And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 01:04:30 -0500 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Court Reinstates Indians' Defamation Suit Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Court Reinstates Indians' Defamation Suit By Bill Miller Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, April 14, 1999; Page A2 A federal appeals court yesterday reinstated a defamation lawsuit filed by the owner of a failing greyhound track against a team of lobbyists who helped scuttle his plans to develop an Indian gambling casino in Hudson, Wis. The ruling was a victory for Croixland Properties Inc., which contended that the lobbyists conspired to thwart its project by falsely maintaining that the track was owned by a company with Mafia connections. The lawsuit accused the lobbyists of passing along false allegations to key decision makers in Washington, who ultimately rejected the casino proposal in mid-1995. The federal government's handling of the casino project is a focus of an independent counsel's investigation of Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. For more than a year, independent counsel Carol Elder Bruce has been attempting to determine whether the White House or the Democratic National Committee improperly influenced the decision. Bruce is looking into Babbitt's role in the matter. Babbitt has insisted he was "out of the loop" and did nothing improper. The controversies stem from a plan by Croixland and three Chippewa tribes to install an off-reservation casino at the Hudson track. Regional officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs recommended approval, but higher-ups at the Interior Department rejected the application after a push by lobbyists for tribes opposed to the casino. The defamation suit was filed in 1997 by Croixland's owner, Fred Havenick, against lobbyists Patrick E. O'Donnell, Thomas J. Corcoran and Larry Kitto, who represented seven opposing Minnesota and Wisconsin tribes. O'Donnell and Corcoran are from Washington. Kitto is from St. Paul, Minn. The suit accused the lobbyists of pursuing a strategy that included telling Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), then chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, that a company named Delaware North owned the track and that the firm had mob ties. In fact, Delaware North had nothing to do with the track, according to the Wisconsin gaming board and dog track representatives. U.S. District Judge Harold H. Greene dismissed the suit last year, ruling that Croixland was not defamed because the remarks were about another firm. A three-judge panel reversed Greene's decision yesterday, finding that the alleged statements still could have brought harm to Croixland. "Even if the lobbyists misidentified the owner of the facility, it did not remove the taint to the true owner," Judge Judith W. Rogers wrote in the opinion. Robert M. Adler, a lawyer for the lobbyists, said he might ask the entire appellate court to review the case. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/april99/casino14.htm &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
