Federal Bureau Of Indian Affairs

Federal appeals court upholds all but one conviction against Passamaquoddy ...

MACHIAS, Maine — A federal appeals court Monday affirmed the convictions and sentence of former Passamaquoddy Gov. Robert Newell of Indian Township, while vacating one count against the tribe’s former financial director James Parisi Jr. of Portland. The court also reduced the more than $1.6 million in restitution owed by Parisi by nearly $130,000.

The two men were convicted in 2008 of misappropriating $1.74 million from the Passamaquoddy Tribe by diverting and improperly spending grant money and other federal funding, according to documents filed with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.

Newell, 68, was sentenced in 2008 to five years in prison and ordered to pay $1.74 million in restitution; Parisi, 50, was sentenced to one year and one day and to pay $1.62 million in restitution. Parisi was released from prison on April 9, 2010, according to court documents. Newell remains incarcerated in Pennsylvania with an estimated release date of September 2013, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Newell was convicted of 29 crimes, including conspiring to defraud the U.S., misapplication of government funds, fraud and lying to federal agencies. Parisi was convicted of 11 crimes, including conspiracy, misapplication of tribal and federal funds and lying to federal agencies. The men’s crimes are all related to the use of restricted federal funds awarded to the Passamaquoddy from 2002 to 2006.

Newell and Parisi conspired by misapplying approximately $1.7 million dollars that had been awarded for tribal programs, according to the 29-page ruling filed Monday.

They also diverted funds from the tribal employees’ retirement account. Court documents also stated that Newell used the restricted federal funds and the funds of the tribe’s Indian Health Center to benefit himself, his family and other tribal members with whom he curried favor. Newell used many of these restricted funds to provide approximately $1.6 million in general assistance to tribal members during 2006, his last year in office, according to the documents.

“Neither Newell nor Parisi was accused of lining their own pockets,” the ruling stated. Newell spent money on his friends, family and tribal council members and their families. The ruling called the actions “Newell’s ongoing financial tomfoolery,” and indicated that “when Newell was defeated in 2006 elections, the Tribe had only enough money left to pay one person’s salary — Newell’s.

On November 19, 1928, Hoover embarked on

Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service to pursue gangsters for tax evasion, he enabled the prosecution of Al Capone. He appointed a commission that set aside 3 million acres (12,000 km²) of national parks and 2.3 million acres (9,000 km²) of national forests; advocated tax reduction for low-income Americans (not enacted); closed certain tax loopholes for the wealthy; doubled the number of veterans' hospital facilities; negotiated a treaty on St. Lawrence Seaway (which failed in the U.S. Senate); wrote a Children's Charter that advocated protection of every child regardless of race or gender; created an antitrust division in the Justice Department; required air mail carriers to adopt stricter safety measures and improve service; proposed federal loans for urban slum clearances (not enacted); organized the Federal Bureau of Prisons; reorganized the Bureau of Indian Affairs; instituted prison reform; proposed a federal Department of Education (not enacted); advocated $50-per-month pensions for Americans over 65 (not enacted); chaired White House conferences on child health, protection, homebuilding and home-ownership; began construction of the Boulder Dam (later renamed Hoover Dam); and signed the Norris – La Guardia Act that limited judicial intervention in labor disputes.

Atlas of American Indian affairs

Code of Federal regulations, containing a codification of documents of general applicability and future effect as of December 31, 1948, with ancillaries and index

Fossil plants and spores, modern techniques

Red power, the American Indians' fight for freedom

The funding of social knowledge production and application, a survey of Federal agencies