SEARCH NEWS:

 

New York Tribal Members Contest Deal

ALBANY -- Gov. George Pataki signed a major casino-land claim deal with a man who had no right to act on his tribe's behalf, according to a majority of the Cayuga Nation of New York's traditional government.

"The group, representing two of the three Cayuga claims, said the agreement signed with Pataki is invalid because the man who negotiated for the tribe, Clint Halftown, had no authority to do so.

"'No matter what we want to do or how many want to do it, we still have to follow the laws of the traditional government,' said Bernadette Hill, a key leader of the Cayuga council.

"…Pataki's office insisted the agreement is valid, citing documents from 2003 that show Halftown was designated a tribal representative. But Hill and five others, including the chief, Chester Isaacs, told Halftown in a letter he has no right to represent the tribe in deals with other governments. The group made the letter available to reporters and sent copies to U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer, Pataki, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver as well as Department of Interior Secretary Gail Norton.

"…The Nov. 17 deal was aimed at settling a nearly $250 million judgment against the state in the Cayuga land claim case. It would allow a tribal casino at Monticello Raceway, and the tribe would share slot machine revenues with the state. The state would have to pay the tribe up to $150 million, depending on the outcome of an appeal in the tribe's land claim case, and provide up to 2,500 acres in Seneca and Cayuga counties…"

< Gaming News