For many years, former Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell led the 3,000-member tribe’s efforts to build a $1 billion casino resort in Massachusetts. On May 5, Cromwell was convicted of taking bribes in connection with that project. Also convicted was the man who paid him those bribes, Rhode Island developer David DeQuattro.
Both will be sentenced in September.
The project was the planned but never built First Light Resort and Casino in Taunton. DeQuattro, who heads an architecture firm, paid the bribes to stay involved with the project. His firm was paid almost $5 million in casino project contracts from 2015-2017.
One of the bribes that prosecutors detailed during the trial was a three-night stay at a hotel in the Seaport Boston Hotel worth $1,800 that DeQuattro arranged for Cromwell. Used in evidence were the texts sent back and forth between the two men. DeQuattro also paid Cromwell $10,000 and gave him a Bowflex home gym.
Besides being convicted of two counts of accepting bribes as an agent of a tribal government, Cromwell was convicted of three counts of extortion and another count of conspiring to commit extortion. He and DeQuattro were also convicted conspiracy to commit bribery.
Cromwell is the second Wampanoag chairman to be convicted of federal corruption charges. The first was his predecessor Glenn Marshall. He was removed as chairman of the tribe in 2020 after the indictment.
The current Wampanoag chairman, Brian Weeden, said in a statement that the tribe hopes to put the case behind them and “focus on healing our nation.” He added, “Tribal members are disappointed in Cedric Cromwell. We place a tremendous amount of trust in our elected officials. Cedric abused that trust.”
