To Talia: Glenn Marshall and the Abramoff Corruption Connection

Dear Talia:

There is much that needs correcting within the Town of Middleboro. Many people fail to understand how Town Meeting Government should work and voters are still asking the most basic questions about their rights to information and to ask questions at public meetings.

It requires time for voters to understand that they are being denied the transparency and answers to which they are entitled. And it takes time to understand how poorly managed the Town has been.

And it requires time for voters to understand their importance at Town Meeting.

As such, I have attempted to allow others to comment on the Casino Fiasco that an arrogant Board of Selectmen imposed on Middleboro with no discussion, no facts, no input.

When a small group of Middleboro voters attended a packed Selectmen's Meeting Room to protest the auction of the Precinct Street property (along with several others that were problematic) that was widely reported in newspapers, as well as the Town Planner's memo, as being of interest for a casino site, we were gavelled to silence.

Not allowed to speak ? Prohibited from asking questions. Prohibited from being added to the Agenda for the following Selectmen's Meeting.

Wayne Perkins said the Town is not in the Real Estate business. (He also told you in March that towns that have casinos don't pay taxes. Has anyone asked him why he only agreed to $7 million to sell the town?)

Marsha Brunelle said 'we won't discuss the land auction.'

NOT ONE SINGLE SELECTMEN VOTED TO QUESTION THE LAND AUCTION AND THAT INCLUDES MR. BOND.

Mr. Bond failed to speak up UNTIL voters protested.

Some of those in attendance just understood that a casino was a mistake.

I was familiar with the efforts in Plymouth several years earlier when a casino was proposed in the Cordage Park area. The Plymouth Selectmen transported the elected officials from Ledyard, N. Stonington and Preston, CT to Plymouth to answer questions in a public forum.

Not so, Middleboro!

The opposition group in Plymouth provided EACH State Rep. and State Senator with a free copy of ' Without Reservation.'

Plymouth prepared a presentation regarding the factual issues surrounding the experience of Connecticut that was offered to surrounding communities. Middleboro declined.

It would seem that Middleboro Selectmen have a long history of making decisions without the facts and without consideration of surrounding towns.

When the Federal Government allowed casino gambling as a source of revenue on reservations, in my opinion, a grievous injustice was committed. Instead of providing a source of revenue for Native Americans, it has placed them at as much risk of exploitation by wealthy investors as the rest of us. One need only follow the contorted trail of Jack Abramoff filled with money laundering, fraud, political corruption that was first reported in the Washington Post (link below).

Casino gambling is extremely lucrative -- to the CASINO INVESTORS. They have wisely made political contributions to buy support. The BIA is notoriously corrupt and fails to fulfill its obligations to Native Americans.

You can do your own google search for: Abramoff, Wampanoags and Abramoff, and Glenn Marshall. It's not a proud heritage, but rather a sordid tale that the Tribal Council seems reluctant to shed.

You might find the following of interest:

Mashpee Election UpdateMystery write-in is none other than the infamous Glenn Marshall
By Peter Kenney
There are two seats open on the Mashpee Wampanoag tribal council and the election to fill these seats will be held at the council headquarters on Sunday. Aaron Tobey, Darryl Frye and Gail Hill are running for the seats. Now it appears there is a member of the tribe running as a write-in candidate. He is a former Portuguese activist, rapist and freelance imaginary hero from Falmouth named Glenn Marshall. He is also a nationally known and disgraced figure who was forced to resign as chairman of the tribal council when the full extent of his sordid past and his dishonest present became known. Marshall resigned at the end of August in 2007. CCT

The meeting that wasn’t The secret meeting at a posh resort for "Special Wamps" only

By Peter Kenney
Last Sunday was to have seen a meeting of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribal council -- not at its usual venue, though, in council headquarters on Great Neck Road in Mashpee -- but at the Sea Crest Oceanfront Resort & Conference Center in Falmouth. Sources within the tribe say that the meeting and its location were planned in secret to prevent participation by the tribe’s rank and file members. But, someone found out. CCT

Freedom of Speech is not a Glen Marshall obligation
Get ready for "King Marshall's War" against Joe Wamp

By Peter Kenney Amelia Bingham is 84 years old, but her voice is as strong as her convictions. She is a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, an elder. She, along with three other members of the tribe have been shunned by the tribal council. Her reward for opposing the rule of tribal council chairman Glenn Marshall, for publicly demanding an accounting of tribal funds, was expulsion from the tribe's lands, benefits and activities. She was officially shunned for seven years. Both of her daughters and one of her sons have been removed from the tribal roles. Glenn Marshall does not tolerate opposition. CCT

White House Ordered to Keep E-Mails

With Suits Pending Over Missing Messages, Judge Issues Directive on Backup Tapes
JUDGE ISSUES TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER IN CREW LAWSUIT AGAINST THE WHITE HOUSE
12 Nov 2007 // U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy granted Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington's (CREW) request for a temporary restraining order to prevent the White House from destroying back-up copies of millions of deleted emails while the lawsuit is pending.
WP Archive Search Results
WP Abramoff Search Results
It was also reported last week that Marshall was convicted in 1981 of raping a 22-year-old woman in West Barnstable. CCT
Congressional testimony of Glenn Marshall
Glenn Marshall, the chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag, testified at a congressional oversight hearing on March 31, 2004, speaking in support of tribe's request for federal recognition.
"I am a survivor of the siege of Khe Sanh in Vietnam," he said, according to the transcript, evoking the name of a famous battle that lasted from January through April 1968.
However, the Cape Cod Times reported today that records show that when the battle took place Marshall was still a senior at Lawrence High School in Falmouth. Marshall didn't graduate until June 9, 1968, according to the Times.
...I am a survivor of the siege of Khe Sanh in Vietnam. Our ties to our community at home compliment our record of service and sacrifice to the country... Boston Globe
The truth about Glenn Marshall
Media Nation
Glenn Marshall's bizarre threat

Media Nation

Source: Feds stopped at Falmouth PD and Tribal Council HQ today Marshall missing, along with his motorcycle and trailer Cape Cod Today

Tribal council to act on Marshall

Cape Cod Times

Military Awards Expert Reports Marshall To FBI Report of five Purple Hearts, Silver Star 'raised a red flag' CCT

Mashpee Wampanoag leader stepping aside

Asked whether there had been any other arrests, Marshall replied: "Not that I remember."

Boston Globe

Tribe members worry about Wampanoag image
Say controversy casts shadow on recent recognition
By Anna Badkhen, Globe Correspondent August 26, 2007
PLYMOUTH -- Members of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe said yesterday that revelations that their leader was a convicted rapist who had lied to Congress about his military record cast a pall over the tribe's recent hard-earned federal recognition. Boston Globe

Wampanoag divisions grew deep

MASHPEE - Amelia Bingham had been told not to come.
But the 84-year-old tribal elder came anyway, clad in tribal dress, holding a small brown feather in her hand, ready to partake in the Mashpee Wampanoag annual Pow Wow in July. Bingham had been shunned by tribal leaders for doing the unthinkable: She had taken on the tribe's controversial chairman, Glenn Marshall, filing a lawsuit alleging that he failed to account for $14 million advanced to the tribe by a casino developer. Boston Globe

Liar's poker

As Michael Leighton, a Marshall classmate at Lawrence High School in 1968, told the Cape Cod Times: "When I first saw his photo as tribe chairman, I said, 'When the hell did he become Wampanoag? He always talked about being Portuguese.' " Boston Globe

Casinos and the American way
By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist August 26, 2007
SOME SCENES from the casino wars:
Governor Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky wants his reelection battle with Democratic challenger Steve Beshear to turn on the issue of casino gambling. Fletcher opposes any expansion of legal gambling in Kentucky beyond the state's famous racetracks. Beshear favors amending the state constitution to legalize casinos. Last week, the governor embarked on a "No Casinos Tour" and began airing commercials warning that casino gambling will mean more crime, bankruptcy, and broken marriages. His opponent points out that casinos will generate $500 million a year in new state revenue.

Then there is Kansas, where the attorney general wants the state supreme court to decide if a new casino gambling law is constitutional. And Michigan, where legislators are fighting over letting racetracks add casino-style gambling. And Ohio, where Governor Ted Strickland has ordered hundreds of bars, clubs, and game parlors to shut down their electronic gambling machines or face criminal prosecution. Boston Globe