Among those promises:
- Marshall promised local business leaders that he would “help” if the casino harmed restaurants in town. Selectman Wayne Perkins says this would have taken the form of “comp points” — scrip given to casino visitors that could be used at Middleborough businesses, which in turn could trade them in for cash.
- Marshall promised to assist the town with police and firefighting expenses.
- He told several people to “come see me” over their concerns about how the casino would affect their quality of life.
- He promised the chairman of the Middleborough Housing Authority that he would “help” with programs for senior citizens.
Elwell writes: “It is unknown if the residents would have supported a casino in their town had they known of Marshall’s criminal background. But in the months leading up to the historic town meeting vote, Marshall made several promises that were not included in the written contract with the town.”
And she quotes tribal council member Cheryl Frye as saying that anyone who’s concerned about whether the tribe will honor promises made by Marshall should come on in and talk it over.
Is there a legal argument to be made that town meeting approved the deal on false pretenses? I don’t know. That would probably be a stretch. But there’s really no end to this, is there?
Please share widely!
Sure, Marshall couldn't be an Indian. It makes perfect sense.
As we all know, WHITE men speak with forked tongue, not Indians.
it is based on a common idealistic notion many people hold that native americans are somehow intrinsically pure of heart and noble. that’s hogwash, of course, because as human beings they’re no more nor less pure or corrupt than anyone else. so i’m thankful in a way for this disgrace Marshall has brought onto himself. if it helps some non-native americans to realize that native americans are real, flawed people, not myths, and brings down the casino to boot, i’m happy as ever.
Have you tried therapy to lighten up? Life is too short to be miserable and humorless. Maybe just going out and talking to people would help you.
I wish you the best.
;o)
GET RICH QUICK. SOMETHIN FOR NOTH”N..
AN HONEST MAN CAN'T BE CONNED> SPEAKS VOLUMES ABOUT MIDDLEBORO.
Then they didn't affect the vote.
If they weren't secret, then they would have come up for discussion during Town Meeting. And someone would have noted that they should vote on the agreement, not hearsay.
From where I sit, this looks like anti-casino smear, and not a real issue.
If Marshall privately offered assurances to town officials and the business community, then that would obviously affect their decision of whether to support the casino. In fact, the selectmen didn't just support the casino — the agreement was their document.
I'll concede that The Enterprise may have been engaging in a bit of hyperbole in calling these “secret promises.”