'I think we are all disappointed': Former Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal chairman convicted

Former Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell was convicted by a jury on bribery charges on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boston.

Cromwell, 55, of Attleboro, former chairman and president of the tribe's Gaming Authority, was convicted on two counts of accepting bribes as an agent of an Indian tribal government official, three counts of extortion under color of official right and one count of conspiring to commit extortion, according to a press release from the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's office.

David DeQuattro, 54 of Warwick, Rhode Island, and owner of the architecture and design firm Robinson Green Beretta Corp., which was under contract with the tribe to act as "owner's representative" for construction of First Light Resort and Casino in Taunton, was found guilty on one count of paying a bribe to an agent of an Indian tribal government.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 9.

The indictment:Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council chairman indicted, removed from post

The pleas: Cromwell, DeQuattro plead not guilty to bribe, extortion, tax charges

'I think we are all disappointed in Cedric'

"I think we are all disappointed in Cedric," a message from current chairman Brian Weeden stated on the tribe's website. "We're disappointed that he abused the trust we placed in him as an elected official of our Tribal Nation. We're disappointed that he represents an unfortunate chapter in our history and that it has detracted from the great work we are doing socially, culturally, and politically to support our people. For our tribal leaders today, we will look forward and focus on healing our nation with the case behind us."

The jury found Cromwell guilty of accepting three bribes from DeQuattro in exchange for protecting the firm's contract for the casino project including $10,000 in November 2015, a Bowflex Revolution home gym in August 2016 and a weekend stay at an upscale Boston Seaport hotel in May 2017.

The jury also found him guilty on charges of extortion under color of an official and conspiracy to commit extortion.

DeQuattro was found guilty of bribing Cromwell with the home gym and the weekend hotel stay.

More: 'This news is so welcome': Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe can retain reservation land

The jury acquitted both defendants of one count of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, according to the U.S. Attorney's office press release. DeQuattro was also found not guilty on one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and Cromwell was found not guilty on one count of extortion.

Cromwell faces four remaining charges of not reporting an income totaling nearly $176,193 to the IRS over three years, which will be addressed later, according to the press release.

During the trial, text messages between Cromwell and DeQuattro were placed into evidence, according to the press release.

"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,'” the press release says.

"DeQuattro forwarded the text to his business partner, writing, 'U can’t think of this stuff…..what is next?'" according to the press release.

DeQuattro and his business partner paid over $1,800 for Cromwell to stay in an Executive Suite King – Harbor View at the Seaport Boston Hotel for three nights, according to the release.

Cromwell asked DeQuattro for exercise equipment in August 2016. DeQuattro and his partner purchased a used Bowflex on Craigslist for $1,700 and had it delivered to Cromwell's home, according to the release.

Cromwell's tenure as chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council

Cromwell was elected chairman of the tribal council in 2009. He ran on a platform of restoring transparency and integrity to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe after former Chairman Glenn Marshall resigned in 2007 amid rumors of an embellished military career, a rape conviction and financial fraud.

In 2009, Marshall was sentenced to 3½ years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges of embezzlement, illegal campaign contributions, false tax returns and fraudulently receiving Social Security benefits while holding a full-time job.

In court documents, Marshall admitted to funneling $4 million given to the tribe from Detroit-based casino investor Herb Strather into an account to pay for illegal campaign contributions and personal expenses.

Many thought Cromwell's election was a chance for the tribe to turn over a new leaf.

"We are starting over again in a sense. We've had a chance to see what can happen. Now it's time to really involve the rest of the tribe in what's going on and give them a voice," tribe member Jim Peters told the Cape Cod Times in 2009.

Despite Cromwell's goals of transparency and integrity, his time as chairman from 2009 until his removal in 2020 was plagued with financial and conduct concerns from tribal members, particularly concerning the plans for a casino.

After his election, Cromwell immediately began working on securing approval for the tribe's casino plans, which had been sidelined by Marshall's resignation and financial mishandlings.

That same year, however, tribe members pushed for more financial transparency from Cromwell, asserting that financial reports given to members at monthly meetings stopped when Cromwell took over as chairman.

By Nov. 2011, Gov. Deval Patrick signed a deal that would license three resort casinos and one slot parlor in Massachusetts.

In 2012, the tribe announced their plans to build a casino in Taunton, and by July of that year a tribal-state contract was signed that gave the tribe a Massachusetts seal of approval on their casino plans.

While awaiting federal approval and considering financing options, in January of 2013 nine tribal members filed a suit in U.S. District Court asking the Bureau of Indian Affairs to investigate the 2009 election that swept Cromwell into office.

They alleged that a tribal judge unlawfully allowed four shunned members to go back on voting the rolls and that improprieties during the election led to some voters failing to produce tribal identification.

After Cromwell was re-elected in Feb. 2013, Richard Oakley, challenged the results in tribal court, but they were upheld.

A federal judge dismissed the proposed investigation into the 2009 election in April 2014.

In Oct. 2014, tribal members Carelton Hendricks Jr. and Laura Etta Miranda expressed concerns at a tribal council meeting over the finances of the tribe, citing the $90 million debt racked up by the casino project.

The Wampanoags' long road to ancestral land

As the tribe vied for rights to a casino, they were also fighting for long-awaited rights to reservation land.

In 1976, the Mashpee Wampanoag filed a suit in U.S. District Court staking claim to ancestral land in Mashpee and parts of Sandwich, Falmouth and Barnstable Under the Indian Intercourse Act of 1790. But a federal jury ruled the tribe was not a tribe and thus had no legal claim to the land.

In 1990, the Mashpee Wampanoag submitted a recognition petition to the Bureau of Indian Affairs requesting federal acknowledgment of the tribe.

On Feb. 16, 2007, seventeen years after their original petition, the Mashpee Wampanoag were recognized federally as a tribe. That decision was key for the tribe, which now had a stronger basis for land claims.

In 2015, the U.S. Department of the Interior approved the tribe's land request to make land in Taunton and Mashpee the tribe's initial reservation, which cleared the way for next steps in the casino project.

More: Timeline: Road to reservation for Mashpee Wampanoag

In Aug. 2020, a federal judge reversed the 2015 ruling on the tribe's reservation land, but by Dec. 2021, the U.S. Department of the Interior overruled this decision, once again affirming the Mashpee Wampanoag's tribal rights to 321 acres in Mashpee and Taunton.

Contact Sarah Carlon at scarlon@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @sarcarlon.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Former Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Chairman Cromwell convicted of bribery