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Consultant Accused of Cheating Tribes Takes Fifth

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As reported by the Associated Press: "In what could be his final words to the Senate panel he heads, Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, the Senate's only native American, told a Washington consultant Wednesday that he represented the kind of people who have been defrauding American Indians for four centuries.

"Michael Scanlon replied with seven assertions of his Fifth Amendment right not to testify against himself. His refusal to speak came at a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing on allegations that he and a companion bilked Indian tribes out of tens of millions of dollars while representing them on casino issues.

"The hearing came hours after the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana filed a lawsuit in a state court against Scanlon, Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Abramoff's former law firm, accusing them of overbilling, negligence, fraud, taking tribal money for personal use and unfair trade practices. The tribe paid Scanlon and Abramoff $32 million to prevent another tribe from opening a competing casino nearby.

"A federal grand jury in Washington is also investigating deals under which Scanlon and Abramoff received some $66 million from the Coushattas and five other tribes to lobby for their casino and other interests.

"…Senators heard testimony that Scanlon and his business partner, in addition to falsely promising they had been assured the license would be slipped into legislation moving through Congress, had been working the same year with former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed to lobby the Texas legislature to close the Tigua's casino in El Paso.

"…Abramoff also refused to testify when he appeared before the committee in September. Scanlon didn't testify then because U.S. marshals were unable to serve him with a subpoena…"

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