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Miss Choctaws say gaming cash not used to lobby
Tuesday, May 31, 2005

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians spends millions on lobbying but none of that money comes from the tribe's successful gaming operation, an official said.

The unnamed official said the tribe keeps its gaming cash separate from its non-gaming cash. But the source of the funds is being questioned because $1.15 million in tribal funds ended up in the hands of two anti-gaming groups in Alabama.

"They [the Choctaw] have an ulterior motive in what they're doing," Dan Ireland, an anti-gambling leader told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Dollar for dollar, how do you know where the money came from? How can you follow the paper trail?"

The tribe's donation was arranged by Republican activist Ralph Reed, who opposes gaming. He says it is acceptable to take money from a gaming tribe as long as it wasn't derived from gaming sources.

Get the Story:
Funds tribe gave to Reed hard to trail (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 5/31)
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