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On Friday, Nov. 13, Chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and leader of their Gaming Commission Cedric Cromwell, 55, was indicted in Massachusetts on the charges of accepting bribes as an agent or to an agent of an Indian Tribal government (two counts) and conspiring to commit bribery, extortion under color of official right (four counts), and conspiring to commit extortion, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts said.
Along with Cromwell, on Friday the U.S. Attorney's Office charged the owner of the architecture firm that allegedly paid or gifted more than $50,000 in bribes for the scheme.
David DeQuattro, 54, of Rhode Island, was indicted on charges of accepting bribes as an agent or to an agent of an Indian Tribal government (two counts) and conspiring to commit bribery, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. DeQuattro owns Robinson, Green, Beretta Corp., according to the Massachusetts Secretary of State.
Cromwell is accused of accepting bribes from DeQuattro in exchange for a $5 million contract to design a resort casino on Native American land in Taunton, Massachusetts. Cromwell allegedly received around $57,000 in payments and in-kind benefits from the scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The payments were allegedly doled out between July 2014 and May 2017. To get the money to Cromwell, DeQuattro allegedly wrote $44,000 in personal checks to CM International Consulting, an entity owned by one of Cromwell’s friends. That money was then used to purchase treasurer’s checks payable to Cromwell or a shell entity Cromwell owned called One Nation Development, the U.S.. Attorney’s Office alleged. DeQuattro is accused of having written about $10,000 in personal checks to One Nation Development.
All of the money was on personal items and experiences for Cromwell and included payments to his mistress, the U.S. Attorney’s Office alleged.
DeQuattro would allegedly be reimbursed for his payments to Cromwell by claiming them as payroll expenses from his own business, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The in-kind benefits allegedly included a Bowflex home gym and a room at the Four Seasons in Boston, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Among the agencies that worked to investigate, arrest, and prosecute Cromwell and DeQuattro are the FBI, Attleboro Police, and the U .S. Attorney’s Office.
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