Tribe in New York attempts to stifle free speech

The Mohawks look to be taking a page out of CAIR's (Council of American Islamic Relations - and unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land Trial) book. CAIR is famous for screaming 'hate crime! slander! libel! racisism!" etc, when ever anyone has the temerity to suggest that something a Muslim is doing, could actually endanger US citizens. Well it wasn't Catholics, or Amish, or Lutherans flying planes into skyscrapers on September 11th. I guess here the Mohawk's want us to believe that people who build casinos have the natures of innocent three year olds, and create worlds full of fluffy bunnies and pretty rainbows. Anything else is libel and slander!! Spend a little time in almost any Indian casino and the nature of the beast is obvious - and it isn't fluffy bunnies.

Hey Mowhawks - you are free (for now) to run your dictatorial regimes on your reservations and harm your citizens the way you see fit (again, for now). Here in the United States there is a little thing called freedom of the press. If you want to persist in your rude, uncivilized attack on democratic systems, perhaps treating you like any other barbarian regime is in order? (Think Iraq, Afghanistan, Nazi Germany...) Also when casino Indian tribes allow YOUR workers, your citizens, your patrons the same right you are attempting to exercise right now - taking you to court like you are doing to The Post, (knock off the no jurisdiction nonesense), then perhaps you should be entitled to do so. Until then, in net vernacular because your legal stunt deserves no better... STFU.

Tribe Sues Paper Over Casino Editorials
By JARED IRMAS
Special to the Sun
February 20, 2008

An American Indian tribe that is seeking to build a casino in upstate New York is suing the New York Post for $60 million because of two editorials the newspaper published that accused the tribe of being a "criminal enterprise" with "an extended history of often-violent criminality."

In a February 21, 2007, editorial, "The Gov's Gambling Goof," the Post chronicled the efforts of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council to build a casino on the site of the former Monticello Raceway in the Catskills. The Post editorial accused the council of being involved in a $687 million contraband smuggling ring, importing illegal immigrants from China, and engaging in shoot-outs with the New York State Police.

The council is suing the Post for two counts of libel.

Also included in the lawsuit is a January 8 editorial, "A Bad Bet on the Mohawks," that criticizes Governor Spitzer for supporting the council's bid to build the Catskills casino and repeats the previous editorial's allegations of criminality.

The Post's series of accusations against the council "tends to injure them in their profession, and tends to expose them to public contempt, ridicule, aversion, and disgrace," the lawsuit, which was filed yesterday in New York State Court in Manhattan, says.

A spokeswoman for the Post, Suzanne Halpin, declined to comment.

Indian casino cheats patron with their sovereign immunity

Once again we have a tribe playing their sovereign immunity card, kind of like a "get out of jail free" card in Monopoly. Only Monopoly is a level playing field where everyone has to play by the same rules. Casino tribes don't play by the same rules governing the rest of us. They get to ignore planning departments, OSHA regulations, fair labor practices, taxes, environmental laws AND still get free health benefits paid by you and me while individually making monthly incomes of ten, twenty, forty thousand dollars a month or more depending on the tribe.

Judge dismisses jackpot lawsuit against Sandia casino
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 02/04/2008 05:09:19 PM MST

ALBUQUERQUE—A state district judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Bernalillo County man who accused Sandia Resort & Casino of not paying him a jackpot of nearly $1.6 million.

Gary Hoffman claimed he was playing a slot machine in August 2006 when hit the jackpot. The casino refused to pay, saying the machine wasn't working properly and that Hoffman had actually won about $400.

Hoffman alleged the casino violated the Unfair Trade Practices Act and he sued for the jackpot winnings plus punitive damages.

Paul Bardacke, an attorney representing Sandia Pueblo, argued that the tribe couldn't be sued in state district court because of sovereign immunity, and Judge Linda Vanzi agreed during a hearing Monday.

Hoffman's attorney, Sam Bregman, said he will appeal the ruling.

Bregman argued that tribal sovereignty wasn't meant to protect tribes from luring people to their casinos and then cheating them out of their winnings.

"This decision has national implications," he said. "There are billions of dollars at stake when it comes to Indian gaming and the idea that they never have to be held accountable is very troubling."

previously on TribalWatch:
Ripped off on the Reservation

Ripped off on the Reservation

Reading the comments at the GMA site where this story originated, you get the feeling people are missing the point. The arguement of "Pay him! Don't pay him! " seems to be irrelevant. Because of sovereign nation status - the casino cannot be sued. Tribal members can vote in US elections, can sue US citizens in US courts of law, and casinos on reservations can operate as a foreign country without tariffs or taxes.

Man Sues Casino over $1.6 million 'Jackpot"
By JIM AVILA, BETH TRIBOLET, DONNA CHOI and SCOTT MICHELS
ABC News Law & Justice Unit
Oct. 25, 2007

For about an hour last August, Gary Hoffman was a very lucky man.

Hoffman was playing the nickel slot machines at the Sandia Resort and Casino on an Indian reservation in New Mexico when he appeared to hit the jackpot: the machine said he won nearly $1.6 million.

"I became ecstatic," he said.

But the ecstasy was short-lived. Hoffman says in a lawsuit filed earlier this year that Sandia refused to pay, claiming that the machine malfunctioned. Instead, he said, they gave him about $385 and a few free meals at the casino.


"I won money, fair and square, and I've been cheated out of my winnings," Hoffman told ABC News.

The casino says it's not responsible for what it describes as a computer error and says it offered Hoffman the maximum payout of $2,500 for that particular slot machine. But, a jury may never decide who is right. Lawyers told ABC News that gamblers like Hoffman may have little legal recourse against Native American casinos, which sometimes operate beyond the reach of U.S. courts.

'I Was a Winner'

Hoffman, a retired Albuquerque city employee, was playing a "Mystical Mermaid" slot machine on the morning of Aug. 16, 2006, when he thought he hit it big.

The nickel slot said he'd won $1,597,244.10. Patrons and casino employees came to congratulate him. He even got a marriage proposal, Hoffman said. But, soon he was asked to come to an executive conference room, where he says he was told the casino refused to pay.

A casino employee "became quite intimidating with me, pointed his finger in my face and said, 'You didn't win. We're not paying you any money. Do you understand what I'm telling you? You're not getting any money,'" Hoffman said.

A technician from the slot machine manufacturer arrived at the casino within the hour and the casino cordoned off the machine.

"I was a winner and I walked out empty handed," Hoffman said.

Computer Malfunction

A technical report said the slot machine's computer malfunctioned, and incorrectly made it appear as if Hoffman won more than the machine is able to pay out. The slot machine has a disclaimer that says it pays a maximum of $2,500 and warns that malfunctions void all winnings, said Paul Bardacke, Sandia's lawyer.

Sovereign Immunity

Regardless, a jury may never get chance to hear Hoffman's case. Native American tribes, as independent nations, have their own court systems and can be sued in state courts only under limited circumstances. New Mexico law generally does not allow tribes to be sued in a state court over a contract dispute, Kleiman said.

Hoffman's lawyers say they should be able to sue the tribe over what they call big business. "They spent millions of dollars getting these customers, these gamblers, to come in and gamble money, then when someone hits it big, they say, 'Sorry, we are not going to pay you," said Hoffman's lawyer, Sam Bregman. "The jury is going to be outraged by that."

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