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MARCH 1, 2001

Three Connecticut towns engages in a legal and political battle over land with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on Wednesday said they don't want to meet with tribal leaders if well known Indian rights lawyer Tom Tureen comes along.

Tureen was the tribe's lawyer who successfully gained them federal recognition and settled their land claims. The towns said his presence at an upcoming meeting with the tribe could hinder talks.

The towns said their own lawyers aren't planning on attending. The town employes a Washington, DC, law firm and Preston First Selectman Robert M. Congdon said it would cost money to fly them up to Connecticut.

The towns and the state sued the Department of Interior for agreeing to take 165 acres of land into trust for the tribe. They eventually prevailed in federal court but the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals last fall reversed the decision.

The towns and the state have appealed to the Supreme Court.

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Towns don't want Tureen at meeting with tribe (The New London Day 3/1)