The ultimate stalling tactic went south. Ceddie knew as we did that the BIA was not going to stand behind its original decision to take our land into trust. He used it anyway, to keep getting paid.Genting was happy.
And now he is trying to put the blame on Trump. Well, for 5 years the Cromwell administration let the LIT application languish under the Obama administration before filing a flawed plan. What followed was 5 years of failed appeals, the phony congressional legislation proposed by Keating (that went nowhere as we predicted) and screwball maneuvers highlighted the incompetence that has branded this administration and humiliated this Tribe. And you were going to ask Trump for help? Guess his agency showed you.
The gut-punch dealt by conservatives on the US Supreme Court was horrific for tribes seeking to put LIT. Cedric was clueless about our precarious position for years. He was too busy basking in power and paying a lot of White people who would not bring one iota of positive results.
February 2009–US Supreme Court says the BIA cannot take LIT of tribes recognized after 1934
It could have been avoided if the greedy ghetto fabulous regime understood what the hell was going on. Too busy riding around in limos spending up the $800k surplus in the bank. They weren’t even thinking about the land in trust. They ran out of money in the fall and instead of continuing to work with the original investors and finish the deal, Mark Harding and his revenge move, brought them Genting. It went downhill from there…fast.
What should have happened in February 2009
- The original land in trust application could have been completed quickly. Middleboro passed the environmental evaluation and just needed a signature.
- The Middleboro land was paid for ($6 M for 356 acres of contiguous land) well documented and validated our historic ties to it…unlike Taunton.
- They were so politically inept they failed to ask Sen Ted Kennedy to pass a congressional fix to remedy the US Supreme court ruling. Kennedy was the only one who would have or could have done it and he would have helped us without hesitation.
Cromwellians not only missed the opportunity to fix the LIT with Kennedy’s help, they had no idea that failure to act would destroy the tribe’s ability to grown and thrive. When they did act, it was a sham proposal that ultimately could not pass muster, once again disgracing the Tribe.
Ted Kennedy dies on August 25, 2009. The Cromwellians did not understand the impact of the SCOTUS decision, never consulted lawyers and fired tribal members with experience and our original attorneys who were the best in Indian Country.
The bumbling continues
- Fat and happy with big salaries, Cedric flys over Massachusetts look for new land for his casino (literally)
- He starts the LIT application process all over, looking for new land, hiring more inept consultants and lawyers with no Indian law experience
- In Nov 2011, he puts down a $3.4 m non-refundable deposit on land in Fall River already owned by the state for biotech research.
- He ends up paying 70x’s more for broken parcels in the much maligned Taunton.
- The tribe submitted its third LIT application that was so bad it started a war in the BIA because many did not think the historic documentation was valid.
No answers, not one success story or benefit for the Mashpee in 11 years
- Tribal members really thought the casino was going to happen, and they were going to get paid.
- Cedric never told the truth. The truth was he and his cronies were the only ones getting paid. For 11 years no amount of questions or challenges, scandal or even a recall election could ply the truth out of Mr. Dochester or get rid of him.
What happened to the $600 million dollars funneled to the Gaming Authority?
It looks like the Feds want that answer because there is no evidence that Cedric spent a dime on the Tribe.
What is the strategy?
Cedric has one last card to play with the appeal in the DC Federal Court. That will go nowhere based on the decision by the Department of Interior/BIA. It is taking the land out of trust and signaled that they do not see a way to take the LIT and getting around the US Supreme Court Decision.
Doing what amateurs do…
- Starting an online petition THAT WILL HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IMPACT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR OR ANYONE.
- Trying to get Keating to revive the congressional fix legislation IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC (members are home in their districts). They are not thinking about us.
Come on Nelson…don’t let Cedric get you into trouble with the feds. Tribe First works best.
Shout out to Nelson Andrews–Emergency Assistance Director
Herrin’ and Roe say, “Ya better watch out boy… cause that Ceddie Lou is gonna try to rob your federal allotment for coronavirus.” We know you love Ceddie but the tribe comes first. Now is not the time to sell out completely.
We should never have ended up in this bad place. A landless tribe. What makes it worse, the very people who keep “chirping” about how they ” never wanted a casino ” they sure took that damn Genting check and on the regular. You know who you are. You need to shut up. You brought this curse on the Tribe with the crooked election and stupid ideas.
With complete failure at hand, you may have noticed that there was never a plan to salvage our dignity with an economic development plan. It’s like standing on the side of the road with a tin cup.
The Tribe was never the client. It was always Genting.
Cedric and Mark sought revenge from the start because they were never accepted. We see now it was for good reason. Nothing has changed.
