Saginaw Chippewa Tribe tries to put Abramoff in past

Observer Staff

2/28/2006 12:00:00 AM

MT. PLEASANT (AP)-The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan is trying to move on from the scandal involving indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

The Tribe hasn't shied away from hiring Washington lobbyists, but it has changed its policy on campaign donations.

"The Tribe is strongly committed to eliminating any questionable donations," said Larry Rosenthal, a Saginaw Chippewa lobbyist from Washington-based Ietan Consulting LLC. "The Tribal Council wanted more accountability."

Abramoff-who pleaded guilty to conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion charges in January-worked for the Tribe from late 2001 to late 2003. The Saginaw Chippewas say they paid about $14 million to Abramoff and his former associate, Michael Scanlon. Federal prosecutors have accused Abramoff and Scanlon of defrauding several Tribes who were their clients, including the Saginaw Chippewas.

The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe is mentioned-but not by name-in the federal complaint against Abramoff.

Federal prosecutors say Abramoff encouraged the Tribe to expand a lobbying or public relations-related contract in June 2004, without disclosing that he would receive about 50 percent of the profits from the Tribe's payments. From June 2002 to October 2003, the Tribe paid about $3.5 million on the contract, with about $540,000 being kicked back to Abramoff, court documents say.

Abramoff's former employer, Greenberg Traurig LLP, has agreed to repay millions of dollars to the Tribe as part of a settlement. Tribal leaders declined to release details.

Federal prosecutors said Abramoff and Scanlon also conspired to defraud Indian Tribes in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Scanlon pleaded guilty in November in a separate case in Washington, D.C.

The Tribes are making reforms in the scandal's wake.

The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe expects to make about $250,000 in campaign donations to members of Congress and federal and state political parties in the 2006 election cycle, down from more than $525,000 in 2004.

Rosenthal sent a list of proposed donations with a rationale for the contribution to Tribal leaders. Most individuals sit on powerful committees, have voted in favor of legislation helping Tribes, or both.

For example, Rep. J.D. Hayworth, an Arizona Republican and co-chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus, was to get $7,000. "The value of his support cannot be overstated," the memo said. Democratic Rep. Dale Kildee of Flint, also a co-chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus, was to get the same amount and has been an "ardent supporter" of Tribes for 40 years, the memo said.

While some members of Congress have said they will return Saginaw Chippewa donations, Tribal leaders say they should not be punished for Abramoff's actions.

"It's back to legit now," said Bernie Sprague, a then-Tribal subchief who testified about the Abramoff connections before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

Tribal leaders now also approve public relations and lobbying contracts and review invoices at least monthly.

Not all members of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe believe the association with Abramoff was bad. The Tribe, for example, was awarded grants to improve schools and roads on the reservation while he represented them.

Patricia Anne Peters, a Tribal member opposed to some of the current Tribal leadership, helps run a Web site that supports Abramoff. She said the former lobbyist got caught up in Tribal politics and didn't do anything out of the ordinary for Washington lobbyists.

"He did no wrong to our Tribe, he did his job," Peters said in a statement.

Peters said her group wants a full audit to document Abramoff's financial dealings with the Tribal Council.

Abramoff's tenure has been linked to Tribal politics for years, according to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

The committee found that Abramoff and Scanlon spent $100,000 to help get eight supporters elected to the Saginaw Chippewa's 12-member council in 2001. Two days after the election, the new council voted to hire Abramoff and Scanlon.

When a new Tribal Council took power a few years later, the Abramoff connection was severed.

"We're still dealing with it," Sprague said. "There has been a lot of focus on us, but the focus should be on that he ran a scam and cheated the Tribes."