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A Southeast Texas Indian tribe forced to shut down a short-lived casino in 2002 filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging that "greed, corruption and deceit" by ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed and associates brought about the casino's demise and poor economic conditions at the Polk County reservation.
The Alabama-Coushatta tribe, based near Livingston, says in the lawsuit that in nine months of operation, its casino provided revenue for health care, education and social services and created about 300 jobs in an economically depressed area.
The tribe alleges Abramoff and associates convinced the Louisiana branch of the Coushatta tribe, which has family ties to the Texas tribe and operate a casino in Kinder, La., that the Texas venue posed a threat and "manipulated the Louisiana-Coushatta Tribe into paying millions of dollars to stop competition in Texas."
"They pitted Christian against Christian, Tribe against Tribe and cousin against cousin," the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, reads.
Abramoff had no comment, a spokesman told The Associated Press.
Reed, now seeking the Republican nomination for Georgia lieutenant governor, said through his spokeswoman the lawsuit is frivolous and "utterly without merit."
The lawsuit also names Abramoff's ex-business partner Michael Scanlon, a former aide to former Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land; 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.
Attempts by The Associated Press to reach the other defendants were not immediately successful.
Although the tribe alleges Greenberg Traurig was part of the scheme, it did not name the firm as a defendant. Fred Petti, attorney for the tribe, said the tribe is in settlement discussions with the firm.
The tribe did not specify how much money it is seeking in the lawsuit, but does request punitive damages. Petti said the tribe is asking for the amount of revenue it lost since it was forced to close down its casino.
"It'll be in the tens, if not the hundreds of millions of dollars," he said.
Tribal Chairwoman Jo Ann Battise said the tribe has been trying to get the right to run gaming operations since 2001 and the actions of Abramoff and his associates have made it more difficult.
"We will not give up because we know how important gaming is to the tribe's self-sufficiency," Battise said in a news release.
Abramoff, Scanlon and Volz have pleaded guilty in a public corruption probe involving Abramoff's former tribal clients and possibly members of Congress. The Alabama-Coushatta never hired Abramoff.
The Alabama-Coushatta's casino, on its reservation northwest of Beaumont, was closed by a federal court ruling in a 1999 lawsuit filed by then Texas attorney general, John Cornyn, now a U.S. senator.
The Alabama-Coushatta said Abramoff and others conspired to defeat a bill in the 2001 Legislature that would have allowed it to operate gaming on its reservation. Reed helped to rally Christians against the bill with a group he formed, Committee Against Gambling, the tribe alleged.
The tribe, which says it has strong Christian values, alleges Reed's group called state legislators, sent targeted mailings to voters and ran radio ads against the bill without revealing their true origins, preventing the tribe from fighting back.
"They made it appear as if they were operating on behalf of religious groups, but in fact they were operating on behalf of the Louisiana-Coushatta," Petti said.
Reed, through campaign spokeswoman Lisa Baron, said the Alabama-Coushatta casino violated Texas and federal law and was ordered closed by a federal judge.
"As a longtime opponent of casino gambling, Ralph was happy to work with Texas pro-family citizens to close it," Baron said.
Had the public or tribe known the Louisiana Coushatta tribe was the main opponent, Christian groups would have been less mobilized, the Texas tribe contends. Because the Texas and Louisiana tribes share family ties, Louisiana Coushatta members would have opposed the attack on their sister tribe, the Alabama-Coushatta said.
"There's no reason why Indian tribes would cause this kind of havoc against another tribe," Battise said.
The tribe also alleges Abramoff fraudulently bilked it of $50,000 and used it to "bribe" Ney with a golfing trip to Scotland in exchange for "fixing" its gaming problem. In his guilty plea, Abramoff said Ney accepted the trip knowing the tribal clients paid for the trip. Ney has repeatedly said he is innocent of wrongdoing.
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