HTN: Senecas Set Up New Investment Company

The Seneca Nation of Indians has formed a new investment company. Seneca Holdings LLC is expected to spend at least 28-million dollars over the next five years through a series of subsidiaries. All of those investments will be with companies that are operated, owned or run by members of the Seneca Nation or other tribes. Seneca Holdings was formed against the backdrop of potential legal threats against the Seneca's gaming and tobacco business ventures. Seneca officials say job creation and community development are key for the firm's new investment strategy.

HTN: Senecas Want In on Lawsuit

The Seneca Nation wants to get directly involved in the legal fight over their casino in downtown Buffalo. Casino opponents have sued the US federal government for what they say was illegal approval of the gambling facility. The Senecas could not be sued directly but now say they may try and get a judge to allow them to become a defendant in the case. Since 2006, three different lawsuits have been filed seeking to block the casino.

HTN: Seneca Gaming Profits Fall

The Seneca Gaming Corporation is leaving a bundle of money on the table during the economic recession. Profits have tumbled 16-percent in the first quarter of the year as gamblers sit on the sidelines. The Indian Nation has cut more than 200 jobs, reduced advertising and halted construction of a new casino in Buffalo. Don't feel too bad for the gambling enterprise. They still profited more than 17-million dollars. The hardest hit sector was on hotel rooms where revenue fell by 19-percent.

HTN: Senecas Plan Own School

Unhappy with the education their children receive in traditional public schools, leaders of the Seneca Nation plan to start an own independent school in the fall of 2010. They intend to seek state and federal aid, and that has public school administrators concerned. Seneca leaders complain that their children aren’t learning enough about their own traditions and culture in the Salamanca, Gowanda, Lakeshore and Silver Creek public schools.

HTN: Snyder Wants Off Gaming Board

Barry Snyder now says he no longer wants to serve on the Seneca Gaming Board. Cochise Redeye replaced Barry Snyder as chairman, and said Snyder should be removed completely from the board because he had no authority to appoint a committee to investigate a media leak. Now Snyder apparently does not want to be reappointed. Auditors have issued a preliminary report criticizing Seneca Gaming for a two-point-one-million-dollar land purchase in Lewiston to build a golf course. Redeye says Snyder's failure to cooperate with the auditors is a breach of fiduciary responsibility.

HTN: Seneca Millions Cause Controversy

The Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance [[ TERO ]] program has made millionaires out of a few Senecas. An audit commissioned by the Seneca Gaming Corporation is taking a good look at the controversial program. TERO was established to pair Seneca businesses with outside contractors to help Senecas start their own companies. Instead, the program has made millionaires out a few Senecas, most connected to former Seneca Gaming Chairman and current tribe President Barry Snyder Sr. The money has come from millions of dollars in casino contracts.

HTN: Senecas Address Cigarette Concerns

The Seneca Nation says it will review the production of Native-American cigarettes sold on its lands. Indian brands have come under fire recently for allegedly being a health and safety hazard. Seneca President Barry Synder calls a recent published report regarding Seneca brand cigarettes a "grave concern," but adds that, despite the name, his nation has nothing to do with the making of the cigarettes. The cigarettes are made in Canada by a company owned by a former Seneca Tribal Council member. The "Buffalo News" reported on Sunday that the cheap Seneca brand does not meet fire safety standards and may contain high chemical levels.

HTN: Senecas Rally Near Thruway

Members of the Seneca Nation rallied near the Thruway Sunday in opposition to the state's proposed collection of taxes on cigarette sales. Nation President Barry Snyder says Governor David Paterson is willing to talk with the tribe before cigarette supplies are cut off. In December, the governor signed a law which requires wholesalers to certify that they are supplying cigarettes with tax stamps to Indian retailers for non-Indian purchases. Snyder responded by threatening to collect tolls on the Thruway portion which runs through their land.

HTN: Another Casino Challenge Looming

Citizens Against Casino Gambling in Erie County are gearing up to challenge two rulings from federal agencies supporting the Seneca Nation of Indians' rights to operate the downtown Buffalo casino. The group will ask Judge William Skretny to overturn the decisions of the National Indian Gaming Commission and the U.S. Department of the Interior. Those rulings reaffirm the rights of Seneca Gaming to operate the casino.

HTN: Senecas Strike Back at State

The Seneca Indian Nation is responding strongly to New York State's plans to tax its cigarette sales. President Barry Snyder says the Nation is planning to collect its own tolls from State Thruway drivers as they cross into Seneca land. The tribe will spend one-million dollars to hire "emergency response personnel" who will protect the Senecas from alleged harassment from the state government. The tribe also says it may ask President-elect Barack Obama for federal troops to protect tribe members. It is the latest reaction to Governor David A. Paterson's plan to start enforcing tax collections on cigarette wholesalers who sell tobacco products to Seneca businesses. The law goes into effect in February.

HTN: Senecas to Open Catskills Casino

Could the Seneca Nation's plans for a Catskills casino further stall the completion of the downtown Buffalo facility? The Senecas are partnering with a Michigan developer to build a resort downstate, but officials say that does not spell trouble for the Buffalo Creek Casino. Erie County Executive Chris Collins and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown say the tribe's decision in favor of a Monticello casino doesn't cast a shadow onto the facility in downtown Buffalo. Plans for the permanent site have been put on hold because of economic concerns and a legal battles. The Senecas laid off 210 employees in December because of the weak economy, but the plan to build a new casino with Rotate Black Gaming Inc. in Monticello was announced Saturday. The project could potentially create 160-million dollars in direct payments to the state of New York. The Catskills location also gives the Senecas access to the New York City area and New Jersey.

HTN: Governor Signs Indian Tax Bill

Governor Paterson has signed a bill which would begin the collection of state sales taxes on cigarette on Indian lands. The state is looking to close a projected 15-billion-dollar budget gap, and this measure could raise upwards of 400-million dollars according to some estimates. The taxes would only be enforced on non-Indian purchases. Tribes such as the Seneca Nation say it violates treaties which are hundreds of years old. When former Governor George Pataki tried a similar move, Indian tribes shut down the Thruway and violence erupted.

HTN: Clock Ticking on Indian Taxes

Governor David Paterson now has just ten days to decide what to do about collecting cigarette taxes from Indian reservations. The State Assembly has sent the Governor a bill which requires the state to start collecting the money. The measure was passed back in August, but lawmakers held on to it so the Governor could have more time to try and negotiate a deal with the tribes. Now the clock is ticking on the bill that would effectively cut off the supply of cigarettes to Indian smoke shops if they refuse to pay taxes on sales to non-Native-Americans. The state is attempting to find ways to increase revenue to fill huge budget gaps, but the tribes say treaties dating back hundreds of years exempt them from paying.

HTN: Seneca Home Invasion

Erie County authorities are searching for two masked gunmen allegedly responsible for a home invasion on the Seneca Nation Reservation in the Town of Brant. Sheriffs say the suspects tied up three adults at the Richardson Road home early Sunday. The men were reportedly armed with automatic rifles and demanded money and drugs. Authorities say the gunmen forced four children into a bedroom before using duct tape to subdue the three adults, then took cash and jewelry and fled in a maroon Chevy Suburban.

Higgins and Collins Support Casino

Two elected officials proclaimed their support of the downtown casino project yesterday. Congressman Brian Higgins and Erie County Executive Chris Collins told the tribe that it is time for the project to move forward. Higgins spoke with WECK's Scott Leffler this morning:
http://www.weck1230.com/News/Higgins.mp3

Seneca Official Resigns in Golf Course Case

Two weeks ago the FBI raided an attorney's office to investigate missing money from a Seneca land purchase to build a new golf course in Lewiston. Seneca Gaming Commission vice chairman Bergal Mitchell the Third has now submitted his resignation, and it was accepted. Authorities are looking for between 500 and 900-thousand dollars that they believe may have been skimmed.

Senecas Impacting Local Economy

The Seneca Nations of Indians have released a study that shows that the tribe has become a major employer and economic player in the Western New York area. Numbers released show that the Senecas generated revenues of close to 1-point-1-billion dollars in 2007. They have also put over six-thousand people on their payroll.