Reel Wamps

Treasurer Fenton Soliz said, “I’ve never heard such unprofessional language.” He was talking about the newly elected Vice Chairwoman Winnie who was screeching at the TA. The Tribal Administrator was reviewing the layoff strategy and true to form, the Vice Chairwoman went off, saying she “didn’t want to hear nothing about no @#$$$%%$# layoffs!”  As we said Fenton, welcome to Tribal Council Purgatory, you’ve been inducted, and you didn’t even know it.

After that little performance, the TA quit. So here we are. Broke as a joke and no way to pay the bills. And no plan to get the money to fix it.

Wait a minute, maybe the officers could give up their salaries and volunteer for the good of the Tribe. Whoever brings some money in gets their salary back. That would be a novel idea.

Emergency Meeting 5:30.

CK had to win. He and Paula pulled out all the stops. It wasn’t about the Tribe. It was about their paychecks.

As the returns came in tribal members moaned and whispered “Oh no!” The candidates promising to clean up the financial mismanagement and deliver tangible resources were defeated under the same circumstances that brought Cedric Cromwell to power in 2009. The same voter list problems that tainted that election were present this time. The list was mysteriously “stollen” then they got another one. Seventy-five people who voted Sunday were not on the roll which is illegal. It doesn’t matter why they weren’t on the roll……they were not legal voters. Election Committee Chair Kimmie Frye, an ardent supporter of Brian Weeden waved them on through to cast ballots. She quit earlier having the nerve to claim “election interference” against Karen over a Facebook post.  Then she came back.  She had to finish up. Teaming up with the Weeden slate campaign manager Paula Peters (and Trish) handing over the membership list that was used to phonebank and mail information.  It was supposed to be shared with the other candidates, but it was not. That membership list was current and provided the Weeden ticket tremendous advantage. Nelson Andrews and Carlton Hendricks Jr. were significant threats to the Weeden ticket. The margin of victory in both of those races was close.

Paula in all her glory. Staying on the payroll $4m strong. To hell with the Tribe.

Meanwhile Kimmie tainted her hard working Election Committee with her extreme bias for CK.  She was worse as election chair in 2015 when her brother-in-law Cedric was running.  Then she was riding around with the ballots in her car for days.  Just search it in Reel Wamps and see for yourself. While you’re at it look up the recall of Cedric, also in the CCT.

As the campaign intensified, Paula contacted Weeden ticket opponents to cut a deal to preserve her tribal newsletter and media relations contract. That in itself is not unusual for campaign double agents, but it reveals a lack of confidence in her slate. Paula tried to pretend Robin Stamps was not part of her crew cause she’s so awful. Robin was vital to the scheme. To show you how simple the woman is, she was broadcasting the fact that she was in the race to be a spoiler (getting just over 40 votes). And that was what she did to the detriment of the Tribe. She spends her day calling people spreading crazy rumors and wreaking havoc instead of managing the homeless shelter. A tribal member described it as being “worse than being in jail.”

That list clearly helped Paula’s favorite candidate Fenton Soliz

Fenton! You really don’t know what you’re in for. Buckle up. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

who was an unknown mortgage loan guy whom she promoted as a Wall Street Wizard.  Quite a stretch. Honestly, Soliz was working in the Grocery Store Branch of Citizens Bank at Stop and Shop and he clearly regarded the Mashpee as Yahoos he could con. So, he ran for treasurer. They were partying down at Paula’s house and Dino’s of all places. But the victory dance is more like a funeral march when the feds draw a bead on his predecessor’s cooked books.

The Weeden administration has concealed the problem that threatens to cripple the most basic member services and prompt federal investigations from the hostile Trump administration. A preliminary report on the spending crisis signals a government shutdown in three to four months. The full details, which were not revealed in total, but they are known. The overview outlined a shell game of unprecedented expenditures that violated accounting standards and federal guidelines. It all points to Brian Weeden, Bobby and Winnona who was aware of every bit of the wrongdoing.  The most frightening aspect of this is that all deals to move us forward go away. Andrews, Hendricks and Tobey had investors ready to pull the trigger on casino phases, resort projects and tribal partnerships. That will not happen now. Do you really think we will attract prospective investors with Brian, and Winnie who is now over operations and the TA?

Elders and members are disheartened and very angry.  They heard of Brian’s plan to appoint Suzzette Peters to Winnie’s vacant seat and blew a gasket.  You will recall that’s how we got  Bobby in as treasurer and Winnie back on Council. Yah.

WHAT TO EXPECT

• They will rely on Mark Harding to cobble something together. But it has to materialize in 3 months.  If he had a deal it would have been rolled out before the election. He was seen wandering around the building today. Every time he’s involved, it hurts badly rather than helps.
• The biggest problem is that CK is hard to sell, that’s why Andrews was our only hope for a path forward.
• Expect the Weeden administration to shut down the investigation immediately. However, sources say it is too late because the consistent wrongdoing is documented beyond the $4.3 m in fantasy money. Political patronage and loyalty verses competence were required by the chairman and his consultant Paula Peters. Her candidates are incapable of filling the jobs they were elected to do.  Instead, they cut deals and keep the incompetence going.
•  Weeden’s candidate for treasurer, Fenton Soliz, will replace disgraced treasurer Bobby Foster, who stepped aside and endorsed Soliz. Unemployed now Bobby wanted a spot on the Gaming Authority. And he expects to get paid. It was bad enough he was the Treasurer. Imagine investors running a check on him.  Soliz, in return, called Foster “courageous” for that and endorsed Weeden. Foster is the uncle of Weeden’s partner, who is a Frye. The Frye’s disastrous reign brought chaos for 15 years because of this kind of cronyism.
• Expect lawsuits a host of push back

We are in a bad place. But the most hurtful thing is that many of the people, especially the young people who supported the Weeden regime are the ones who will be hurt most. This is not a Family Feud game show. It’s your future.

Leading up to the election, Ck’s legacy is muddled, and his ticket is comprised of a cast of characters who have never served the best interest of the Tribe.

The Child King’s court was missing at the Emergency Meeting to address Tribal

TAT also known as “The Artful Dodger,” knows when to get outta the way. But it might not work this time.

finances. Treasurer Bobby Foster, Councilman David Weeden and Council Woman Winnona Pocknett aka Lovely Winnona Hand of the King had silly excuses for their absence that Aaron Tobey questioned. Obviously, they knew what was coming and didn’t want to face it. The Council meeting a live packed house and 32 members on Zoom. The Chairman couldn’t use his trick of going into executive session.

The council voted overwhelmingly for an open hearing to review finance information from the Tribal Administrator, the Tribal member consultant, and the Interim Comptroller. They revealed a litany of shell games, shifting dollars, misrepresenting funding sources, and creating spending plans that had absolutely no funding source. It also shows that the treasurer, Bobby Foster, and the previous Comptroller were appropriating over $4 million,(most recently) knowing full well that the money was unavailable. The TA and the Interim Comptroller said they discovered some expenditures “so large we don’t know what they are.” They also noted that “fraudulent entries were made for those large expenditures.” Another problem was that they were paying 3 contractors to do the Comptroller’s job, wasting millions of dollars. All of this has been covered up for years. Vice Chairman Carlton Hendricks Jr. has led the effort to investigate finance.

As “The Hand of the King,” CK empowered Lovely Winnona to get in everyone business, harasses folks and take herself seriously.

Within 15 minutes of the investigators’ preliminary report, it became clear that the Treasurer and former Comptroller were engaged in a scheme to blatantly coerce the Council into misappropriating funds.
The Chairman tried twice to push the $4.3 million appropriation through, but both times, the effort failed. Vice Chairman Carlton Hendricks, Jr., Councilman Nelson Andrews, Councilman Mingo Teixeira, and Secretary Cassie Jackson successfully called for emergency meetings, killing those efforts.

Councilman Nelson Andrews asked the Chairman when he knew about the finance problem. He didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to Councilwoman Roxanne Mills for her question. Andrews’ question was valid because CK oversees operations, which includes every department in Tribal government. But his link to finance is deep: Lovely Winnona works in finance, and she is The Hand of the King. He knew about every expenditure and every move made. CK again, tried to lay the blame on the Council when it is his responsibility. Council members said a cost reduction plan was needed. Councilman Teixeira said, ” We have to stop the bleeding.”

The investigation is ongoing. Some of our worst fears are realized and we know this ain’t no way to run a government.

(NOTE: Reel Wamps has reported on the finance controversy most recently On Feb 1, Jan 24, 15,9, 3, Dec 6, Nov 10)

“Resolution 33 “ was the mechanism that empowered the Child King and blocked any access to the Finance Department by officers or the Council.

Back-to-back fiascos. Both men had so much potential but just couldn’t stay on the right path. Resolution 33 corrupts unequivocally. 

Resolution 33 was a holdover from the Cromwell administration. It was meant to be a temporary fix, but it did more damage than anyone could ever predict. The Tribe lost its management arm, which was the tribal administrator, the human resource officer, and eventually the treasurer. So, Resolution 33 gave the chairman total authority to run everything. It directly conflicted with the established employee policy handbook because nothing happened unless the chairman said so. This kid had his hands in everything with absolutely no idea what the hell he was doing.

So here we are.

Because CK lacked administrative or governing experience, the tribe could not retain Tribal Administrators or HR professionals. He finally landed Greendeer as the TA through a hustler who ultimately paid his $83k legal bill for the Plymouth plantation robbery. Greendeer brought in the infamous Comptroller, (who was fired last week), and the financial lockdown began.

He increased his Council vote numbers by getting Bobby in place as Treasurer and Winnie onto the board on a technicality. When Rita Pocknett left Council, the dictatorship began in earnest. It all totaled three years of stagnation after 12 years of Cromwell’s corruption.

Greendeer left his mark on his Ho Chunk Tribe and ours. Now he’s on to the next hustle. Who lives like that? We really don’t want the answer.

And besides, who was CK to criticize Greendeer’s outrageous antics? It didn’t bother him at all. Calls for his resignation fell on deaf ears, and the chairman kept him in place. He had to. The TA was mixed up in the Plymouth escapade, after all. That in itself was outrageous. They refused to produce a budget and that stifled grants that hurt tribal members They had to cover up the reckless spending, so they all stonewalled auditors and the Council for years. The collapse… They did it…..CK, Bobby, Greendeer, Winnona, David Weeden and the (old) Comptroller.

The Chairman is in charge and he is aware of everything that happened. For the last ten days CK’s been trying to keep the lid on Finance, to get past the election, but it hasn’t worked. So Vice Chairman Carlton Hendricks Jr and Council member Nelson Andrews had to call the Monday Emergency meeting. Spending money that’s not available and lying about it is not a good thing, nor is unauthorized spending. Expect candidates to drop out.

Tribal members need to see for themselves what the new comptroller reveals Monday night.

The trouble with running for office in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is that most of the voters know too much….The other problem is that the shaky candidates try to lie about their records or accomplishments. Thats another bad move.

Robyn’s just a lot. No one knows what to do about her.

So, Robin Lynn Sweeting, aka Robin Tobey, was in rare form. The candidate for Vice Chairman started out arms flailing, shouting,” I’m gonna get real.” Well, you know she manages the homeless shelter so she was going on about how great it was. The audience was totally distracted because they were trying to figure out what the hell was going on with her hair. Was she trying to imitate Chaka Khan, or was it just another bad hair day? As for her wonderful homeless shelter, one Tribal member was overheard saying, “Being in that place is worse than being in jail.”
So much for Robin’s ability to persuade.
The sleeper race for Secretary could be the most interesting and competitive. Talia Landry began bragging about the 12-acre project as if all

Talia is too young to understand the ” We know everything.” standard. Her family vote may save her. Who knows?

was right and good. Well, it gets sticky because she’s responsible for stalling the whole deal. The project is on hold, and it’s been that way for months because she does not play well with others. She conveniently left that out. The job of the Tribal Secretary is tougher than most people know. The incumbent, Cassie Jackson, does a good job. Not only does she keep all the records in order, she does the outgoing communications, but she also keeps the backup documents and prepares the agenda details for the Council. Shelly Tobey jumped in the race after a turbulent time managing housing. And as usual in Mashpee, everybody knows everything it just depends on what their version is. For Shelley Tobey it could go both ways unless she tells her side of the story that makes sense to them. That’s why this is the race to watch.

Winnie is campaigning for seagull voters with her illegal signs 20 ft in the air.

Now Winnie is continuing her revenge tour against Carlton Hendricks Jr. We all know that Winnie has lost so many races, we have lost count. She launches into tirades against Hendricks and everyone takes a nap. So, this is nothing more than an anger management issue for her. But here’s the thing. Winnie has the tribal logo on her yard sign (again) and that is a violation of copyright. The tribal logo is on the tribal stationery. It is the tribal brand ….the legitimate marking for all correspondence and other documentation that validates a government action. It is not to be used for political campaign purposes. No state, town, or congressional candidate anywhere in the country uses the brand of the state, town, city, or any US government on their campaign materials….. only Winnie and Fenton Soliz, a candidate for Treasurer.

Fenton says his passion for Mashpee brought him back. Tribal members aren’t so sure.

So, Fenton boasts about his financial credentials. OK, we get that, but don’t you

Fenton’s homemade signs tell you a lot. Copyright is not his thing.

think a guy who professes to be worldwide knows better than to engage in copyright infringement? Another interesting thing happened at the last council meeting. In the middle of the meeting, Fenton started asking questions of the Council from the audience. The Child King acknowledged him, allowing him to continue with a barrage of questions, like he was on Council. Carlton Hendricks, Jr had to call for a point of order to stop him. Very weird.

The tide is turning.