Casino Compacts Lost; Corruption in Department of the Interior?
The control of expansion of Indian casinos and gambling resorts lies largely with the Department of the Interior, and the fishy smell of possible corruption is now emanating from the Department. In September, four gambling compacts reached by California tribes with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger were sent to the Department, only to be lost, disappearing until the federal review period passed and the agreements automatically approved.
Despite Secretary Dirk Kempthorne's policies which have led to multiple rejections of Indian requests for casino rights in states across the country, no one at the Department of the Interior seems particularly concerned that the California compacts received approval without review. A spokesman for the Bureau of Indian Affairs noted that the Bureau "...is a very busy office. There was a mistake made and we're moving on.”
Kempthorne himself stated about the compacts, "We don't know where they went. . . . Apparently an address had been incorrect. But they've been reviewed; they're released, so it's now back in the state of California's hands.” Even though the reason for the untimely loss of the papers hasn't been discovered, the Department is apparently willing to assume it was an innocent mistake.
Some may find it amazing that such a laissez faire attitude exists in a Department seemingly hellbent on disallowing new Indian casinos. Other tribes have been so frustrated by denials based on circuitous logic that one, the St. Regis Mohawks, has sued, with others to follow, possibly as a group under Indian Country. But the four tribes involved in the California, the Morongo, Pechanga, Agua Caliente, and Sycuan, are among the ten most generous tribes in terms of donations to federal candidates.
Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said of the error," I don't think accidents like this happen.”
The Department has already had its share of scandal; its former number two man, J. Steven Griles, was sent to prison this summer for perjury over his relationship with lobbyist Jack Abramoff . Abramoff was himself convicted in 2005 for bank fraud in relation to his purchase of SunCruz Casinos, a troubled transaction that led to the assassination of seller Gus Boulis on the streets of Ft. Lauderdale by hired members of the Gambino crime family.
The paper trail of the compacts leads to the office of Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Carl Artman. The papers should have been delivered to George Skibine, in charge of reviewing gambling contracts, but Skibine had moved to a new office. After reaching Artman's office, the papers were next seen 80 days later in Skibine's inbox.
Because of the unusual circumstances, Skibine attempted to delay publication of the compacts in the Federal Register, the last required step in the process, but was told by superiors... he won't name which... to go ahead with the publication.
All this seems most suspicious in a Department determined to prevent new projects for any reason at hand. The Sycuan proposition does not even involve lands which have been deeded into federal trust, a primary requirement for Indian casino rights. For the mess in the Interior Department to be cleaned up, Kempthorne and Artman may have to go; certainly a new transparency and determination to follow established process and regulation is in order.
