{"id":47659,"date":"2013-06-24T16:30:00","date_gmt":"2013-06-24T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=47659"},"modified":"2013-06-24T12:42:47","modified_gmt":"2013-06-24T16:42:47","slug":"assemblywoman-tenney-urges-voters-to-call-albany-tell-them-to-reject-cuomos-bargain-with-oneida-indian-nation-on-gaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=47659","title":{"rendered":"Assemblywoman Tenney Urges Voters to Call Albany; Tell them to Reject Cuomo\u2019s Bargain with Oneida Indian Nation on Gaming"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tenney\"<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

(June 19, 2013) With the state legislature poised to vote on Gov. Cuomo\u2019s gaming deal with the Oneida Indian Nation, Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney (R,C,I-New Hartford) today asked voters to call their assembly members and senators to tell them to reject the deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a corrupt bargain between the governor and casino interests that will rob taxpayers, cost us more jobs, shatter our state\u2019s sovereignty and take an innocent man\u2019s land away from him and his family. It\u2019s an outrage \u2013 voters need to call and email their representatives and stop this deal,\u201d Tenney said.<\/p>\n

The gaming deal signed May 16 by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Ray Halbritter, president of the Turning Stone Casino and the self-appointed head of the Oneida Indian Nation, would cede 25,000 acres of land to a federal land trust including land belonging to Melvin Phillips, the chief of the Orchard Party Band of Oneidas.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhillips is a 75-year old man and full-blooded Oneida who will lose everything, just so Cuomo can buy off the support of Halbritter\u2019s Oneida Indian Nation in the upcoming gaming referendum this November,\u201d said Tenney.<\/p>\n

Cuomo\u2019s concessions to the Oneida Indian Nation include the 25,000 acres of land held in federal trust \u2013 thereby betraying the sovereignty of New York State \u2013 the deputization of Nation police as sworn officers, and full immunity from nearly $800 million in back taxes to the state and localities.<\/p>\n

In exchange for Halbritter\u2019s support and 25 percent of future slots revenue, Cuomo gave the Oneidas exclusive gaming rights in a wide swath of the state, without revenue sharing or tax liability on any of the Nation\u2019s other profitable enterprises, including the sale of cigarettes and gasoline.<\/p>\n

Tenney continued, \u201cCuomo\u2019s deal is precisely why New Yorkers despise Albany: it\u2019s another back room deal that serves special interests at the expense of tax-paying, law-abiding residents. \u00a0Demanding Halbritter\u2019s explicit support in the May 16 deal is blatant quid pro quo; it would fall under New York\u2019s bribery statutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cessation of land to the Oneidas not only victimizes Phillips and his family, but cedes the state\u2019s sovereignty in an unprecedented move; there are no federal land trusts in the original Thirteen Colonies, as they are prohibited by the state and US constitution. \u00a0It gives Halbritter an armed fiefdom smack dab in the middle of Central New York, which doesn\u2019t pay taxes,\u201d Tenney said.<\/p>\n

Without a tax bill, the Oneida Indian Nation\u2019s businesses, including convenience stores and gas stations, will force even more small-business owners, who do pay taxes, out of business. \u00a0In turn, local governments will continue to be starved of much-needed revenue.<\/p>\n

Tenney called on taxpayers and voters across New York to stand up and call Albany. \u201cCall Cuomo, call your senator and assembly member \u2013 tell them ENOUGH to the corrupt bargains. Tell them to respect taxpayers, small-business owners, and property owners.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(June 19, 2013) With the state legislature poised to vote on Gov. Cuomo\u2019s gaming deal with the Oneida Indian Nation, Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney (R,C,I-New Hartford) today asked voters to call their assembly members and senators to tell them to reject the deal. \u201cIt\u2019s a corrupt bargain between the governor and casino interests that will rob […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22341],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-regional"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47659\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}