MedicCook
06-13-2007, 10:11 PM
Feds say Turning Stone casino legal
Tribe says matter is settled "for all time."
ALBANY The Oneida Indian Nation's tribal government won its argument with the Department of Interior and will be allowed to keep operating the 14-year-old Turning Stone Casino in central New York, tribal officials revealed Wednesday.
The federal agency notified the tribe and Gov. Eliot Spitzer that it won't withdraw approval of the gaming compact granted in 1993 by former Gov. Mario Cuomo. A state court subsequently ruled the compact was invalid because it was never approved by the state Legislature.
The Interior Department decided not to review the federal government's original approval of the casino 14 years ago on technical grounds, according to a letter to the tribe.
The key technicality, the document shows, was a compact cannot be revoked unless there is a challenge within six years after approval. The deadline for a challenge was June 1999, the federal agency wrote.
Oneida officials are awaiting the outcome of the tribe's application to have about 17,000 acres of land, including the site of the casino, placed into trust by the Department of Interior.
Casinos can only be located on Indian territory in New York, and the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled Turning Stone sits on taxable, non-sovereign land.
The Spitzer administration and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo have been reluctant to move to close the casino even though it has been operating in legal limbo for several months.Spitzer's office had no immediate comment.
The tribe declared in a press release: ``This should put to rest for all time any question about the validity of the gaming compact. The state challenges should be no more. The uncertainty and anxiety experienced by our 5,000 employees and their families are over.''
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=597635&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=6/13/2007
Tribe says matter is settled "for all time."
ALBANY The Oneida Indian Nation's tribal government won its argument with the Department of Interior and will be allowed to keep operating the 14-year-old Turning Stone Casino in central New York, tribal officials revealed Wednesday.
The federal agency notified the tribe and Gov. Eliot Spitzer that it won't withdraw approval of the gaming compact granted in 1993 by former Gov. Mario Cuomo. A state court subsequently ruled the compact was invalid because it was never approved by the state Legislature.
The Interior Department decided not to review the federal government's original approval of the casino 14 years ago on technical grounds, according to a letter to the tribe.
The key technicality, the document shows, was a compact cannot be revoked unless there is a challenge within six years after approval. The deadline for a challenge was June 1999, the federal agency wrote.
Oneida officials are awaiting the outcome of the tribe's application to have about 17,000 acres of land, including the site of the casino, placed into trust by the Department of Interior.
Casinos can only be located on Indian territory in New York, and the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled Turning Stone sits on taxable, non-sovereign land.
The Spitzer administration and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo have been reluctant to move to close the casino even though it has been operating in legal limbo for several months.Spitzer's office had no immediate comment.
The tribe declared in a press release: ``This should put to rest for all time any question about the validity of the gaming compact. The state challenges should be no more. The uncertainty and anxiety experienced by our 5,000 employees and their families are over.''
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=597635&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=6/13/2007