Lobbyist deal costly for tribe - Jack Abramoff & Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians

Riverside Press-Enterprise ^ | 6/23/06 | Claire Vitucci

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WASHINGTON - A Washington lobbyist and his partner twice insinuated themselves into the tribal elections of an Inland tribe, which paved the way for them to receive lucrative contracts worth more than $7.2 million which the two split in a secret deal, according to a nearly 400-page report released by a congressional committee Thursday.

The report by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is the most detailed account so far of how the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in Palm Springs came to hire Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his partner, public relations specialist Michael S. Scanlon.

Abramoff, who was working with the law firm Greenberg Traurig, and Scanlon represented the tribe from 2002 to 2004. Both men have since pleaded guilty to corruption charges.

Steve Ross, an attorney for the tribe, said the tribe would let the "report speak for itself." He had no further comment.

The Report

The 373-page report is the culmination of a two-year investigation, which resulted in 750,000 pages of documents, subpoenas and interviews.

At a committee hearing Thursday, Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., called the actions by Scanlon and Abramoff "shameful."

"It is by far the worst case of greed I have seen in my 20 years in the United States Senate," Conrad said.

Scanlon and Abramoff agreed to split fees that six tribes paid Scanlon for political and lobbying assistance, the report said. The two called the deal "gimme five."

In total, the six tribes, which also include the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; the Coushatta Tribe, of Louisiana; the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe; Ysleta del Sur Pueblo of Texas and the Pueblo of Sandia, of New Mexico, paid the two partners $66 million over three years.

Agua Caliente Case

In the case of Agua Caliente, Abramoff was introduced to two tribal members, Candace Patencio and Virginia Siva by a mutual friend, Michael Chapman of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin.

Patencio was seeking a seat on the tribal council in March 2002 and Siva was running for tribal chairwoman, hoping to unseat the longtime chairman, Richard Milanovich. At a meeting in Washington, D.C., in February 2002, Abramoff convinced the two women that they should let Scanlon and himself help run their campaigns. Their hope was that if they could fill the council with candidates who supported them, they would maximize their chances of getting a lobbying contract in return, the report said.

So Scanlon and his team drafted candidate letters and fliers, talking points, assisted in door-to-door campaigning and put together catered campaign events for the women, the report said.

Patencio won; Siva did not.

After the election, Patencio discussed, with Abramoff, ways to win a lobbying contract with the tribe, according to e-mails obtained by the committee. In an effort to move things along, Abramoff tried to intimidate Patencio, saying that he and Scanlon were in negotiations with the Barona Band of Mission Indians east of San Diego.

"Told her that Barona was courting us and she is now moving as fast as possible. Moolah!!" Abramoff wrote in an e-mail to Scanlon on June 12, 2002. Two days later Abramoff sent another e-mail to his partner about the likelihood that Agua Caliente would sign on as clients.

The subject line read, "Can you smell money?"

A majority on the tribal council voted in July 2002 to award the lobbying contract to Abramoff, paying him $150,000 a month plus out-of-pocket expenses. That month the council also approved Scanlon's contract, which included a "custom built database" which would give the tribe a national political network allowing them to reach tens of thousands of voters, Scanlon said, according to the report. Scanlon collected $7,195,000 from the tribe and appears to have split it 50-50 with Abramoff, the report said.

Harsh Words

However, the money didn't purchase loyalty with Abramoff and Scanlon, the report shows.

When Scanlon complained to Abramoff about dealing with Patencio, Abramoff wrote back in an e-mail: "I think the key thing to remember with all these clients is that they are annoying, but that the annoying losers are the only ones which have this kind of money and part with it so quickly."

Patencio didn't reveal to the tribe that the two men had helped her on her election campaign, according to the report. She told committee staff that she didn't pay for any of the campaign work and never discussed how Scanlon would benefit.

Milanovich said at a September 2004 congressional committee hearing that his tribe spent $10 million on the pair, with a third of the money going to Scanlon's firm for help with renegotiating the tribe's gaming deal with the state.

Agua Caliente did not get what it paid for, Milanovich said. The tribe still has the same deal it agreed to in 1999 and has not been able to get approval for additional slot machines despite numerous attempts in recent years.

On Thursday the committee voted to approve the report, which also recommends that tribes strengthen their election laws and contracting rules to prevent corrupt lobbyists like Abramoff from exploiting them. The report also suggests that tribes register with the Federal Election Commission so that it's easier to track their political contributions.

But the committee said existing criminal laws don't need to be changed to deal with corruption uncovered in the investigation.