By John Milgrim
Capitol Bureau
ALBANY — Long-shot legislation meant to give two Wisconsin-based Indian tribes casinos in the Catskills and settle land-claim lawsuits the tribes have against the state died in the Legislature just days after it was introduced.
Senate leaders who introduced the bill early this week decided late Wednesday it wouldn’t even be brought up for a vote. It was never considered in the Assembly.
"Why did they even bother to put this out when it was clear the Assembly wasn’t going to deal with it?" asked Damaris McGuire, a Sullivan County resident and a leader of the Coalition Against Gambling in New York State.
The bill, originated by Sen. Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, would have given casino rights to the Wisconsin Oneidas an
d the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans. It also would have legalized the New York Oneida’s successful Turning Stone casino near Utica in what was considered by some to be a strong-arm ploy to leverage revenue from that tribe.
The proposal was opposed by New York-based tribes including the St. Regis Mohawks, who hopes to soon gain federal approval for its own Catskills casino in Monticello. The Mohawks’ Albany lobbyists called the bill "outrageous" and "breathtaking in its audacity," in part because the Wisconsin tribes’ land claims have been wiped out in courts.
That language was included in a legislative opposition paper filed by Mohawk lobbyist Jim Featherstonhaugh.
It said, "The practical effect of this legislation would be to impose three Indian gaming casinos on Sullivan County, two of which would be run by absentee landlords with no historic or current ties to the community."
Last year, Bruno’s son Kenneth was on the Wisconsin Oneida’s payroll as a $10,000-per-month lobbyist. Joseph Bruno proposed casinos for the same tribes at that time too.
