- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Policy and Law
Former Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Chairman Cedric Cromwell pleaded guilty Thursday to four counts of filing false tax returns. He failed to report more than $177,000 in income between 2014 and 2017, most of it related to the tribe's planned First Light Resort and Casino project.
Cromwell, 60, of Attleboro, will be sentenced Nov. 5 for both the tax fraud charges and reinstated extortion convictions connected to the $1 billion casino development in Taunton, Massachusetts. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton will impose sentence on both sets of charges at that time, according to the Department of Justice.
A press release issued by the DOJ detailed that Cromwell's unreported income included $57,549 that he extorted from an architecture-and-design firm, $45,023 from the initial architect on the casino project, and $74,821 from one or more companies that developed and supplied forest carbon offsets.
The tax fraud case represents one part of a complex legal battle that has stretched over several years. Each filing of a false tax return charge carries up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $100,000. The extortion charges each provide for up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.
The Boston Globe reported that prosecutors and defense have agreed to recommend that Cromwell serve 42 months in prison, pay the IRS about $61,085 in restitution, and repay the tribe $209,678.
The extortion charges stem from allegations that Cromwell accepted bribes from David DeQuattro, owner of Rhode Island-based Robinson Green Beretta Corp., which held a contract as "owner's representative" for the casino construction. The bribes allegedly included checks, a Bowflex home gym and hotel stays, according to court filings.
A federal grand jury indicted Cromwell in March 2021 on both tax and extortion charges. A federal jury convicted him of three counts of extortion under color of official right and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion in May 2022, but the trial court dismissed those convictions. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reinstated the convictions in September 2024, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Cromwell's appeal.
DeQuattro, who was initially convicted alongside Cromwell, had his conviction overturned by the First Circuit.
"After many years of litigation, he and his family are looking forward to having the matter finally resolved," Cromwell's attorney Daniel Cloherty told the Cape Cod Times.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe owns land in Mashpee and Taunton and has about 2,600 enrolled citizens. The First Light Resort and Casino project remains unrealized despite years of development efforts.
