Mash-an-wha?
I received this the other day from a friend of St. Croix. I find this interesting but not surprising. I have been reading the book, “Without Reservation”, by Jeff Benedict. This books gives the recent history (1969-2000) of the Mashantucket Pequot “Tribal Nation” in Connecticut. Kathy has the book at Undercover in Gallows Bay. It is a MUST READ!!
As a person who is probably of some Native American ancestry, I always thought, “Good for them, the white man took away their land and destroyed their families and their culture, they deserve everything they can get”, when I learned about the Mashantucket Pequot “Tribe” of Ledyard CT, and their amazing success with their casino. Now that I have read the book, all I can say is, they’ll do well down here, too. They are involved in the development of the West End project of the William and Punch Partners.
Our unscrupulous law ignoring lawyers and government officials have to love it when more of their ilk decide to move in. Watch out, Paul Golden, there may be even more creeps and crooks moving in soon….
A BOOBY-PRIZE BID
FOXWOODS CASINO SUED OVER ‘BUSTY’ BARBS
By MURRAY WEISS, Criminal Justice Editor
Posted: 3:30 am
July 22, 2008
A roulette worker at Foxwoods came up the big loser when he bet that nine women gathered around his table – including an NYPD sergeant, FBI special agent and a Long Island cop – couldn’t understand the gross comments he was making about them in Spanish.
It turned out the party also included Michelle Marigliano, a businesswoman who used to teach bilingual education and was able to comprende every disgusting word.
After complaining, the women were invited into the high-rollers’ lounge, given free drinks, a free breakfast and two free rooms for one night at the Connecticut facility. They were told at least one worker was fired.
But the women are going for another spin of the wheel, hoping for a giant payoff in a lawsuit seeking $500,000 each.
The bizarre bilingual battle started in September, when the women, who also included an assistant to the director of oncology at Long Island Jewish Hospital, coordinated their schedules to celebrate 40th birthdays for three of them.
The FBI agent flew up from Florida where she works white collar crime. The NYPD sergeant is assigned to the Communications Division.
The women’s first night went pleasantly, but on the second, Marigliano was stunned to hear two Hispanic employees spinning the roulette ball and handling chips making highly off-color remarks in Spanish.
“Great – we have a bunch of dumb broads that don’t know how to play,” one allegedly said. “That blonde in the corner believes her t-ts are going to get her places.”
They said one was a “dyke.”
And that was the tame stuff.
“These c- – -s need a big d- – - to loosen them up and then maybe these hard-asses would tip better.”
Marigliano and her friends cashed in their chips.
“We were tipping and I was winning $300,” she said.
She first went to a female pit boss.
Her complaint prompted several casino managers to get involved.
Later that evening, the women were informed that one worker was fired. The fate of other was unclear.
Although they accepted the freebies, the women believe the male managers did not understand how badly they were offended and thought a few drinks, an omelet and a couple of free rooms would send them away happy.
Their lawyer, Arnold Kriss, says the emotional damage and dismissive attitude prompted the Nassau County Supreme Court action.
In a twist, Foxwoods, which is owned by Pequot Indians, claims in legal papers it is immune to lawsuits in state court, and any legal actions must be filed in a tribal court.
Casino officials did not respond for comment.
LI women sue casino workers over insults in Spanish
A couple of roulette table workers at the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut took a gamble themselves last September when they bet that a group of nine women playing at their table could not speak Spanish, according to a lawsuit.
“Great, we have a bunch of dumb broads that don’t know how to play,” one of the men said to the other, before digressing into lewd name-calling and insults. They called one woman a derogatory word for a lesbian, and spoke in vulgar terms about wanting to have sex with the women, according to legal papers filed this week by the women.
What the men did not know was that the woman sitting closest to them, Michele Marigliano, 42, of Seaford, was a former bilingual education teacher, and was taking in every word they said.
“We were all in a great mood, but as I heard this, I became more and more upset and flustered,” Marigliano said.
Now the women are suing the workers, Rafael and Efrain Lnu, the Mashantucket Pequot Indians and Foxwoods Casino for $500,000 per plaintiff in state Supreme Court in Mineola for the humiliation they endured.
Only there’s a catch: Because Foxwoods is run by the Mashantucket Pequot Indians and is built on tribal land, the tribe is claiming that it cannot be sued in conventional courts because it has “sovereign immunity.”
Tribal leaders say the women’s complaints can be best resolved in their tribal court.
“It’s a professionally run, well-functioning court system,” said Bruce MacDonald, a spokesman for the tribe. “I know the concept is foreign to a lot of folks, but it’s a good system, and it works.” MacDonald said the tribe loses as many cases as it wins in the court.
The women’s lawyer, Arnold Kriss of Manhattan, said he will fight to keep the case outside the tribal courts.
The women, who said they complained at the time and said they were given little more than passes to the VIP lounge and “scrambled eggs on their laps” in the morning to make up for their humiliation, said they don’t expect justice from the tribe.
“It’s like they say: the house rules. Well, the tribal court rules,” said another one of the women, Paula Early, 42, of Floral Park. “How do you expect to win there?”
July 29th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
What’s that they say about ASSUME?
Is it true the Tribe bought property on St. Croix? maybe La Grange Greathouse? is this their first off their lands venture?
My mother moved to Stonington CT after I came here. One night on the way back from upstate she said “Want to see my favorite room in the Casino?” which I didn’t even know existed. The entrance had a waterfall that went down into a lower level that had a woodland pool setting with examples of the local flora and fauna. There was a small museum that looked out towards this recreation of what had been there naturally. The history of the tribe is very interesting.
St. Croix would be lucky to have them here.
July 30th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Lisa, I have heard that these opportunistic casino operators from CT have purchased much land on the west end of St. Croix.
I went to Foxwoods once with my father a long time ago. They make it look like they care about the earth with waterfalls and electrical storms inside the complex. Oh, and examples of local flora and fauna that they wantonly plowed over with their untouchable status as a “tribe”.
All I can say is read the book. I was amazed and disgusted to read about the many selfish greedy scams intertwined in this abomination. The people who purport to be of this “tribal nation” cared nothing about Native American culture until they thought they could make a buck from it.
The museum has to be small, since there is so little left that any of them cared about before the casino dollars were waved in their faces. Now they have to pretend they cared.
November 20th, 2008 at 9:05 am
[...] A question posed to me by an attorney involves the “Tribal Nation’s” sovereign immunity from lawsuits on their property. This is being tested in Connecticut, where the Pequots run the most successful casino in America. Some women who were playing cards at a table were spoken about very disrespectfully, in another language, by two male casino employees. The women are suing the tribe. [...]