Column: "The Mighty Thirteen Hundred by" Tony Lawrence

10/9/07 - Lately there have been allegations that the backers of the Wampanoag Casino may be corrupt, that the IRS is investigating possibly illegal transactions that may have occurred under Glenn Marshall's watch, and so on.

I have no interest in exploring the reality of these claims. The Mighty Thirteen Hundred who voted against this project at July's Special Town Meeting seem to find great joy in heralding any news of this slant, and their blogs harp upon it as though it all were proven fact.

Let's remind them of something they've forgotten: this isn't about Glen Marshall or any South African investors. A Wampanoag Casino is intended to benefit
the tribe first and foremost. That it will benefit Middleboro also is something we all see as obvious, but that is a secondary matter of less importance.

If all of the investors are criminally corrupt, the Wampanoag tribe will need to find new backers, and that's all there is to it. The value of the casino resort to them and to us is unchanged.

Some of the casino detractors gleefully point out that much can happen before any slot machines light up on Precinct Street. They are absolutely correct: numerous impediments could delay or even halt this project entirely. None of us can see the future, anything is possible.

But it doesn't change anything. If the BIA bows to Republican political pressure, if Massachusetts successfully thwarts the Wampanoags through a lawsuit or if this is stopped by any of a hundred other things I can imagine or hundreds more problems I haven't thought of, it still doesn't change the
basic facts: this would benefit the Wampanoags and it would benefit us.

That is simple fact. Everything else is speculation.

Tony Lawrence: Archives of Columns

* Tony is a regular contributor to OakPointCommunity.org .