Connecticut | New York | Opinion

Column: 'Gaming' group in Connecticut does its lobbying in secret

Monday, July 26, 2010

"It calls itself the Connecticut Coalition for Gaming Jobs, and it jumped headlong into New England gambling politics earlier this month, filing a lengthy legal appeal of the pending federal recognition of Long Island's Shinnecock Indians.

The appeal with the U.S. Department of the Interior, filed "on behalf" of 18,000 gaming workers at Mohegan Sun and Foxwooods Resort Casino, claims the Shinnecocks should not be recognized because they are "financially supported solely, directly and for the benefit of" the developers who want to help them build a casino on Long Island.

Of course, the fact that the Shinnecocks may be financially supported by casino developers shouldn't surprise anyone, least of all the folks at the Department of the Interior.

What is shocking is that this Connecticut coalition, which surfaced out of the blue to challenge the Shinnecocks, won't say who its members or backers are or where its own money is coming from.

Both the Mohegan Indians and Mashantucket Pequots have been quick to distance themselves from the new group, already branded "shadowy" in some accounts.

The Connecticut tribes are surely no doubt sensitive to the notion that they would in any way be behind efforts to derail another tribe's progress toward federal recognition."

Get the Story:
David Collins: Who are the secret interests lobbying for Connecticut's casinos? (The New London Day 7/25)

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