Abramoff Sued for Fraud, Racketeering by Indian
The Texas Indian Alabama-Coushatta has tribe filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging that former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed and three of their associates engaged in fraud and racketeering to shut down the tribe's casino.
The Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Livingston, Texas, has stated in the lawsuit that the defendants defrauded the tribe, the people of Texas and the Legislature to benefit the Louisiana Coushatta tribe - Abramoff's client. The tribe accuses that the move was made to "line their pockets with money."
"Ultimately, the defendants' greed and corruption led to the Alabama-Coushatta tribe permanently shutting its casino. The funding for economic programs evaporated, over 300 jobs were lost in Polk County and the Alabama-Coushatta tribe has spent years struggling to recover and revitalize its economy through other means," the tribe said in its lawsuit.
The lawsuit also names Abramoff's ex-business partner Michael Scanlon, a former aide to former Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas; Neil Volz, a former aide to Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio; and Jon Van Horne, Abramoff's former colleague at his law and lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig.
Attorney Fred Petti said the tribe is in settlement discussions with the firm, but would not disclose yet how much the tribe is seeking in damages. Petti said that the amount would most likely correspond to the revenue lost since the casino was forced to close in 2002 after only 9 months of operation.
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