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By Leon Thompson, Tribal Beat reporter
May 5th, 2016 (Up State New York) – Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and his new campaign manager, super-lobbyist Paul Manafort, first collaborated in 1993 to halt the construction of a casino by the St. Regis Mohawks in the Catskill Mountains.
Trump feared completion from the casino would hurt his investments in Atlantic City, so Trump poured money into a shell group called the New York Institute for Law and Society. The group existed solely to publish ads smearing his potential Indian competition.
The newspaper and television ads showed images of hypodermic needles and junkie paraphernalia, stating “The St. Regis Mohawk Indian record of criminal activity is well documented” (not true) and “Are these the new neighbors we want?”
New York Governor George Pataki investigated the flamboyant claims and the so-called ‘Institute.’ He slapped Trump and Manafort’s firm with a $250,000 fine and required them to publicly apologize for running the ads, not for the content of the ads but for evading state disclosure rules related to lobbying.
Trump defended his action in a Congressional hearing by saying, “There is no way Indians are going to protect themselves from the mob ... It will be the biggest scandal ever, the biggest since Al Capone … An Indian chief is going to tell Joey Killer to please get off his reservation? It’s unbelievable to me.” Mr. Trump acknowledged that his style can be offensive to some, but he defended it as essential for communicating his message.
Tribal leaders took out their own newspaper ad in response to denounce the “racist and inflammatory rhetoric of this sham Institute.”
“How dare they smear a nation and brand us all as criminals,” the ad said.
Rowena General, who was chief of staff for the St. Regis Mohawks in 2000, said Mr. Trump’s ad campaign was a cynical attempt to use fear about race and crime to protect his business investments. The resulting obstruction and scandal accomplished its purpose – no casino has ever been built in the Catskill Mountains.
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