Tribal chief replies to court proceedings

Observer Staff

1/11/2006 12:00:00 AM

Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Chief Fred Cantu Jr. recently responded to the guilty plea of lobbyist Jack Abramoff to federal charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud.

"Our Tribe is relieved to see that Jack Abramoff and his partner, Michael Scanlon, are now under judgement for their illegal activities," stated Cantu in a Jan. 3 press release. "Our government remains committed to working with other governments on Tribal, federal, state and local levels and we will make sure these partnerships are done in a mutually beneficial way."

Abramoff, formerly of Greenberg Traurig, and Scanlon, of Capital Campaign Strategies, were previously under contract with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan.

One can view a software copy of the full charges regarding the United States of America v. Jack Abramoff as filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by following the appropriate links at sagchip.org.