SCOTUS Won’t Let Ex-Mashpee Chairman Off the Hook in Casino Extortion Case

Posted on: May 21, 2025, 09:48h. 

Last updated on: May 21, 2025, 10:11h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • Supreme Court refuses to hear ex-Mashpee chairman’s bribery appeal
  • Cedric Cromwell was convicted for extortion linked to tribal casino contract

 The US Supreme Court has declined to hear a petition by Cedric Cromwell, former chairman of Massachusetts’ Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, who was convicted in 2022 of bribery and extortion.

Cedric Cromwell, Mashpee Wampanoag, Supreme Court, bribery, First Light Casino
Cedric Cromwell in an image from 2020 when he was chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe. He was convicted of extorting bribes from a contractor to the $1 billion First Light Casino. (Image: Mashpee Wampanoag tribe)

Cromwell was sentenced to three years in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for protecting an architectural firm’s $5 million consultancy contract on the $1 billion First Light Casino Project in Taunton, Mass — a project that remains unrealized. These included checks, a Bowflex home gym, and a hotel stay, according to court documents.

The Supreme Court snub lets stand a September 2024 First Circuit Court ruling that the Hobbs Act, a federal law targeting extortion and bribery by government officials, applies to officials of tribal governments.

While sovereign tribal nations are generally immune from lawsuits and prosecution, individual tribal officials are not. This is especially so in criminal cases brought by the federal government where an official was found to have acted outside the scope of official tribal duties.

Criminal Intent

Cromwell argued the government failed to prove criminal intent and that there was no proof he intended the payments to be in exchange for any specific official act. He claimed the payments were not bribes, but were instead gifts or campaign contributions.

The First Circuit disagreed. The appellate panel noted that extensive efforts to conceal payments – through personal checks, shell companies, structured withdrawals, and disguised reimbursements – “provide powerful evidence of their corrupt intent.”

The court also noted that Cromwell complained about the quality of some of the “gifts,” further undermining the explanation that he believed they were merely gestures of generosity.

“Cromwell’s requests for payments closely tracked the life of the [architecture firm’s] casino contract. When the project was active and valuable, he requested $10,000 every few months,” the panel wrote. “After a lawsuit slowed the project and an adverse ruling made the contract less valuable, Cromwell scaled back his requests. The payments ceased entirely once it was clear the contract would end, a pattern that strongly suggests the payments were tied to protecting the contract.”

DeQuattro Cleared

David DeQuattro, the owner of Rhode Island-based RGB Architects, who was convicted in 2022 of bribing Cromwell, later had his conviction quashed by the First Circuit.

The appellate panel determined that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove he knowingly participated in the bribery scheme with the required criminal intent or that he intended to influence official action.

In contrast, the panel determined that Cromwell’s intent was to extort, which was shown by the pattern of payments, requests, and concealment efforts.

It’s unclear whether Cromwell is currently incarcerated. He was sentenced to three years in prison in 2022 but was permitted to remain free pending appeal.