exchange Commission are investigating his Las Vegas Sands Corp. for alleged bribery of foreign officials in Macau, where he owns a casino that now produces more revenue than his Las Vegas operations.

“Whenever you have big-money donations, there is always a question of motivation,” says Ed Bender of the National Institute on Money in State Politics.

The gambling industry itself is going through a building surge, he adds, noting that “many states are opening up to gambling as a way to generate revenue.

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“This is the third major expansion of gambling in the history of the country, and every time we do this we wind up with a major corruption wave,” he says.

Gambling interests contributed outsized donations to other super PACs, as well. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, for example, which owns seven casinos in the southeast part of the state, on Dec. 29 contributed $50,000 to a super PAC supporting Texas Gov. Rick Perry, when prospects for the governor's presidential run were already tanking. But the governor is not term-limited in Texas, analysts note. A super PAC contribution can also be seen as a way to give outsized contributions to support a sitting governor, otherwise banned by Texas campaign finance law.

“Generally speaking, when the tribes give it’s some kind of gambling issue,” says Bill Allison, editorial director at the Sunlight Foundation, a public-interest group in Washington. A spokeswoman for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma did not return a request for comment.

On tap: Gambling, Part II

On tap: Gambling, Part II

The second round of the gambling corruption trial begins this Monday in Federal Court in Montgomery. Last year’s first trial ended in a victory for all defendants. A jury of 11 women and one man quickly returned not-guilty verdicts on 91 charges and could not reach a unanimous decision on 33 charges. Two defendants, Montgomery Sen. Quinton Ross and lobbyist Bob Geddie, were cleared of all charges. The remaining seven defendants go on trial Monday. The odds favor their acquittal.

In the first trial, the defendants’ lawyers were so confident that the prosecution had failed to make a case that they never even offered any rebuttal testimony. The 91-to-0 score proves that they were correct in their course of action. The federal government spent millions of taxpayer dollars, used every trick in the book, and spent weeks offering testimony and witnesses and still got embarrassed by the decision.

The prosecution asking for another trial is analogous to a football team, which used its best plays and players but still lost 91 to 0, asking for a rematch with the team that dominated them without even using its first string. Furthermore, the odds have even gotten worse for the prosecution. A federal judge ruled that former Gov. Bob Riley must testify. Along with Riley will be his former cabinet members and campaign lieutenant Bill Johnson. Johnson has presented evidence to U.S. attorneys and the FBI and will testify that Riley’s 2002 campaign for governor received $3 million laundered and funneled from the Mississippi Choctaw Indians.

This assertion is pretty much common knowledge. There was some testimony to the same effect during Sen. John McCain’s Indian casino corruption hearings in Washington. The FBI testified that Indian gambling money went to the Alabama governor’s race to inhibit gambling expansion by Alabama entities.

Convicted Indian gambling lobbyist Jack Abramoff, in his recently released book, “Capitol Punishment,” writes that over a five year period the Mississippi Choctaws spent $20 million in Alabama to fight the expansion of gambling in our state. Abramoff and his partner Michael Scanlon were both convicted in the Indian gambling scam in what has been called the largest corruption scandal in the nation’s history. Scanlon worked for Riley when he was a congressman.

This new trial could develop into a colorful show. Defense attorneys will be able to show jurors that the entire episode and trial are simply politics. Riley was on the side of the Indian gambling interests and fought to preserve their monopoly. Milton McGregor and his Alabama gambling interests wanted to be able to compete with the Indians on a level playing field. Both sides gave money in the form of political contributions to their political allies. Neither side offered personal bribes. Giving campaign contributions to your friends is not illegal. If it were, the feds didn’t have to come all the way to Alabama to indict folks. They could have just walked down the street and indicted all 435 members of Congress.

One of the jurors in the first case granted an interview after the first trial. She is a rural mail carrier in Covington County. She said the federal prosecutor told the jury in his opening statement that wiretapped phone calls and secretly recorded meetings would tell a story of greed and corruption in Alabama but she continued by saying the tapes never lived up to their billing. It just looked like politics. She said from the very beginning when listening to the tapes, “Surely this cannot be all they have. I kept waiting and waiting.”

This trial should be more interesting and entertaining than the last but will probably conclude with the same result.

U.S. v. BRYANT

U.S. v. BRYANT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee,v.KERRY RAINA BRYANT, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 11-7029.
United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

Filed January 5, 2012.

Art Fleak, Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Defendant-Appellant.
Gregory Burris (and Linda A. Epperley, Assistant United States Attorneys; Mark F. Green, United States Attorney, with him on the brief), Muskogee, Oklahoma, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Before KELLY, LUCERO, and TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judges.

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KELLY, Circuit Judge.
Defendant-Appellant Kerry Raina Bryant appeals her conviction for theft by an officer or employee of a gaming establishment on Indian lands. 18 U.S.C. §§ 2, 1168. Ms. Bryant entered a conditional plea, reserving the right to appeal the denial of her motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. She was sentenced to a two-year term of supervised probation and restitution of $4,000 was ordered. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we affirm.

Background

On June 20, 2010, Ms. Bryant played a $1 slot machine at the Choctaw Casino and Resort, an Indian gaming establishment. She won 90 cents and took the ticket to her sister, who worked as a cashier. Her sister, and later co-defendant, paid Ms. Bryant $4,000.91. They later split the proceeds. R. 1, 26. The casino noticed the missing $4,000 and saw the transaction as recorded by cameras. On appeal, Ms. Bryant contends that no federal law was violated. Her two-step argument is as follows: the statute upon which she was charged, 18 U.S.C. § 1168, prohibits theft by "an officer, employee, or individual licensee of a gaming establishment operated by or for or licensed by an Indian tribe." But she was not a casino employee, which, for purposes of this appeal, we take as true.1 She acknowledges that 18 U.S.C. § 2, the aiding-and-abetting provision, applies.2 This rule provides that "[w]hoever commits an offense against the United States or aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures its commission, is punishable as a principal." But she argues that this provision, too, cannot apply to her, since it punishes crimes against the "United States," and the Choctaw tribe is "not the United States."

Discussion

This court considers sufficiency of the indictment, when properly raised, de novo. United States v. Todd, 446 F.3d 1062, 1067 (10th Cir. 2006). The aiding-and-abetting provision imposes "principal" liability on those who encourage or assist in federal offenses. Ms. Bryant admits stealing from the casino, but claims she did so as an outsider, not as an employee, which is punishable by a different law, 18 U.S.C. § 1167—the "proper" law, in her view, to have been charged under. The law actually charged here, § 1168, has a more severe penalty, presumably because employee theft, which betrays the trust of an institution, is considered more culpable. Yet the facts are that Ms. Bryant participated in a theft that involved an employee, and, as an aider and abetter, the law declares her a principal. If her sister had not been a cashier at the casino, matters would have stood differently. The district court properly asserted jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 1168.

Ms. Bryant denies that a crime against the Choctaw Nation is a crime against the "United States." The crime was against a gaming establishment licensed by the National Indian Gaming Association that sits on territory subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Plainly, there was a crime against the United States. See United States v. Palmer, 766 F.2d 1441, 1444 (10th Cir. 1985) (addressing 18 U.S.C. § 1163, which prohibits theft from an Indian tribal organization, and finding jurisdiction).


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Finally, Ms. Bryant's arguments under 18 U.S.C. § 1152 (the "Indian Country Crimes Act") are not pertinent because the government did not charge Ms. Bryant with violating § 1152 and we see no reason why it needed to. Ms. Bryant was charged under a specific statute that prohibits her specific misdeed. Thus, we have no occasion to invoke the rule of lenity. Barber v. Thomas, 130 S.Ct. 2499, 2508-09 (2010).
AFFIRMED.

1. The indictment alleged that only Ms. Bryant's sister was an employee. The government has moved to supplement the record with evidence that purports to show that Ms. Bryant may in fact have been a casino "licensee," since she worked there as a "food runner." The motion is denied as unnecessary.

2. The indictment expressly referenced 18 U.S.C. § 2, but it need not have. See United States v. Maldonado-Campos, 920 F.2d 714, 715 n.1 (10th Cir. 1990) (aiding and abetting provision applies to the entire criminal code as a rule of criminal responsibility).

Price Waterhouse Coopers Quits Choctaw, Moody's labels "Junk Bonds"

Mississippi Choctaw’s Audit Firm Quits After FBI Raid

After more than a decade of serving as an outside auditor for casinos owned and operated by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Price Waterhouse Coopers has stepped down, reported the Clarion-Ledger.

A spokesperson for the auditing firm would not comment on why, although the company’s decision coincides with the time FBI agents subpoenaed records from the tribal chief.

On July 12, some 40 FBI agents raided the Mississippi Choctaw’s Pearl River Resort, which includes two gaming facilities: Golden Moon and Silver Star casinos in Choctaw near Philadelphia, Mississippi, and seized hard drives and documents.

The raid came during a turbulent period for tribal leadership. Phyliss J. Anderson would have taken office July 12 in the chief’s $466,000 salary position except for a council vote that negated that election and called for a new one September 6. In the July 5 runoff election, Phyliss J. Anderson was expected to be declared the new Tribal Chief with 1,971 votes to former Chief Beasley Denson’s 1,618 votes. While Denson conceded that day, two days later, the Choctaw Tribal Council cited voting irregularities and negated the results of the June 14 regular election and, thus, the runoff as well.

Another newspaper, The Neshoba Democrat, quoted “multiple sources” as saying the FBI investigation could have been about alleged election fraud.

According to WLBT in Jackson, Mississippi, the raid was “likely” related to Denson and Mercury Gaming of Atlanta, Georgia. Its affiliated marketing arm, The Titan Agency, manages the tribe’s Pearl River Resort. A website report by the station’s Cheryl Lassiter says that sources told her Denson had been paying Mercury Gaming chief executive Doug Pattison $60,000 per month, a amount that increased to $250,000 in February, and tribal council was unaware of these payouts.

Two days following the July 12 raid, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded money borrowed by the Choctaw Resort Development Enterprise, $200 million in securities, to junk bond status, reported the Clarion-Ledger.

The FBI’s investigation may “indicate potential internal control weaknesses and could affect Choctaw’s casino operations in the future,” Moody’s report stated, reported the Clarion-Ledger.

When Anderson and Denson face off again September 6, they will compete against a new candidate who qualified to race, Shirley Berg. “There is a need for a leader who is trustworthy and has integrity to lead the tribe into the future,” Berg told the Clarion-Ledger. “… My vision is to empower the tribe’s legacy of self-determination, bringing the voice of the people back into tribal government.”

Anderson says when she takes office, she will cancel tribe contracts with Mercury Gaming. Recent events “have been difficult for our tribal people,” Anderson said in a statement. “With an overturned election, FBI raid and downgrade of the tribe’s bonds, we have some serious challenges to overcome, no doubt.”

Recently, Chief Beasley Denson has been touring Choctaw communities on his re-election campaign.

The tribe also operates the Hattiesburg, Mississippi-based Bok Homa Casino.

Choctaws' bonds get junk rating

Choctaws' bonds get junk rating
Downgrade by Moody's comes on heels of FBI probe
Written by Jerry Mitchell

Two days after FBI agents raided the casinos at the Pearl River Resort, Moody's Investors Service downgraded the $200 million in securities borrowed by the Choctaw Resort Development Enterprise to junk bonds.

On July 12, dozens of FBI agents descended on the casinos near Philadelphia, taking both documents and hard drives.

How the tribe spends its money is under scrutiny by the FBI, which is investigating the relationship between the tribe and the Atlanta-based Mercury Gaming Group and its marketing arm, the Titan Agency.

Miko Beasley Denson, chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, hired Mercury and raised Mercury CEO Doug Pattison's pay in February from $60,000 a month to more than $200,000 a month. Denson told The Clarion-Ledger the raise took place because Pattison was helping with the new Bok Homa Casino.

Denson's challenger, Phyliss J. Anderson, has vowed to cancel tribe contracts with Mercury and Titan. Through a spokesperson, she would not comment Friday.

Moody's wrote in its credit report the FBI's investigation may "indicate potential internal control weaknesses and could affect Choctaw's casino operations in the future."

The service downgraded the bonds from B3 to Caa2, one of the lowest bond ratings possible.

"Obviously the bond rating agencies are watching what has now become a drama unfolding," said Phil Hardwick, coordinator of capacity development for the Stennis Institute of Government.

Earlier this month, Denson lost to challenger Anderson, 1,618 votes to 1,971 for her.
A day after the election, Denson conceded but two days later the Tribal Council threw out the results, alleging there were irregularities. A new election is set for Sept. 6.

As chief, Denson makes $466,000 a year. Anderson and other Tribal Council members earn $120,000 each a year.

Moody's report said "the recent unresolved change in leadership at the Choctaw Tribe - the owner of the casinos - could further complicate the refinancing process or could impede the Enterprise's ability to refinance timely or on economical terms."

(Page 2 of 2)

The bad news hardly ends there. On Nov. 4, the tribe must pay $71 million. The risk of refinancing that amount "has escalated significantly," Moody's wrote.

The service said the bond ratings "could be downgraded further if Moody's deems that the Choctaws will likely not be able to refinance within the next 30 to 60 days."

Because the bonds have been downgraded as junk, the tribe likely will have to look to places besides banks to get refinancing, said Randy Wall, a lawyer for Jackson law firm Watkins Ludlum Winter & Stennis.

In general, it isn't legal for banks to loan money to cover junk bonds, he said. "Banks have to have investment grade ratings."

The tribe could possibly borrow money from insurance companies or private parties, he said.

Hardwick said the Nov. 4 deadline should give the tribe enough time to pay off the $71 million due, "assuming there are no other issues, and assuming they are resolvable. If they don't resolve the issues, that adds to the perceived risk."

Even if they do get financing, "they're going to have to pay a higher interest rate," he added.

No details on FBI search at Choctaw casinos

No details on FBI search at Choctaw casinos


Philadelphia, Mississippi (AP) July 2011

A week after the FBI served a search warrant on the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, no one is talking.

The Choctaws are as tightlipped as the FBI about what occurred at the Golden Moon and Silver Star casinos in Neshoba County.

The casinos did not close, Paul Harvey, the chief executive officer of the resort, said in a statement released by the tribe.

“The resort is monitoring the situation closely and will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement authorities in their investigation. There will be no interruption in the operation of business at the resort,” Harvey said.

The action came a week after the election for chief. The results of the election were tossed out by the Tribal Council. A new election date is pending.

Several news organizations were reporting that the FBI was searching the financial records of the casinos.

FBI spokesman Ty Breedlove in Jackson said the FBI had no comment.

Phyliss J. Anderson, who had defeated Chief Beasley Denson in a runoff that has since been nullified, told the Associated Press that she would not comment on the FBI search.

Pearl River Tribal Council member Cyrus Ben has told the Neshoba Democrat that tribal members “are in the dark as much as you are.”

Tribal Council Vice Chief Kevin Edwards said he had no comment. He said the issue should be addressed by Denson and others in the chief’s administration. No one from the tribe’s main office has returned calls to the AP.

The Neshoba Democrat reported the Choctaw Tribal Council was briefed Tuesday on the FBI investigation. Choctaw Attorney General Donald L. Kilgore told the council they needed to discuss “why the FBI is here.” The meeting adjourned a couple of minutes later.

Choctaw tribe's deals focus of FBI, chief says

Choctaw tribe's deals focus of FBI, chief says

PHILADELPHIA, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Choctaw Indians Chief Beasley Denson says media reports earlier this month that an FBI search of tribal records includes those related to the Choctaws' relationship to an Atlanta management company are true.

Denson told The Clarion-Ledger on Tuesday that the search warrant presented the tribe by FBI agents on July 12 mentioned Atlanta-based Mercury Gaming Group and its marketing arm, the Titan Agency. Denson said he has no idea what the investigation is examining.

Denson has not returned calls to The Associated Press seeking comment.

Mercury manages the Choctaws' Pearl River Resort in Philadelphia and Bok Homa casino in Jones County. The tribe pays Mercury CEO Doug Pattison more than $2.4 million a year and has inked multimillion-dollar marketing deals with the firm.

On Mercury's website, Pattison takes credit for growing revenues as CEO of the Silver Star Casino to more than $250 million.

Several news organizations — quoting sources — have reported that the FBI was investigating the tribe's contract with Mercury Gaming. The FBI has declined to comment.

Denson said former Mississippi Gaming Commission executive director Paul Harvey Jr. is the current CEO. Harvey and Pattison have not returned calls to The Associated Press for comment.

"It's untimely," Denson said of the FBI's action. "A business has to go through difficult situations. We're no different than any other business. We maintain a good operation."

Denson said he hired Harvey because of his integrity.

And, Denson said he intends to continue to use Mercury and Titan "until we find something better. They know the wisdom of how to connect with old customers and new customers."

A new election for chief is scheduled for Sept. 6. The Tribal Council threw out the results of a July 5 runoff, which Denson lost to challenger Phyliss J. Anderson because of alleged voting irregularities.

During the campaign, Anderson publicly called for an audit on the casinos and transparency in the tribe's spending. Anderson also didn't return calls to the AP.

Denson said the Choctaws continue to pay more than $1.3 million a year for a multi-year contract signed in 2008 to be a sponsor for the Atlanta Braves. He said the deal is for four or five years at $1.3 million to $1.5 million a year. In return, "The Lexus Level" at Turner Field was renamed "The Golden Moon Casino Level."

He said Titan officials had advised the tribe to make the sponsorship deal with the Braves. He also said he allows Mercury and Titan officials to use the Choctaws' skybox at Turner Field.

Advertising in Atlanta — almost six hours from Philadelphia — rather than in closer cites such as Birmingham and Tuscaloosa is an attempt to "keep up with the Joneses," Denson said.

Pattison's pay went from $60,000 a month until February to more than $200,000 a month. Denson said the hike was because Mercury is now also consulting on the Bok Homa casino.

Denson acknowledged he has run up enough gambling debts in the past to have markers at casinos, including those in Las Vegas.

A marker is a short-term loan the casino extends to a player. Denson said he doesn't have any markers now.

Denson, who prefers playing blackjack, said he knows some high-stakes gamblers but doesn't include himself in their company.

Grover Norquist's Culture of Corruption

Grover Norquist's Culture of Corruption

Grover Norquist is once again playing kingmaker, determining not just the direction of the Republican Party but of the entire US economy. His anti-tax zealotry has made it virtually impossible for Republicans to cut a sensible deal to raise the debt ceiling. But just yesterday, Norquist seemingly flip-flopped and said that the expiration of the Bush tax cuts would not violate his anti-tax pledge, leaving the door open to Republicans supporting a “grand bargain” deal to cut spending, lower corporate taxes and restructure Social Security and Medicare, which sounds like an awfully good offer for the GOP (for Democrats, not so much). The White House is using Norquist to bolster its case while every reporter in Washington is amplifying his words. Norquist has since walked his original statement back.

I’ve got another question: who cares what Norquist says and why does he still have any credibility left? Just a few years ago he was a central player in the Jack Abramoff scandal, using his connections to launder nearly $1 million from Abramoff’s Indian tribe clients to conservative activist Ralph Reed and Christian anti-gambling groups who were fighting a proposed state lottery in Alabama, according to an extensive report by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

“Call Ralph re Grover doing pass through,” Abramoff wrote in an e-mail reminder to himself in 1999. In return, Norquist’s organization, Americans for Tax Return (ATR), took a piece of the cut. “What is the status of the Choctaw stuff?” Norquist wrote to Abramoff that same year. “I have a 75g hole in my budget from last year. ouch.”

According to the New York Times:

Indian tribes say Mr. Abramoff dropped Mr. Norquist’s name when he began trying to win their business. Mr. Norquist used his platform to argue against taxing Indian gambling. Mr. Abramoff billed the tribes tens of millions of dollars to try to fend off antigambling groups and regulators and to send members of Congress on lavish overseas trips. The tribes say Mr. Abramoff also instructed them to give money to Mr. Norquist’s groups as way of getting an audience with the Bush administration. The tribes gave $1.5 million to Americans for Tax Reform and $250,000 to the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, the group founded by Mr. Norquist and Ms. [Gail] Norton.

Adds The New Yorker:

At the start of 2000, the casino battle intensified. Reed needed more cash, and the Choctaws agreed to supply some. After discussing several options, Reed and Abramoff again decided to send the money via Norquist, but this time, apparently, he kept some of it for Americans for Tax Reform. “I need to give Grover something for helping, so the first transfer will be a bit lighter,” Abramoff wrote to Reed on February 7, 2000.

Ten days later, Abramoff sent another e-mail to Reed: “ATR will be sending a second $300K today. How much more do we need? We can’t lose this.” Once again, Americans for Tax Reform apparently took a cut of the money, prompting Abramoff to write to himself a few days later: “Grover kept another $25K!”

The committee also released correspondence relating to a meeting that Norquist helped organize in May, 2001, at which some of Abramoff’s Indian clients met with President Bush. On April 5th, Abramoff wrote to Norquist, “Here’s the first of the checks for the tax event at the White House. I’ll have another $25K shortly.” Sixteen months later, on August 12, 2002, Abramoff wrote to an official with the Saginaw Chippewas, another of his client tribes, “Last year Grover set a meeting for certain select tribal leaders (Coushatta and Chitimach were the only ones) and the speakers of the house of several legislatures to meet with the President in a small meeting for photos, etc. The tribes paid for the event (total cost was $100K for the entire thing, and each tribe put in $50K). Grover has asked me to line up a few tribes to do so again.”

Joked Mark Salter, a top aide to John McCain: “By his own admission, Grover couldn’t be any closer to Abramoff if they moved to Massachussetts and got married.” The Weekly Standard pointed to Reed and Norquist as “symbols of how onetime anti-Washington political insurgents traded in their idealism for gobs of corporate cash.”

All three were key figures in the Bush-era “culture of corruption.” Abramoff went to prison in 2006 for conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion. He got out in December 2010, right after Republicans recaptured the House and Norquist’s anti-tax agenda received a major boost. Abramoff’s reputation is still in tatters. Norquist’s should be too.

—Ari Berman is the author of Herding Donkeys: The Fight to Rebuild the Democratic Party and Reshape American Politics.

FBI raids Choctaw Indian tribe's Pearl River Resort casinos

FBI raids Choctaw Indian tribe's Pearl River Resort casinos
The Birmingham News
NESHOBA COUNTY, Mississippi -- The FBI today raided two Mississippi casinos at the Choctaw Indian tribe's Pearl River Resort, the Jackson Clarion Ledger reports.

The two resorts were identified as the Silver Star Resort & Casino and the Golden Moon Hotel & Casino at Philadelphia, Mississippi. The FBI officials declined to discuss the raids, according to the newspaper.

The Neshoba Democrat reported the Choctaw Tribal Council discussed the raids in morning meeting after barring a reporter. However, statements by one tribal officials indicated the FBI may have targeted computer hard drives.

Resort officials issued a statement saying the resort remained in business but was cooperating with Justice Department officials. If offered no comment on the reasons for the FBI action.




Feds Raid Choctaw Casinos
DOJ Executes Search Warrant


PHILADELPHIA, Miss. -- Federal authorities were at the Golden Moon and Silver Star casinos at Pearl River Resort in Choctaw on Tuesday, 16 WAPT News has learned.

Representatives from the Department of Justice executed a search warrant, according to a statement issued Tuesday afternoon by Pearl River Resort CEO Maj. Gen. Paul Harvey, retired. The agents were seeking records and files, 16 WAPT News reported.

"The resort is monitoring the situation closely and will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement authorities in their investigation. There will be no interruption in the operation of business at the resort," Harvey said.

A spokesperson with Phyllis Anderson's office of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Council told the Meridian Star that several employees in the accounting offices had been sent home. Anderson told 16 WAPT News that she didn't have any details about the investigation, but called it unfortunate.

The Choctaw Tribal Council was told on Tuesday that an FBI investigation was under way at Pearl River Resort, the Neshoba Democrat reported.

Roger Anderson, who represents the Conehatta community on the Tribal Council, told 16 WAPT's Scott Simmons that he believes the investigation is financial in nature. He said there are too many questions about money regarding the casinos.

When contacted by 16 WAPT News, the FBI would neither confirm nor deny the investigation.