Authorities in New York are trying to prevent a key official from testifying in a tribal tobacco case.

Andrew Laughing, a member of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, was charged for transporting tobacco from his reservation to a business on the Seneca Nation. He wants Richard Ernst, a deputy commissioner at the Department of Taxation and Finance, to testify about a memo regarding reservation to reservation tobacco shipments.

A judge agreed to put Ernst on the stand. But the case is now on hold because the state plans to appeal the ruling.

In a relate case, a judge ordered the state to return tobacco that was being shipped from the Mohawk Reservation to the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska.

Get the Story:
Tax department blocking testimony from cigarette enforcement chief (The Albany Times-Union 8/6)

Related Stories:
New York authorities refuse to return tobacco to Winnebago Tribe (7/2)
Charles Kader: Overdue decision on tobacco seizure in New York (6/29)
Winnebago Tribe waiting for New York to return seized tobacco (6/22)
Winnebago Tribe wins decision over tobacco seized in New York (6/20)
Tobacco products from St. Regis Mohawk Reservation seized (04/30)