John Grisham’s latest legal thriller The Whistler, a tale of an Indian casino and judicial corruption, is ruffling feathers at the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA), whose chairman, Ernie Stevens Jr., find the story offensive.
Grisham’s novel’s backdrop is an Indian casino operated by the fictional Tappacola Nation, and its protagonist is a lawyer who served prison time for real estate fraud.
Grisham writes: “Take any form of growth, from high-end gated communities to low-end shopping malls, fix up a slick brochure filled with half-truths, label it ‘economic development’ with the promise of tax revenue and jobs, and elected officials reach for their rubber stamp.”
The villain is a judge who is or is not making it easier for land to develop around the tribal casino in exchange for bribes.
Stevens took CBS This Morning to task recently for interviewing Grisham about his novel and for not challenging his take on Indian gaming.
He wrote Leslie Moonves, chairman and CEO of CBS: “I was astonished by the blatant falsehoods offered by Grisham and extremely disappointed that the CBS Morning Team played along with him, implicitly lending credence to the untruthful and/or misleading statements he fed to the American public.”
One blatant example, was Grisham’s declaration that “‘Ninety percent of all the money that comes in is in cash, and it’s unregulated, nobody’s watching, they don’t pay taxes.”
Grisham adds, “There’s no oversight. I’m not saying there’s corruption, but it’s a perfect storm for corruption. No one knows how much they make; they don’t have to report to anybody.”
Stevens adds, “While Grisham’s book is a work of fiction, that the story is based on these allegations as facts, operates to smear the reputation of an entire industry, the thousands of men and women who dedicate their lives to regulating Indian gaming, and the hundreds of thousands of American families that rely on Indian gaming for jobs and benefits. It would be socially and ethically wrong for CBS to let stand Grisham’s false and/or misleading statements.”
He notes: “Grisham falsely claims that Indian gaming is ‘unregulated’ and is subject to ‘no oversight.’ He ignores the basic fact that IGRA established the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), the only federal agency to regulate gaming in the United States.”
Stevens adds, “Yes, gaming takes place in a highly cash intensive environment and that is why gaming is such a highly regulated activity. To be clear, Grisham’s claims that tribal government gaming is ‘unregulated’ and is subject to ‘no oversight’ are completely false.”
He concludes, “We urge CBS to issue a statement setting the record straight by providing accurate facts and having the statement read aloud by the CBS Morning Team.”
