Monday, January 7, 2013

Tribal Casino Crimewatch: FOXWOODS and Mashantucket Pequot's Former Chairman Charged with THEFT from Tribe. Is Pechanga NEXT on Fed's list?

The news coming out of CT today with the indictment of a former tribal chairperson makes us wonder when the Feds will charge Pechanga's former tribal chair, Jennie Miranda, of the infamous Masiel-Basquez Crime Family with theft from the tribe.  She has already been disenfranchised from the tribe, but Federal Laws have been broken.    Let's see those arrests...

The former chairman of the tribe that runs one of the world's largest casinos and his brother, the tribe's treasurer, have been charged with stealing a combined $800,000 from their Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, federal prosecutors in Connecticut said Friday.

The indictments returned by a federal grand jury in Hartford follow a lengthy FBI investigation at the tribe's tiny reservation in rural southeastern Connecticut, where it owns and operates Foxwoods Resort Casino. 

The former chairman, Michael Thomas, 44, is accused of stealing more than $100,000 in tribal funds and federal grant money between 2007 and 2009 during his tenure as leader of the tribal council, a position he was ousted from over his handling of the tribe's finances. His brother, treasurer Steven Thomas, 38, allegedly stole more than $700,000 between 2005 and 2008 when he was assistant director of the tribe's natural resources department.

 A tribal spokesman, William Satti, released a statement in which the tribal council said the federal charges threaten tribal sovereignty. "We are disappointed in the federal government's decision to move forward with this action, and feel that this has strong implications on self-governance throughout Indian Country," the statement said. The council also said it is confident in Steven Thomas' dedication to his duties as a tribal council member but didn't mention Michael Thomas.

A separate statement sent internally to tribal members offered assurances that the tribe itself is not the target of the FBI investigation.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't forget that embarrassment down in Pala, the honorable robert Schmitt . Haha.

Anonymous said...

It's a matter of time before the houses of cards come tumbling down for all the crooked greedy tribal councils. And I'm gonna laugh so hard when I hear the news. Might even celebrate with a toast to the outgoing regimes as they fall

Anonymous said...

We must keep the publicity up. The FBI time is slower than Indian time and can be frustrating.

Twitter stories to: @interior @TheJusticeDept @DarrellIssa @USIndianAffairs

'aamokat said...

Slower than Indian time? That is pretty slow! Well, I suppose, slower than Indian time is better than no time at all.

Anonymous said...

How many Tribes out there ,and
( when i mean TRIBES
i mean last of your true historical members ).

Have seen and documented corruption on their Reservations
and reported it to the proper authorities .
and nothing was ever be done .

our so called elected officials and goverment entities refuse to investigate fraud and corruption
for the simple fact they would
have to investigate themselves .

its better to get rid of the
evidence then to be investigated, sweep everything under the carpet and keep the true members quiet .
just ignore there complaints
and tell them their documented evidence is outdated ,statue of limitations ran out .

your so called elected officials past and present,
Ordinance Your Constitutions too
tell you as a true historicial indian you have no rights or say ,
in what happens to you and yours future ,
(Saginaw Chippewa)
this is my so called Tribe
were Indian Time is just that
Time ,

To The Untited States Goverment ,
We the true members of our tribes
have been pleading to you for
help in investigating corruptions with in our tribal goverments for years ,
when are you gonna step in and undo your wrongs .

we need action .

Shannon Khan said...

It’s disappointing knowing that they serve as leaders and yet they have the guts to steal money from the people. I look up to Mr. Thomas and he’s the one who inspi8red me to take lessons on poker playing tips, but when I heard the news, it totally made me sad and frustrated.