Ex-Passamaquoddy governor accused of fraud

Friday, March 21, 2008  

Robert L. Newell, a former governor of the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Maine, was indicted on Thursday for allegedly misusing $1.7 million in federal funds.

Newell, 64, who was the leader of the tribe's Indian Township reservation, is charged with 30 counts of conspiracy to defraud and making false statements. Federal prosecutors say he put tribal council members and relatives on the tribe's payroll as "ghost" employees.

Newell was governor in the 1990s and was re-elected in 2002. Before he was defeated in 2006, tribal members complained that he was rewarding jobs to allies and relatives.

Get the Story:
Workers' complaints led to ex-tribal official's indictment (Blethen Maine Newspapers 3/21)

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