Former Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe chairman sentenced to prison for bribery

BOSTON – The former chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the owner of a Providence architecture-and-design firm were sentenced Tuesday for bribery relating to the tribe’s plans to build a resort and casino in Taunton.

Former tribe Chairman Cedric Cromwell, 57, of Attleboro, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to three years in prison and one year of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Tuesday.

David DeQuattro, 56, of Warwick, Rhode Island, was sentenced to one year of probation to be spent in home confinement with electronic monitoring. Cromwell was fined $25,000 and DeQuattro was fined $50,000.

A federal jury convicted Cromwell and DeQuattro on May 5 after a 10-day trial.

Cromwell was convicted of two counts of accepting bribes as an agent of an Indian tribal government, three counts of extortion and one count of conspiring to commit extortion. DeQuattro was convicted of one count of paying a bribe to an agent of an Indian tribal government.

Woodlock granted Cromwell’s motion for acquittal on the extortion counts but denied the defendants’ motions for acquittal on the bribery counts.

Cromwell still faces four charges of filing a false tax return.

Cromwell was the chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and president of the tribe’s Gaming Authority. DeQuattro’s architecture-and-design company signed a contract to serve as the Gaming Authority’s owner representative for the First Light Resort and Casino, which the tribe was building in Taunton.

Cromwell accepted three bribes from DeQuattro in exchange for an agreement to protect DeQuattro’s firm’s contract: $10,000 in November 2015; a Bowflex Revolution home gym in August 2016; and a weekend stay at an upscale Boston hotel in May 2017. DeQuattro was found guilty of bribing Cromwell with regard to the Bowflex and the hotel stay.

According to evidence presented at the trial, Cromwell received a $10,000 personal check from DeQuattro in 2015 and deposited it into a bank account for a company he had formed called One Nation Development LLC. Cromwell’s website described One Nation Development as helping Native American tribes with economic development.

The website stated, “One Nation Development is comprised of a team of committed professionals that bring together several decades of collective wisdom and experience to the work done on behalf of client communities. Each professional is individually committed to the One Nation approach: a multi-generational approach to advance community-building solutions.”

In fact, One Nation Development had no employees and Cromwell spent DeQuattro’s check on personal expenses.

In August 2016, Cromwell asked DeQuattro for a piece of exercise equipment. In turn, DeQuattro and his business partner bought a used Bowflex on Craigslist for $1,700 and had it delivered to Cromwell’s home. Cromwell told DeQuattro he was disappointed it was used.

More:Trial for former Mashpee Wampanoag Chairman Cedric Cromwell set for April

In May 2017, Cromwell texted DeQuattro: “Hello Dave. I hope all is well. My Birthday is coming up this Friday May 19th and I wanted to spend Friday through Monday at a very nice hotel in Boston for my Birthday weekend. Is it possible that you can get me a nice hotel room at the Four Seasons or a suite at the Seaport Hotel? I am going to have a special guest with me. Please let me know and Thank You.”

DeQuattro forwarded the text to his business partner, writing, “U can’t think of this stuff…..what is next?” DeQuattro and his business partner paid over $1,800 for Cromwell to stay in an executive suite at the Seaport Boston Hotel for three nights.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Former Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe chairman sentenced to prison for bribes