Tribe Witholding $14.2M Payment For Police Services

HOGANSBURG - The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe is withholding payment of $14.2 million for state police services it has received at its casino since it opened in 1999.

State troopers perform background checks on all casino employees and maintain a presence at Indian casinos when they are open.

"We owe them some money," tribal Chief James W. Ransom said. "In the tribal-state gaming compact it says the state police costs need to be reasonable. We don't believe they are reasonable."

Mr. Ransom could not say for sure how much the tribe owes to the state police, but he said the amount of $14.2 million sounds "about right."

The bill for $14.2 million came to light when introduced as evidence during state Senate hearings last month about legislation to collect sales taxes on cigarettes sold to non-Indians on reservations. Sen. Craig M. Johnson, D-Port Washington, introduced the bills that included the names of tribes that have not paid for the police services still being provided by the state.

State officials could not confirm immediately whether the amount owed by the Mohawks cited by Sen. Johnson or his estimate that the Seneca Nation of Indians owes $41 million for the services at its two casinos are accurate. The Oneida Nation, which operates Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, is the only tribe that has fully paid the troopers, according to Morgan W. Hook, spokesman for Gov. David A. Paterson.

The state gaming compact stipulates that the troopers perform those duties, but the St. Regis Mohawks want some changes before paying up.

"There's too many guys in there. They can pull eight officers and still maintain their responsibilities," tribal Chief James W. Ransom said. "We're not saying give them up; we're just saying, 'One, you have too many officers and we want you to reduce the number, and two, we want to work with them on a transitional plan so we can take over.'"

There are 17 officers assigned to the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino to do the background checks and patrol inside and outside the casino, according to Mr. Ransom. That is the same number, he says, as at each of the Senecas' casinos in Western New York, both of which are much bigger than the Mohawks'.

The tribe wants the troopers to continue performing background checks, but it wants its own tribal police force, the members of which are trained and certified by the state, to take over the patrol duties as soon as possible. Such a transition is allowed in the gaming compact, Mr. Ransom said.

As a result of the state's financial crisis, the state police training academy is not taking on a new class this year, which means there will be no new members of the tribal police force, either. The class cancellation will delay the tribe's ability to take over the patrol at the casino, but plans could be developed for the future.

There currently are not enough tribal police to patrol the streets and the casino, Mr. Ransom said. He did not say how many more police officers the tribe will need before it can take responsibility for the casino.

The tribe has been discussing the issue for years and first met with then-Gov. George E. Pataki in 2007 to discuss it. It also met with then-Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer and Gov. Paterson.

"The state government has been completely unresponsive to our efforts to replace state police with our force," said David T. Staddon, tribal director of public information.

Because the state has not made any efforts to reach an agreement with the tribe, the Mohawks said, the tribe has withheld payments for the duties performed by the state police.

Mr. Hook declined to comment on the likelihood of some kind of agreement being reached with the Mohawks about the debt payment or any transitional plans. However, the governor's office is exploring its options to get the money owed to the state, he said.

"One of the ways to settle is to go to arbitration, which is something we reserve the right to do," Mr. Hook said.