Gun Lake Tribe reacts to Abramoff

By Scott Noll
News 3 Reporter

The chairman of the Gun Lake Tribe wants to know what hand a crooked lobbyist had in delaying a proposed Allegan County Casino.

Jack Abramoff was hired by the Saginaw Branch of the Chippewa Tribe as a lobbyist. His job was to block the development of competing Indian casinos in Michigan. But a day after Abramoff cut a deal with federal prosecutors, admitting he bribed members of congress, Gun Lake Tribal leaders say there's no doubt in their minds, Abramoff's money trail runs through West Michigan.

"Clearly, clearly, Mr Abramoff played a role delaying our project 14 months," said Tribal Chairman D.K. Sprague.

The Tribe contends Abramoff was behind a delay in getting the permits from Washington needed to move ahead with a planned casino near Wayland. What Sprague doesn't know is how. It's something he's hoping to learn as Jack Abramoff cooperates with prosecutors under the terms of a plea agreement.

Along with how, Sprague is hopeful he'll learn who may have collected payouts from the lobbyist.

As News 3 first reported Tuesday night, Holland Republican Peter Hoekstra had already denied claims he helped Abramoff, or that $2,000 in campaign contributions from Abramoff's former lobbying firm had anything to do with Gun Lake.

"As far as I know, I've never met Jack," Hoekstra told News 3.

But Sprague is skeptical. He's calling for Hoekstra to return the money. Something, so far, the Congressman has refused to do. Hoekstra says the money came from another lobbyist working for the same firm, and not from Jack Abramoff.