Miami backer has history, future with tribal claims

Thursday, Jan. 11, 2001 | 9:03 a.m.

Thomas C. Wilmot Sr., chairman of the board of shopping mall developer Wilmorite Inc., told The Associated Press he and his 23-year old son, Thomas C. Wilmot Jr., formed a company called The Logan Group to back the Miami claim in Illinois, the Golden Hill Paugussetts' casino plan in Connecticut and other tribes he would not identify.

One element of the Wilmots' strategy in backing the tribal claims is to lobby and make campaign donations to members of Congress, who can play a major role in decisions critical to federal government regulation of Indian land and gaming issues.

"We're trying to get people aware that this isn't some kind of joke, this is a serious matter," Wilmot Sr., of Rochester, N.Y., said.

It was certainly being taken seriously in Springfield, where news that an outside developer was funding the Miami lawsuit only reinforced some lawmakers' opposition to the land claim.

"Amazing," said Sen. Judith Myers, R-Danville. "I had heard rumors that there was someone helping bankroll this. ... It doesn't change a single thing. I'm opposed to the lawsuit in principle. This confirms some of the fears people have discussed with me."

Gov. George Ryan and his predecessor, Jim Edgar, have talked with the Miamis and other tribes about land claims for several years now, but both opposed a land-based Indian casino in Illinois. While the tribe's spokesman, George Tiger, and its attorney, Tom Osterholt, insist publicly that the Miami do not want a casino, Ryan said he was told the Miamis "would be glad to settle" the case for 5,000 acres and casino rights.

"It's just not going to happen," Ryan said. "But it will be an attorneys' battle as usual."

Two of those people Wilmot tried to lobby were the Republican U.S. representatives from Illinois' 15th District, which includes much of the 2.6 million acres the Miamis are claiming as theirs in the federal lawsuit filed in June.

Wilmot has met in Washington with now-retired U.S. Rep. Thomas Ewing and sent two $1,000 checks to the campaign of Ewing's replacement, U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, who said he gave the money back to avoid a conflict of interest.

Federal records show Wilmot donated $1,000 to Johnson last spring - before the Miami sued. The records show Johnson sent the contribution back in August. Johnson said he actually got two checks, but mailed the second back uncashed in the envelope with a refund check for the first contribution.

"I certainly understood that he might think it was inappropriate since the tribe is suing citizens within his congressional district," Wilmot said.

Campaign finance records also show Wilmot has given to a representative on committees with influence over federal Indian policy while helping tribes in Illinois and Connecticut, where he has invested $4 million over five years in the Paugussetts' quest for federal recognition so they can develop a casino in Bridgeport, Conn.

Wilmot said his company would build and manage any casino developed by the Paugussetts or the Miamis.

Guy Martin, a Washington attorney who has worked for local governments contesting tribal claims and casinos, said that's why wealthy interests seek partnerships with Indian tribes. They back lawsuits, and lobby federal bureaucrats and politicians to gain what could be a lucrative stake in the resulting Indian casinos.

"That's a typical pattern," Martin said. "They are openly backed by investors. It's really a franchising operation."

The Wilmots got a cold reception from Illinois officials. Ewing was not swayed and Johnson said he will introduce legislation to protect property owners, mirroring a bill proposed last year by U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill.