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

• 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.

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 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.

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.