The former Chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, Cedric Cromwell, was given a 42-month prison sentence for tax evasion and extortion on Wednesday.
Cromwell extorted an architecture and design firm that had a contract for the tribe’s First Light Resort and Casino in Taunton, Massachusetts. The tribal leader then failed to report more than $177,000 in income on his federal income tax returns for 2014-2017.
He pleaded guilty to the tax crimes in July this year. The 60-year-old contested the extortion charges and filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Court declined to hear his appeal.
Cromwell’s unreported income included $57,549 that he extorted from the architecture and design firm RGB, owned by David DeQuattro. Both Cromwell and DeQuattro were previously convicted of bribery, but these convictions were reversed on appeal last year.
