Litigation | NIGC | New York

DOI attorney accused of wrongdoing on Seneca Nation casino

Friday, June 24, 2011

Opponents of the Seneca Nation off-reservation casino in Buffalo, New York, say an Interior Department attorney influenced a key decision to favor a lobbyist she is dating.

According to Citizens for a Better Buffalo, Edith Blackwell of the DOI Office of the Solicitor recused herself on dealings with the tribe. The group assumes she did so due to her "close personal relationship" with Michael Rossetti, who represents the tribe.

But the group claims Blackwell "unrecused herself" on December 12, 2008, and "took a central role" in a matter affecting the tribe. A few weeks later -- on January 18, 2009, as the Bush administration was about to leave office -- the DOI Solicitor issued a legal opinion that said new Indian gaming regulations don't apply to restricted fee lands.

Blackwell "directly involved in the reversal of the DOI’s prior position on the applicability of the [regulationss] prohibition to restricted fee lands and that she also played a pivotal role in drafting the post hoc rationalization," according to an attorney for the group.

Two days later, as President Barack Obama was being sworn into office, the National Indian Gaming Commission cited the opinion in approving the Seneca Nation casino in Buffalo, which sits on restricted fee lands. So far, the tribe is the only one that has benefited from the Solicitor's opinion, which has not been reversed by the Obama administration.

"It smells," John J. LaFalce, a former U.S. congressman who belongs to the group, told The Buffalo News. "It stinks to high heaven."

The tribe operates the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino in a temporary building. President Robert Odawi Porter says a permanent facility is still on the agenda.

Get the Story:
The Smoking Gun: How Casino Money Trumps Law in Buffalo (Artvoice 6/23)
Group questions Buffalo Creek gambling (WIVB-TV 6/23)
Casino suit cites lawyers' impropriety (The Buffalo News 6/24)

Relevant Documents:
Solicitor's Opinion: Applicability of 25 U.S.C. § 2719 to Restricted Fee Lands (January 18, 2009) | National Indian Gaming Commission Approval of Seneca Nation Casino (January 20, 2009)