State Political Influence
In May 2000 Governor Edwin Edwards of Louisiana was convicted of racketeering, extortion, and fraud for extorting $3 million from people seeking riverboat casinos licenses. The number of licenses available for riverboats in Louisiana is set at fifteen, so there are a very limited number of casino opportunities available in that state. Mississippi has not set a limit on the number of casinos that can be built. That state's politicians claim this will prevent the bribery, extortion, and favoritism that plagued Louisiana's licensing process.
Local Political Influence
Political issues can be local as well. The city of Hammond, Indiana, inserted a clause into its contract with the Horseshoe Casino that allows the city to borrow money from the casino at extremely low interest rates. In 2001 the city borrowed $3 million to fund an environmental reclamation project. The loan was repaid, but in June 2002 the city decided to borrow nearly $3 million more from the casino at 5% interest to be paid back over six years. The money is to be used to develop golf courses near George Lake. Critics complain that the financial relationship is improper and gives the casino excessive influence in city politics.
Tribal Casinos and Politics
Politics is even more of a concern when it comes to tribal casinos. Critics say that financial backers of tribal casinos use their political pull to push recognition petitions.
A three-member tribe called the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians in California received national attention in 2002 as the center of alleged influence peddling in Washington, D.C. Articles published in the New York Times and Washington Post during the spring and summer of 2002 describe the tribe, which was thought to have disappeared 150 years ago. In 1958 the tribe was disbanded by the federal government and its land turned over to the two remaining members—Annie and Louie Oliver. In 1983 the tribe achieved federal recognition again following a federal lawsuit filed by numerous small tribes.
The tribe's rancheria occupies sixty-seven acres near Sacramento. As of late 2002, two women were fighting over leadership of the tribe. The first, Donnamarie Potts, lives on the rancheria and was willed the land by the Olivers' daughter, to whom she was related by marriage. Potts also claims to be the illegitimate daughter of an Oliver descendent. In 1998 Potts signed an agreement with Cascade Entertainment to build a $150 million casino on the land. The company had already invested $10 million in the project when a second woman, Rhonda Pope, filed suit to stop the project, presenting documents proving that she was a lineal descendant of the Olivers. A federal court halted the casino project while the BIA investigated. In May 2002 the BIA ruled that Pope was entitled to organize the tribal government. Potts then appealed both the BIA decision and the court decision. As of 2004 the two women remained locked in a legal battle for control of the rancheria, though Potts was recognized as the tribe's spokesperson.
During the heated legal wrangling in 2002, a top official at the BIA, Wayne Smith, was fired amid allegations that his prior partner, Philip Bersinger, was using Smith's name to solicit business from Native American tribes. Time magazine reported that Bersinger had been offering to help tribes in California (including the Buena Vista Rancheria) gain access to Smith in exchange for large consulting fees. Smith, on the other hand, claims that he was fired for complaining to his superiors that an unnamed source at the White House was pressuring him to push pro-casino interests.
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