Cape & Islands News

Quorum fails, concerns remain at tribal council

Calls grow inside Mashpee Wampanoag tribe for more transparency
Middleborough plans to review casino agreement following Marshall scandal

By James Kinsella

An emergency Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council meeting called for Saturday afternoon fell just short of a quorum, but council members said they would continue to push for a discussion of critical issues facing the tribe.

Six members came to the meeting, one shy of a quorum. A seventh council member reportedly came and stood outside the tribal council building off Great Neck Road South in Mashpee, but did not enter the building.

Adam M. Bond, chairman of the Middleborough selectmen, said the board needs to modify the contract in light of what he calls "systemic" behavior on the part of the tribe tied in with alleged fraud committed by former Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council Chairman Glenn Marshall.

Meanwhile, the Middleborough Board of Selectmen has voted to meet in February to review the tribe's contract with the town to build a $1 billion casino on land that would be taken into trust in Middleborough.

Adam M. Bond, chairman of the selectmen, said the board needs to modify the contract in light of what he calls "systemic" behavior on the part of the tribe tied in with alleged fraud committed by former tribal council chairman Glenn Marshall.

Council member Cedric Cromwell called the meeting Friday following news earlier this month that the former tribal council chairman, Glenn A. Marshall, had agreed to plead guilty on federal charges of fraud and embezzlement.

According to an information filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office, an investor had agreed to back the tribe's longstanding quest for federal recognition in return for a cut of the revenues from a casino that the tribe would then operate. Marshall allegedly steered funds from the investor to candidates for Congress in violation of federal election law.

The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs recognized the Mashpee Wampanoag, who are based on Cape Cod, as a tribe last year. Middleborough subsequently reached an agreement allowing the tribe to build and operate a casino in the town.

"I think we have to do what's right for the tribe," Cromwell said Saturday afternoon.

"We're really in an excellent position - we have our election coming up. We can look at what leadership means for our tribe: transparency and greatness - and no surprises."
                     - Cedric Cromwell
            Tribal council member

 "We're really in an excellent position - we have our election coming up," he said. "We can look at what leadership means for our tribe: transparency and greatness - and no surprises."

Cromwell declined to comment if he thought tribal council members who had been involved with Marshall's activities should step away from the council.

But another council member, Aaron Tobey, said any such members had a duty to resign.

"Ultimately, it comes down to policing our own," Tobey said Saturday afternoon.

According to the information, Marshall involved other members of the tribe in the election law violations, asking them to make contributions to candidates and then reimbursing them with investor funds.

Also according to the information, Marshall made regular payments with the investor's money to certain tribal members, and also provided certain members with financial assistance with that money.

The information said Marshall conducted his activities unbeknownst to the tribal council.
Marshall resigned as chairman in 2007 following revelations that he had lied about his military record to Congress and had been convicted of rape in 1981.

The vice chairman, Shawn W. Hendricks Sr., moved up to chairman at that time.

According to the tribal constitution, the council must meet at least once a month.

Cromwell said the council met earlier in December, but before news came out on Dec. 15 about Marshall's decision to sign a plea agreement admitting guilt to fraud and embezzlement.

On Saturday, Bond, who as chairman represents one vote on the five-member board of selectmen in Middleborough, said he believes the town should stick by its deal with the tribe to place the casino in Middleborough. Under that deal, the tribe would provide a revenue stream to the town and fund infrastructure improvements.

Town meeting approved the proposal by a greater than two-thirds majority.

But Bond also said that in light of the revelations, the town should modify the language to protect the interests of the town.

Speaking of the fraud allegedly committed on behalf of the tribe's quest for federal recognition, Bond said, "It was systemic before going into negotiation. We hadn't known what they had done. If we had known what they had done, we would have done it differently."

Marshall's alleged activities as chairman of the tribe, Bond said, were material to the deal negotiated with Middleborough.

"Some things we had taken on faith cannot be taken on faith," the selectman said. "I would call it more shoring up things, getting things codified."

"I think the selectmen should vote that the casino deal is null and void since it was based on negotiations with a tribal leader, Glenn Marshall, who has pled guilty to charges involving federal recognition for his tribe and the casino proposal."
                         - Dan Kennedy
                            Casino opponent

Dan Kennedy, a journalism professor at Northeastern University who grew up in Middleborough and opposes the proposed casino, said the selectman should drop the casino agreement with the tribe.

"I think the selectmen should vote that the casino deal is null and void since it was based on negotiations with a tribal leader, Glenn Marshall, who has pled guilty to charges involving federal recognition for his tribe and the casino proposal," Kennedy stated. "The wrongdoing to which Marshall has admitted was directly tied up in the casino deal.

"After walking away from the deal, the selectmen should make it clear that they understand the terrible mistake they made and announce that they are getting out of the casino business permanently," Kennedy stated.

"Casinos damage everyone who gets near them," he stated.

Tobey said many tribal members suspected that something was amiss with Marshall's leadership.

He said a strong call has arisen from the tribe for more transparency.

Tribal council members, he said, have a fiduciary duty to protect the tribe.