Most Sault tribe citizens would love to see their tribe move forward into new revenue-producing deals with reputable business partners. We don't criticize or push for a voice just for lack of something better to do. Wouldn't anyone with a shred of common sense be very careful of who they trusted with their major sources of revenue?
It's obvious that the tribal members have more common sense than those on the Sault Tribe board who tried to push the same old fishy deals with the same old fishy dealers from the past. We remember the names of those we prefer not to do business with but why doesn't Bernard Bouschor, Lana Causley, Joe McCoy, Debra Pine, Pat Rickley, Keith Massaway, Catherine Hollowell and Cathy Abramson remember?
Here's a reminder of why you voted NO to doing business with Ted Gatzaros:
According to an article by David Ashenfelter,Detroit Free Press Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News (Feb. 2003),a federal prosecutor said in court papers that Ted Gatzaros and Jim Papas were accused of conspiring with a Maryland businessman to swindle the federal government in a multimillion-dollar loan scheme.
The government alleged that Gatzaros and Papas defaulted on loans in the early 1990s, then paid a Maryland businessman, William Schainker, to illegally acquire the defaulted loans at a large discounted price, at a federal auction. The government also said that Schainker transferred the notes to Gatzaros and Papas, and that the plan was designed to clean up Gatzaros' and Papas' financial problems.
Lawyers for Ted Gatzaros & Jim Papas responded to the U.S. Justice Department that both were victims of a fraudulent scheme and were not involved in any criminal or improper conduct.
But also in Feb. 2003, a news article stated that William Schainker, of Chevy Chase, Md. who was accused of illegally helping Gatzaros and Papas buy back defaulted loans at a large discount, pleaded guilty in federal court. As part of a plea deal, Schainker pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Why, why, why would an elected board decide to do business with those who were involved in an attempt to defraud the federal government? Most of the above mentioned directors also protected the former police chief, Fred Paquin, who is now serving a year in federal prison for defrauding the federal government.
We voted NO, but the eight Sault Tribe representatives simply switched out the names, mixed it up a little bit hoping to confuse you, repackaged it, named it a horse of a different color, and continued to move forward with their plan.
The lack of trust is not just with Gatzaros, Pappas or the new guy Sawruk, but with the same old Sault Tribe elected officials who continue to involve us in the same old questionable deals over and over and over again. Bouschor, McCoy and Causley...always seem to be in cohoots with the wrong people. Just more examples of that 'Birds of a Feather' proverb. They just can't be trusted to do the right thing. They are why we voted NO.
Lynne Weaver
6 comments:
The reason we keep going back to make fishy deals with the same old fishy people is that NO ONE ELSE will do business with us. No one. We have to scrape the bottom of the integrity barrel to find partners. Come on,,who is going to jump at offers to partner with a Board that consists of a subway sandwich maker(Causely) a so called jewerly and poster maker (Pine) a long term criminal (Paquin) an air head who has trouble making coherent sentances(Abramson) and down the line.....Who are we kidding ? Our Board is a combination of misfits,lackeys, dim wits,uneducated, unskilled, pretentious whosits who are too blind to see their own limitations. They want desperately to look like they are doing the business of the tribe so they grab at any venture...like windmills, to create the impression they are actually doing something. Or they run around the country getting assigned to committees and getting photos taken with big wigs that they can put in the tribal paper. It is tragic and pathetic. We need some criteria for BOD's, more than who has a big family, can spin the tallest tale during elections, or put on a good Indian face, like Pine.
Until OTHER people are allowed to run for the BOD, those who do no reside in the 7 counties,for example,the status quo will remain.
The same people have been running the show from day one and we are all painfully aware how that has worked out. Until the rest of the tribe are thought of as more than a Federal Dollar nothing will change. Until those with a sense of entitlement are booted out nothing will change. And when I say booted out I mean just that. I used to get very excited when election time rolled around. I now view it as an exercise in futility. Choices that,frankly suck,usually just another relative looking for a cushy job. And they wonder why people don't vote. Because it's a waste of time. It is usually a forgone conclusion who will get the seat so what's the point? Our current BOD is a perfect example. I mean did we choose NOT to let BB sit on the BOD? The election comittee is a joke and the election process itself is not to be trusted. I will stand by my belief that it is time to clean house by any means necessary. Sometimes dictators and despots don't want to leave quietly and those who want them gone must take drastic measures.
Well I think a first step would be for discontented people to go to the meetings and state their concerns. People need to voice their concerns, loudly and often, so the Board gets the message. If we just sit passively back nothing will ever change.
I don't think going to the meetings is a solution for those of us who live far away.
I have been to meetings,I have voiced my concerns,I have written letters and called directors. All to no avail. It is clear to me that they simply couldn't care less.Oh wait they can care less if you do not live in the 7 counties.Take it from us...We know that we do not matter to them. The second they realize where you live your concerns fall on deaf ears. The ONLY time we hear from them is when they want our vote. It used to be empty promises. Now it is just lies. I guess the Indian falls right out of you once you leave the 7 counties.
AARON PAYMENT IS HONEST AND THATS MORE THEN ANY OF US CAN SAY FOR SOME BOARD MEMBER.
THERE ARE SOME MEMBER WHO ARE SO DISHONEST THAT IT MAKE PEOPLE SICK.
IT'S TIME TO GET THEM OFF THE BOARD.
WE NEED SOMEONE WHO IS FOR THE PEOPLE, NOT THE ONE WHO IS FOR MONEY. HONEST TRIBE MEMBER WHO ARE FOR THE PEOPLE. NO MORE CROOK
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