Why are we here?

April 28, 2021

Cedric is busy on Facebook talking about his religious conversion and plans for the ministry. Ahem…..

Well, you know why. Because Cedric Cromwell dragged us to our lowest point.  Anyway the difference is he has to deal with his wrongdoing while the tribe and whoever is elected cleans up the mess he and his cohorts left behind.

Look it…

Former Vice Chair Jessie Baird is still trying to manipulate council members.  She offers them nothing and continues to use them despite her disgraced status. She resigned 3 times. This last time was for real and she would never ascend to the chairmanship nor would she relinquish her position as Vice Chair.She was trying to reign over the remnants of Cedric’s corrupt regime. That is as long as she didn’t have be responsible to the people of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.  A grifter never changes its stripes. And she’s off setting up another school to milk.

This was about Jessie’s revenge.  She hates Aaron Tobey and Carlton Hendricks, Jr and was straddling  the revenge categories like she was still in power…when she figured it out she bailed. The future for her is not good despite the fact that she claims that she knew nothing about what “her boy, Cedric” was doing..no one believes that.  Especially you know who.

Gordon Harris former treasurer has never been the same since he took that ass whipping during the meeting called to remove Carlton Hendricks, Jr because of name calling. Well, you will recall it  was cranking Gordon was called  every name they could think of.  What did Gordon do? Nothing…no budget for another year and a half totaling 3. The guy’s criminal negligence is real.The supreme coverup.

THE TIMELINE

Just before Cedric was indicted and arrested Nov. 13, 2020 Gordon took two months of sick leave…still taking a big pay check and still signing checks. He never really came back. His irresponsibility was astounding.  Attending an occasional meeting he decided he was going to quit Feb 14, despite the constitutional mandate to wait for an elected replacement.  Well he hung around with Jessie ( also taking sick leave and threatening to leave) for a month taking pay over $45,000 instead of paying bills. Of course he dodged paying the fisherman too. So as their regime disintegrated they decided to cut and run in late March. Phew.

The damage done is pretty bad.

Here’s the problem.

We have no officers.  They all quit. Jessie, Gordon and Ann Marie.  Quitting does not absolve them of guilt, especially Gordon. He knew what was going on.  The USDA was calling him about the the Tribal Government Center payments in arrears. He did nothing.   But the Council is moving ahead because those so called leaders never cared about the Tribe. Instead of doing what is in our best interest, they did what was in theirs.

What you heard is true.  Instead of paying the the note on the government center, they paid themselves for a long time.  Now, who’s going to pay the check? It’s being figured out…legally. The new leaders will have to take corrective action, clean up the mess, jump start the tribal economy and initiate the congressional fix to get our land in trust permanently. None of these actions were ever part of the Cromwellian agenda…never, but many millions were spent on lawyers who delivered nothing which will be of great interest to the feds.

Criminal negligence ain’t no joke.

No squalling here.  Just saying we are a good people. We don’t deserve any of this. Starting over is so painful.  But we have to do it.

 

Posted in: News

Ann Marie Quits

April 14, 2021

Ann Marie has had enough.

Effective April 23, Ann Marie Askew will no longer be Tribal Secretary.  She remained dignified last night as she managed the meeting but she took a beatin’ no doubt concerning hazardous duty pay. The door is open for Cassie Jackson now.

The elusive Nelson Andrews failed to appear at the meeting last night to

Nelson seems to be struggling with the realities of Tribal politics and dealing with members.

 

discuss the controversial pay out.  Denise Hathaway was also absent.  Denise is the senior financial officer and has obstructed efforts to look at the Tribal bank accounts. Carlton Hendricks is her worst nightmare no doubt and she’s avoiding him at all costs. She pretty much does what she damn pleases and took tens of thousands of hazardous duty pay while working at home. Her insubordination incidents should be in the Guinness Book of World Records along with a lot of other improprieties yet to be revealed.

Stay tuned.

 

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Making a way forward

April 13, 2021

 

After a decade of secrecy, Tribal members are being heard in Council meetings that  have returned to civil discourse and candid exchanges. Being heard makes a difference. And members aired their grievances for a couple of intense meetings.  But it had to happen that way. It’s called democracy.

For a while there it was really a series of Sunday meetings but the difference was, Tribal members got answers instead of blank looks.

We wanted to make one more point before we do an update.  Leadership is essential during a crisis. The Tribe was in a death spiral, morally, fiscally and administratively. Absolutely no one was guiding the canoe. Leaders fill the void.  They listen, offer solutions and most of all they are not afraid of a fight.  The fight is straight Mashpee…and you fight to win.

If you ain’t got it in ya, don’t bother.

Anyway let’s talk about who showed up.

Carlton Hendricks, Jr. For over a decade, Hendricks has fought to restore the Tribal voice, transparency and fiscal responsibility to our government. Sometimes he was alone in that fight as the only no vote many a day.  But he really wasn’t alone because the people were with him all along.  When the Cromwell administration tried to oust him, nearly 200 tribal members showed up at the Council meeting, scaring the B-Jesus out of Cedric and his crew who ultimately dropped the effort and the plan to get rid of Aaron Tobey and Rita Gonsalves. As a student of the Tribal Constitution it became his bible for the proper path. The administration had completely abandoned Tribal law and was spending without a budget and refused to disclose a budget for 3 years. Thank God Hendricks wouldn’t let go.  Now, he can get emotional and a little loud. But we’re damned glad to take that passion over the drone nothingness of a sycophant. Now, he’s the signatory on the checks because Gordon Harris abandoned his responsibilities.  A lot of people are nervous about having to explain expenditures (check recs) right now…yes they are. The hazardous duty pay issue will have some people’s hair on fire.

Aaron Tobey Tobey is the guy that is by the book.  He followed every step with numerous petitions and lawsuits in tribal court.  Like a wonky pseudo lawyer he cared nothing about your eyes glazing over as he explained. He launched the petitions and succeeded in forcing the recall election of Cedric Cromwell only to have it cancelled by the audacious embattled chairman.   Aaron’s tenacity on the election constitutional violations brought us to the point where we won the lower court decision but got a convoluted appeal process that would have dragged us into summer. Ultimately, a tribal member suggested throwing out the emergency ordinance so here we are with a fresh start. Tobey brought civility to this last month of dialogue between the Council members and Tribal members anxious to get back to normal. Aaron has a rocky relationship with our people, but voters are taking a second look at his candidacy because he seems to have learned a valuable lesson, service to Tribe is all that matters.

Angela Marcellino- Marcellino deserves credit for working to get support.  She campaigns and she is on every Tribal Council call or emergency meeting.  Most of her opponents are not. Those zooms can be scary if you don’t know what you’re talking about. And you have to hear voter grievances because this election goes beyond family alliances. The biggest problem we have is the financial implosion yet to be revealed. We need to start stockpiling care packages for Council members who will have to join the Treasurer and dig in to clean up the mess.  But Angela does have accounting and business management experience that is valuable during this time of crisis and as we rebuild. Strong working relationships with Council members and department heads is among her assets that will help quite a bit.

 

Weeden with US Senator Ed Markey. Taking the initiative is important.

Brian Weeden—Reel Wamps was critical of Weeden early on in this election cycle and we were wrong. Wrong about his lack of experience and wrong about his lack of solutions. Weeden showed his strength during several recent meeting by calming the mood and offering perspectives that made sense. His ability to articulate his knowledge of Tribal and under used federal programs is impressive.  We all make the mistake of disregarding his ideas because he is so young and that is wrong. Brian is frustrated by that and he should be.  His political instincts are pretty damned good as we saw with his invitation to US Senator Ed Markey. It was the beginning of a relationship we desperately need to get a congressional fix for land into trust. Weeden engaged the senator by giving him a tour and had the wherewithal to give him a gift, which is a small but important protocol that other Council members missed. Weeden has a lot of big ideas on economic development and numerous soft places in our Tribal management.  That’s good. In that regard, he joins his elders running for office with big ideas. We need it.

We have other Council members who offer expertise and resources that have been ignored by the Cromwell administration or have had their ideas stolen in plain sight.  Rita Gonsalves comes to mind who has a broad range of experiences in grant programs and untapped opportunities important for our growth.

There are others out there who are out there with plans that are new and reflect the needs of Tribal members.  We will talk about those members soon.

We get nowhere staying in the box on programs we know about.  We have to use the many assets of the people who will lead us into the future.  They won’t all agree all the time or win every fight but at least they will have us in mind whatever they do.

NEW ELECTION COMMITTEE REFLECTS DIVERSITY

The new Election Committee is almost complete and reflects the family diversity of the Tribe. Lead by Robin Tobey, other members include Walter Frye, Mingo Teixeira, and Airiel Perry. One more member should be voted on tonight.

We’re on our way.

 

 

Posted in: News

Election meeting Monday 3/29 4-6pm

March 28, 2021

We were the last ethnic group given the right to vote in our own country. Let’s not forget what happens when the core of the tribe loses political control to greedy unqualified interlopers. We’ve suffered for 12 years

The election committee will tell us Monday how they plan to conduct the election May 16.  It looks like the drive through drop off  on election day: Elders vote 8:30 – 10:30, everyone else votes until 4:30. And same day registration.  There’s a lot of oversight that has to worked out to satisfy Tribal members. The main thing is to ensure no one votes twice or stuffs the ballot box. Certain people were fighting hard for the vote by mail to cheat plain and simple. There was also someone offering deafening silence on the mail in ballot and damned near every thing blowing up all around us.

But it’s pretty basic security and validation of membership/registration beyond the health safety issues that are far less stringent than nationwide in November 2020 at the height of the pandemic .

Having eyes on every aspect of this election is the only thing that will satisfy the Tribe. It means paper ballots and a manual count by hand.  The committee is talking about doing both but you have to ask why?  Electronic voting machines are used for elections with thousands of voters. We have 600-700 voters. Why are we spending $4,000 – $5,000 to use the town machine when there will be a manual count anyway? Not necessary. Have monitors who represent  candidates as monitors.

Anyway let’s hope the Council approves what you want to determine who governs us.  And remember The Justice Department is already investigating our last 2 elections ( 2013 & 2017).  We have to get this one right.  Going back to the old way just might do the trick.

 

 

 

Posted in: News

Jessie, still messy after all these years

March 28, 2021

Jessie has a long record of insurrection and conjuring that has undermined tribal culture. It began with the shunning of her own family members.

JESSIE POINTS IN HISTORY:

When Cedric made Jessie enrollment director, in a matter of months, she put about 1,200 people on the Tribal roll at least 80% were from the RED BOX because they did not meet the requirements for membership. Those numbers literally created another Tribe who did not know her background or anything about the Mashpee Wampanoag.  They were labeled “casino stalkers.” Shortly thereafter, with the help of the CS she became Vice Chair and wrecked havoc with our Land in Trust, and every aspect of our being. Now, her Tribe is no longer active because the casino (that she screwed up) is not eminent, so they lost interest.  An irony not lost on us. 

JESSIE SO MESSY

Thursday Jessie submitted another letter of resignation or something.  No one can really figure it out.  You know Jessie…very slippery.  But she’s been busy spreading lies about the upcoming election. Like everything she inserts herself into..it becomes a cesspool. She doesn’t like the way things are going.

The Tribe is unified and is doing a lot of self healing. Members are talking about how they feel and what they want to happen.  That’s how it works. Meanwhile Jessie does not want her rule to end.

Tribal members have had some productive conversations this week on the first zoom meeting Monday attended by  Nearly 100 members. They brought serious concerns to the table. A big problem was resolved when the Council agreed to rescind the emergency election ordinance ending vote by mail.

DARLENE IS THE HERO ! “Come on cuz …!” Can’t we we just do this..together.  And she suggested getting rid of the emergency ordinance.  What a relief to tribal members who were suspicious of the election committee and the mail in ballot that was in place. Darlene’s a member of the embattled election committee, but the Mashpee broke through and common sense won.

Apparently Jessie was not happy with that decision.  After all she is responsible for being part of the crew dragging us down to our lowest point.  Now she can’t decide whether to walk away or keep on draggin’. There will be an emergency meeting to determine whether she keeps her Jack-in-the Box status…torturing the Tribe.

The advisory opinion from the court said that Jessie and Gordon Harris could not just quit when their terms were up Feb 14. They have to work until the next election which is now May 16. But why should they follow the rules?

They never show up to meetings. Only when they want to undermine progress.Gordon doesn’t show up at all…he’s totally random, doesn’t work, got that hazardous duty pay, signed the checks for all those VERY QUESTIONABLE thousands and thousands of dollars to certain staff, triggering another subpoena.   And, Gordon just can’t produce the 3 years of budget reports cause he never drafted them. They just kept spending and spending Genting money.

AND HE REFUSES TO PAY the $800 to Tribal fishermen. So he says they have to start the paperwork all over again. Okay, so Carlton Hendricks, Jr is running down these men and women over the bridge, Cape wide and  in shelters getting signatures so they can get paid the money they desperately need.  And, of course the arrogant resentful Gordon gets a $10k a month check and never comes to work. He won’t face tribal members. How can he? The Sandwich Man.

David has a lot going on. We can only hope he can find his way back.

DAVID WEEDEN LOOSES COOL POINTS– On the

Kimmie is gaining on  David.It’s about his loyalty to Cedric. Another candidate is losing the “Big Mo” too!

Zoom, David tries to deny his long standing support of Cedric and the firm whose primary partner is indicted in the corruption scandal involving our former chairman. David brought David Green and that company to the table.  He also pushed hard to ignore federal laws governing the hiring and subcontracting of Native American contractors. David is bleeding votes to Kimmie like crazy. All he had to do do was say he was wrong. He originally said he wasn’t seeking re-election but jumped back in. Clearly at the urging of Paula and Trish. David needs to think about what’s good for him right now.

You know it’s a shame we have so many of our own elected officials disregarding what’s best for us. And they really get angry when their schemes and attempts to cover up are revealed.

As Reel Wamps has said..we don’t need to worry about outside suppression, we’re under siege by internal forces, Gordon, Jessie, Cedric and crew.

Posted in: News

Superceding indictment served on Cedric Cromwell

March 24, 2021

Another sad day for our Tribe as the Justice Department returned a superseding indictment against former Tribal Chairman on tax evasion charges. Below is the detail. Ironically, during a very productive Monday emergency meeting, among a list of a broad range of issues in public comment, David Pocknett urged the Council to take Cedric’s picture (depicting him as Chairman ) off the Tribal website.  It was done.  Sign of an end to the Cromwell rein.

 

U.S. Attorneys » District of Massachusetts »
Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Massachusetts
Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Former Chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Charged in Superseding Indictment

BOSTON – A federal grand jury in Boston returned a superseding indictment yesterday charging the former Chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe with filing false tax returns. The former Chairman and the owner of an architecture-and-design firm were previously charged in connection with a bribery scheme involving the Tribe’s plans to build a resort and casino in Taunton.

Cedric Cromwell, 55, of Attleboro, the former Chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, was charged in a superseding indictment with four counts of filing a false tax return.

In November 2020, Cromwell and David DeQuattro, 54, of Warwick, R.I., were each indicted on two counts of accepting or paying bribes as an agent (or to an agent) of an Indian tribal government and one count of conspiring to commit bribery. Cromwell was also indicted on four counts of extortion under color of official right and one count of conspiring to commit extortion.

According to the superseding indictment, when Cromwell filed his personal income tax returns for tax years 2014 through 2017, he failed to report bribes that he allegedly received from DeQuattro’s company, through DeQuattro, in connection with that company’s contract to serve as the Tribe’s “owner’s representative” for the casino project. Cromwell also failed to report payments for consulting services that he performed for a company that developed and supplied forest carbon offsets, including by partnering with forest-owning Native American tribes. Cromwell was allegedly paid the consulting income through an intermediary identified as “P-Co.,” which was formed by a business associate of Cromwell. The business associate was the only authorized signatory on a bank account identified as the “P-Co. Shell Company Account.” Cromwell also allegedly failed to report income to his company One Nation Development, paid through the P.-Co. Shell Company Account and the bank account of a Florida limited partnership, which originated with an investment holding company in Las Vegas. The only authorized signatory on the investment holding company’s bank account was the CEO of a Las Vegas-based architecture firm hired to be the architect for the Tribe’s casino project. The superseding indictment alleges that Cromwell failed to report $39,000 in 2014; $57,374 in 2015; $26,884 in 2016; and $54,134 in 2017, for a total of $177,393.

The charge of filing a false tax return provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $100,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Field Division; and Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement. U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers of Mendell’s Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

 

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Election moved to May 16

March 23, 2021

It took 3 meetings in one night, but the Council did it’s job.  They actually worked together and voted to eliminated the emergency ordinance calling for the March 26 election and set a new election date of May 16.

Earlier that day, the Tribal court basically said that the March 26 election could go forward with mail in ballots, and an a hearing on the appeal in late April.

But the council vote last night triggered a reset. New election.  Work has to be done to give the election committee guidance. A lot of guidance.  They made it clear during the meeting that they had no idea what they were doing.

We have to give kudos to  Aaron Tobey and Carlton Hendricks for showing leadership. The lawyer for the election committee was having a hard time answering the questions posed by Hendricks. Brian Weeden was impressive with his ability to conduct the meeting properly and then keep it on track when Jessie  took over.

There were over 75 members on that zoom at any given time.  That’s a lot of people for our little Tribe.

There were some important things said during this meeting by Tribal members.  We will talk about that in our next edition.

Posted in: News

Jack-in-the-box alright

March 20, 2021

So it was nuts.  Jessie Baird was back in charge of the Council meeting after resigning 3 times. David Pocknett could not resist and provided comic relief a la

Jack -in -the-box Jessie. It’s just too much. She has no shame or sense. To think she wants to be on the Mashpee board of selectman torturing them.!

Jack in the Box…”Jessie you’re in , you’re out…what the hell’s goin’ on with you? ” then he revealed the Jack-in – the Box. Everyone went nuts. She once again turned off his video.  And Jessie being Jessie complained that he was being disrespectful. Takes one to know one don’t it?

She’s disrespected us for a long time.  Time to make the hasty exit Jessie.  It’s time.

Despite the potential for being held in contempt of court,

Come on Francie, just stop talking. Or better yet, resign. Maybe Cedric can help you out. Oh, sorry. Forgot.

Francie keeps talking like she knows something we don’t. She’s going around telling Elders that we’re voting on Friday March 26 with a drive through.  Right. So the courts not going to decide, she is ? This why the Fryes should not be in charge of anything. Cause they don’t know anything.

Posted in: News

Election committee continues to go rogue

March 17, 2021

The election committee continues to conduct the election like they can predict the outcome of the appeal.  The committee lost its effort to hold a mail in election last week.  Judge Amanda WhiteEagle said the MWT Constitution prohibits vote by mail.  So the election committee had their three lawyers ($60K) appeal the decision. WhiteEagle’s ruling was very detailed.

We have no idea what the appellate judge will do, but based on legal norms, WhiteEagle’s ruling would be tough to overturn.  And the appeal may not even be considered.  Who the hell knows?

This is the second time the election committee has jumped the gun.  They mailed the ballots out while the challenge to MIB was before the court. They should have done nothing.  Then when the ruling came down Francie Dottin, the committee chair, said “hold on to ballots”  because the judge “made a mistake.” Do you see why ignorance is dangerous?

This is so outrageous we have no words. But can say that it causes MORE CONFUSION and turmoil that we don’t deserve.

The committee launchs the appeal and then she sends out another email to tribal members saying send the ballots in with copy of your license or tribal ID and your name and return address on the return envelope. NOT A BARCODE. Really?

Okay.  Now you know we have been saying that the committee is clueless.  This proves it. First tribal members are averse to anything this committee recommends. Now they want you to identify yourself?  Plus they just don’t trust the Frye dominated committee. A little too desperate to stay in power.

The committee is hell bent on  keeping their family in power and Francie is still fiercely loyal to Cedric.

SO DO THEY KNOW SOMETHING WE DON’T KNOW?

We said it before. Francie and a majority of her election committee are dedicated to self preservation, but the Tribe is NOT in the equation

Frye  dominated election committee, and the administrative arm of the court is run by…you guessed it….more Fryes.  Nancy Joseph is Clerk of Court and Bobby Foster (a candidate for Treasurer who’s  also over victim assistance… it’s true).  You know how much Bobby talks. Are there leaks to the election committee? That’s the only thing you can figure beyond just being stupid.

They have effectively shown contempt for the Tribal judicial process, and probably don’t know it. Or did their lawyers tell them to do this? The Bar Association where they are licensed could reprimand them if they did. We would like to think not. Soooooo a contempt of court motion was filed against the committee in the court yesterday.

 

Our political gadfly ghost Jessie Baird has reinserted herself into the Council leadership, but she has yet to speak to the current crisis that she has chosen to ignore. You know why. We have 4 Council members running, Brian Weeden, David Weeden, Winnie Johnson Graham, and Ann Marie Askew. Are they willing participants in this horror show? When are they going to speak up?  All council members need to address this mess because the whole process is so tainted…the committee is so out of line, a NEW COMMITTEE of  IMPARTIAL TRIBAL MEMBERS. must be put in place to conduct the fraud free election that members want.   

Posted in: News

Appeal delays election, voter confusion, election committee jumps the gun

March 16, 2021

Today’s status hearing was canceled because of the Election Committee appeal. It’s up to Supreme Court Judge Robert Mills now. Hopefully he will make a decision soon to either dismiss the appeal or hear it .  Which ever, the election will likely be delayed because of simple logistics.

Normally, a supervisor of elections (our election committee chair) would delay any action regarding the election until the legal challenges concluded. Not Francie.  They go ahead and send out mail in ballots to members without knowing what the court would do.  She presumes the court would rule for the committee ( which it didn’t) and sends members the ballot to return by mail. We’re not going to get into the mess this creates.

Meanwhile members are receiving mail in ballots and it’s resulting in chaos.First, the off reservation people don’t know what’s going on or the people running, so they are asking family members in Mashpee who to vote for.

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE CONSTITUTION WAS WRITTEN TO PREVENT.
Those living the Mashpee life should decide its future.  The off reservation folks, well if you care, get your ass home to vote.Simple and clear cut.

YOU CAN’T BE RANDOM ABOUT YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE TRIBE.
Someone needs to clue Jessie Baird.  She quit for the 3rd time on Feb 14…despite the court advisory opinion that says she had to stay until someone is elected to replace her. Oh ya, the court said to stop asking for advisory opinions like that one when the legal intent was obvious. Just like the unconstitutionality of mail in ballots.

Jessie is so not worthy. She can’t get on the straight and narrow.

Back to Jessie. She’s in she’s out, she’s here she’s there.  She has reappeared, called a meeting Thursday because there’s money to be had. Yup another infusion of CARES money to the Tribe. You know Jessie’s got to get hers.  What happens with that money should be determined by the incoming administration not members of the corrupt regime that has destroyed us. 

 

 

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