Lawyers for subsidiaries affiliated with the Seminole Tribe have accused a political committee hoping for a constitutional amendment, that would open the door for casinos in North Florida, of breaking the law.
The organization, Florida Voters in Charge, is hoping to submit 900,000 signatures by the Feb. 1 deadline to state elections officials in hopes of making it onto the 2022 ballot, according to the Sun Sentinel.
Jim McKee, the attorney representing Florida Voters in Charge, told the Florida Record that Seminole Tribe was still trying to hold a monopoly on the state's casino gaming.
“The defendants’ allegations are meritless and are nothing more than an attempt to divert attention from their aggressive attempts to prevent Florida voters from having the opportunity to vote to end the Seminole Tribe’s monopoly over Florida casino gaming," he said. "It is no surprise that one of the individuals relied upon as support for the allegations is Larry Laws. Mr. Laws is currently the subject of a federal court lawsuit alleging he received a substantial amount of money, believed to be in excess of $1 million, in exchange for his agreement to attempt to sabotage efforts to place the casino gaming amendment on the ballot.”
West Palm Beach attorney William Shepherd, who represents organizations tied to the Seminole Tribe, accused Florida Voters in Charge of “brazenly violating Florida election law,” according to the Sun Sentinel.
“This raises serious integrity questions,” he said. “As it pertains to the instant case, while the plaintiffs have accused defendants of hiring plaintiffs’ employees, the underlying employee contracts at issue are based on an illegal scheme, so the contracts themselves are illegal and therefore unenforceable.”
McKee told the Sun Sentinel that accusations were not true “and are nothing more than an attempt to divert attention from their aggressive attempts to prevent Florida voters from having the opportunity to vote to end the Seminole Tribe’s monopoly over Florida casino gaming,”