Former tribal chairman charged in ongoing federal probe

By Sean P. Murphy and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Former Mashpee Wampanoag tribal chairman Glenn A. Marshall, who successfully led the fight for federal recognition of the tribe only to resign amid controversy in 2007, has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of making illegal campaign contributions and embezzling $380,000 in tribal funds, authorities said today.

Marshall, 59, is accused of steering more than $60,000 in campaign contributions to state and federal legislators between 2003 and 2007, as the tribe pressed its case for federal recognition, according to documents filed today in US District Court in Boston. He also spent approximately $380,000 from a tribal fund for “groceries, vacation trips, tuition for his daughter, restaurant tabs, home repairs, home mortgage payments, and jewelry,” officials alleged.

According to the documents filed in federal court, Marshall has agreed to plead guilty to the charges in exchange for his cooperation in an ongoing investigation. No date has been set for Marshall to enter his plea. Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, declined comment, saying only that the investigation is "ongoing."

Marshall, of Mashpee, could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Robert Craven of Providence, was not available for comment.

Federal recognition, which allows tribes to operate casinos, came for the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe in February 2007. Since then the tribe, with its substantial coterie of lobbyists, lawyers, and public relations specialists, has planned a $1 billion casino for a 550-acre tract in Middleborough.

But Marshall, who became tribal chairman in 2001, resigned in August 2007 after acknowledging a 1981 rape conviction and repeatedly lying about his military record.

Prosecutors alleged in court records that Marshall paid campaign contributions from tribal funds he controlled, in violation of federal law, which prohibits use of corporate or tribal funds for such contributions.

The information said that Marshall, “in order to disguise the fact” of the contributions, “solicited various individuals to act as straw contributors, including members of his family and officers of the tribal council.” Marshall then directed those individuals to write checks to the legislators' reelection committees, the documents say.

Marshall also agreed to plead guilty to filing false tax returns and fraudulently receiving Social Security disability benefits, according to the documents.

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