Susan P. Abrams for years led a determined group of Senecas that almost derailed casino

gambling by the tribe, arguing at local and national forums that casinos were a bad roll of

the dice for her people.

Abrams, 55, who fought gambling with Senecas Against Casinos beginning in 1994, was often a

lone Indian voice against gambling at forums held by Citizens Against Casino Gambling in Erie

County.

&#8220There is only a handful of Indians who get money, and there is only a handful of

Indians who get rich,&#8221 she said of the effect of Native American casinos at a 2003

national anti-gambling conference in Baltimore. &#8220The rest of us live in poverty

yet.&#8221

Abrams no longer makes public speeches against casino gambling. In fact, she gets paid

handsomely doing work for the Seneca casinos. Abrams has become what she warned against &#8212

an Indian with money who could be considered rich because of casino gambling.

The way she has done this has come into question. Her attempt at getting a $2 million

contract from the architect of the Buffalo Creek Casino, according to a report by a Seneca

watchdog agency overseeing the three Seneca casinos, &#8220may constitute illegal

activity.&#8221

Barry W. Brandon, chief legal counsel to the Seneca Gaming Corp. at the time, went further.

He suggested in a memo to the corporate board that Abrams&#8217 attempt bordered on extortion.

Brandon further stated in that memo that he believed Abrams was asking for money because

she was a Seneca, not that she was adding anything to the work.

Brandon later was forced out of his job by Barry E. Snyder Sr., president of the Seneca

Nation.

In an interview with The Buffalo News, Abrams denied any wrongdoing but said she would wait

for her attorney to make a formal response.

On Friday, Abrams faxed a letter to News officials, challenging the reliability of the

report by the Seneca watchdog agency and saying she is filing a lawsuit &#8220against certain

parties involved in the continued attempt to unduly injure me with unsubstantiated statements,

information and opinions not based on facts or truth.&#8221

Abrams is one of a number of Senecas the Seneca Gaming Authority names in a report to the

Seneca Tribal Council about casino contracting.

The Gaming Authority, a watchdog agency specified in the Senecas&#8217 gambling compact

with the state, issues gambling licenses and ensures the tribe&#8217s three casinos abide by

the law.

The Seneca Gaming Corp. is the body that runs the casinos.

Both were established by the Tribal Council to which they report.

Tribal councilors ordered the Gaming Authority to analyze an audit by MDBI, a forensic

accounting group consisting of former FBI agents and government prosecutors. Last year, that

group detailed how the Senecas had been swindled out of more than $800,000 in purchasing land

in Lewiston for a $25.5 million championship golf course.

An FBI investigation into that deal already has led to a guilty plea in U.S. District Court by

Timothy J. Toohey, a now-disbarred lawyer who admitted taking $202,000 from the tribe he once

had served as attorney.

More charges expected

Charges are expected against Bergal Mitchell III, Toohey&#8217s Seneca partner, according

to his attorney. At the time of the land fraud, Mitchell was vice chairman of the Seneca

Gaming Corp., led then by Snyder. Mitchell and his wife collected $350,000 in the land deal

but deny wrongdoing.

The Seneca government has not made public the MDBI audit or the Gaming Authority report

issued in October, causing anger on the Seneca territories. The News has reviewed copies of

both reports.

Sources said the documents have been provided to the FBI. An FBI spokesman declined to

comment.

Susan Abrams, a Seneca official whose title is tribal operations manager for Seneca

treasurer Jacqueline Bowen, has long been a figure in Seneca politics, serving as executive

assistant to Dennis Bowen and, most recently, Maurice John Sr. during their terms as Seneca

president.

Abrams has gone from fighting casinos to demanding her share of the casinos&#8217 business.

Abrams has won personal contracts to place artwork in the casinos &#8212 including a

sculpture at the Seneca Allegany Casino &#8212 and has brought actions in her own name against

casino vendors for failing to abide by the Senecas&#8217 Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance.

TERO, as its known, requires such vendors to partner with Senecas. But its widespread

abuse, previously detailed by The News, prompted the Tribal Council to stop including it in

casino contracts.

Abrams, according to Seneca sources, personally collected $430,000 in 2004 from Global Cash

Access of Las Vegas, a manufacturer of automatic teller machines. The company made the

settlement in return for her dropping a lawsuit in Seneca Peacemakers Court. In the suit,

Abrams argued that the company lacked a Seneca partner for the casino contract, as required by

TERO.

A spokeswoman for Global Cash Access said the settlement was confidential and could not be

disclosed.

Architect&#8217s complaint

Abrams attempted to force another casino contractor, the architect of the $330 million

Buffalo Creek Casino, to give her a piece of that contract, according to the Seneca Gaming

Authority report.

Abrams demanded 2 percent &#8212 or $2 million &#8212 from SOSH Architects in Atlantic

City, N.J., because it also lacked a Seneca partner.

Nory Hazaveh, the SOSH principal architect, did not return a telephone call to for comment.

Hazaveh, according to the Gaming Authority report, complained about Abrams in a Jan. 24,

2007, letter to the Seneca Gaming Corp.

&#8220Mr. Hazaveh stated that Mrs. Abrams expected a fee of 2 percent of the construction

costs of the entire Buffalo Creek Casino as compensation for her services (the cost estimate

at that point would be approximately $2 million),&#8221 the Gaming Authority report stated.

Hazaveh said in his letter that he told Abrams and her attorney, John P. Bartolomei, that

SOSH could not form a joint venture with her because Abrams is not a licensed architect.

Abrams has worked as an architectural drafter and has a company called SPA Architectural, but

is not an architect.

Brandon, the corporation&#8217s chief attorney at the time, recommended rejecting

Abrams&#8217 proposal in a memo to the Seneca Gaming Corp. board.

&#8220There is nothing in the letter that would indicate that she had performed or was

expected to perform any work that would legitimately entitle her to compensation,&#8221

Brandon wrote in the letter, cited in the Seneca Gaming Authority report.

Lawsuit threatened

Brandon also said in the letter that Abrams apparently &#8220was expecting to be paid a fee

because she is Seneca and for no other apparent reason.&#8221

He urged Seneca Gaming &#8220to stop this behavior and to ensure that our vendors are not

required to comply with these unscrupulous attempts at extortion.&#8221

Brandon, according to documents the Gaming Authority supplied to the Tribal Council, was

then threatened with a defamation suit by Bartolomei on behalf of Abrams.

Brandon said he could not comment because of a gag order imposed by his severance package,

which amounted to more than $600,000 for his dismissal.