Abenaki leader Merrill’s Exploitation charge dropped Burlington Free Press 6/16/11

Abenaki leader Merrill’s Exploitation charge dropped-Burlington Free Press   Sam Hemingway  6/16/11

Text as follows:

The chief of the St. Francis/Sokoki band of the Abenakis in Swanton has been cleared — for now — of a charge alleging that she improperly spent money belonging to a vulnerable man in her care.

April St. Francis Merrill was arraigned in March on charges she’d financially exploited Louis P. Lafrance of Highgate Center. According to court papers, Merrill spent $30,697 between 2008 and 2010 on items that did not benefit Lafrance, also an Abenaki member. Lafrance died in October.

Merrill, 42, of Highgate did not respond to a phone request for comment Wednesday. Her lawyer, Peter Langrock, said Merrill was glad the charge had been dropped. He said Merrill may not have been a perfect bookkeeper, but that she did “not steal a nickel.”

“Chief April St. Francis Merrill at all times has maintained her innocence and claimed that all monies that came into her control on behalf of Louis Lafrance were spent on his behalf and at his direction,” Langrock said.

Franklin County State’s Attorney Jim Hughes confirmed his office had dropped the charge against Merrill but said he intends to file new, more specific felony charges against her in the Lafrance matter in the near future to resolve a procedural issue raised by Langrock in the original case.

“The defendant filed a motion requesting specificity on all the different acts,” Hughes said. “So we’ll be filing at least a dozen charges we feel can be proven.”

Hughes said he expected to file those new charges in the next week or two. “They’re coming,” Hughes said.

Langrock said he didn’t think Hughes would re-charge Merrill once he studies the facts in more detail.

“I’d be very surprised if he does,” Langrock said. “He doesn’t got anything.”

According to court papers, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department began investigating Merrill’s handling of Lafrance’s money after Lafrance’s family raised questions about expenditures listed on his bank and credit card records and alerted police.

Among the transactions that came under scrutiny were instances where Merrill withdrew money from Lafrance’s account via an ATM while in Rutland, where Merrill has family, and at the Veterans of Foreign War post in Swanton, where she is a member but Lafrance wasn’t, court documents said.

Other purchases she made occurred while Lafrance was in the hospital or a rehab center. Still others involved things such as buying pizza and paying for a car wash. Lafrance, who lived on Social Security payments, did not own a car.

Langrock said the car wash was for Merrill’s car and was done after Lafrance had become sick while in the car. As for the pizza purchases, Langrock said the food was for Lafrance and his friends. “I don’t think she got a single piece of free pizza out of it,” Langrock said.

Merrill became chief of the Sokoki band of the Abenakis following the death of her father, Homer St. Francis, in 2001.

Putting aside all personal vendettas, one must still look at the facts in this case. It will be interesting to see if Mr.Hughes does indeed file these charges as mentioned.

Personally, I have a feeling that there is more to this case than meets the eye. April Merrill has been accused for years by others of mis-managing money but this is the first time that she has been before a court of law to answer to those accusations.

The only other thing I have to say is that if they can find something that will prove her guilt, then they should approach it by all means.  Otherwise, there is nothing more that can be done.

Much like politicians that are forced to step down after scandals, it is only fitting that Merrill step down from her tribal leadership. Rumors abound that this has happened but until solid proof surfaces, it really is her call.

I do want to ask our readers a question: If you were in charge of someone else’s finances, would you ever feel the temptation to spend them on pizza or car washes, even if you know that they could be scrutinized?

Time will tell as this case unfolds further. Some may claim that it does not affect the Vermont Indigenous Alliance. I believe otherwise as the character of leaders in our society must be upheld or else, they do not deserve to be leaders in the first place.

 

Letter to St.Albans Messenger regarding Swanton VCNAA forum

This is my letter to the St.Albans Messenger, which was published shortly after the VCNAA forum up in Swanton back in April.

The letter concerns the media coverage of this event by Leon Thompson.

I don’t think it’s much of a surprise that the media in Franklin County would be supportive of (now ex)Chief Merrill and her merry band of cohorts. You can say the same for various other newspapers in the State of Vermont.

I remember a time when journalists had integrity. Nowadays, it’s nothing short of a free-for-all in which most newspapers are at a race to the bottom. You can’t read actual news in a Gannett publication either  (Burlington Free Press).

Nowadays, it’s all sensationalist fluff and feel good stories.

 

April Merrill’s Next Cruise: Straight to a Prison Cell?

Dearest “Gluscabi”, I’m so sorry that you missed me. I had no idea that you adored me enough to become concerned when I did not post any new updates. Did I break your little black heart? Fear no more because your friend, April, has just given me more ammunition for my blog. Now stop goading me because you’ll be joining her on her next cruise.

P.S- You want to talk about ethnic cleansing? Webster’s defines it as the following:

Ethnic Cleansing : the expulsion, imprisonment, or killing of an ethnic minority by a dominant majority in order to achieve ethnic homogeneity

Next time, read a dictionary before you accuse someone like this. I have not killed, imprisoned or expelled anyone. The Abenaki Alliance on the other hand, have expelled people who didn’t toe their line and they are attempting to re-write Abenaki history in THEIR favor. How’s that, my illiterate little rival?

Sincerely,

The Admin

Now, on to some serious business with the latest on April Merrill’s legal issues, courtesy of the Burlington Free Press:

Abenaki Chief Pleads Not Guilty To Exploiting Vulnerable Man

April St. Francis Merrill, chief of the Missisquoi  Abenaki tribe based in Swanton, pleaded not  guilty Monday in Franklin Superior Court to a felony charge of exploiting a vulnerable adult by manipulating his financial records.

Franklin County State’s Attorney Jim Hughes alleged that Merrill, 42, of Highgate Center used money belonging to a man in her care from Sept. 1, 2008, to May 2, 2010.

Merrill rang up $30,697 worth of bank and credit card charges that did not benefit Louis P. Lafrance, who was a member of the Abenakis, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department said in court papers.

Lafrance recently died.

Wow, $30,000? Wonder where that money went? More details below:

Detective Kevin Bushey said Lafrance became suspicious of some bank and credit card charges and mentioned it to his family. The family obtained a full printout and marked those that did not benefit Lafrance, Bushey said in a court affidavit.

Bushey said the government has strict rules about a second party who handles money for another person. The money must be used only for that individual’s care and not for the second person, Bushey said.

Merrill, when confronted by the Sheriff’s Department, initially denied taking any money, but later acknowledged some purchases, Bushey said.

Merrill said some purchases were for Lafrance, but the investigation revealed he was in either Northwestern Medical Center or Franklin County Rehab on the days the purchases were made, Bushey said.

He said among the suspicious purchases were car washes when Lafrance did not own a vehicle and an ATM withdrawal at the Swanton Veterans of Foreign Wars post, where Merrill — but not Lafrance — is a member. There also were ATM withdrawals in the Rutland area, where Merrill has family, Bushey said.

Aha! Car washes? Special family trips to Rutland? Don’t tell me, is this what I think it is? We won’t know for sure unless this case goes to trial. I wonder if any of this money went towards her recent cruise? Or did she rip off Burton DeCarr this time? (edit: Mr.DeCarr confirmed that this is not the case. Regardless, we all slip up from time to time.)

“On several occasions it is noted that withdrawals from Mrs. Merrill’s account were deposited in Mr. LaFrance’s account to keep the account from going into overdraft,” Bushey wrote in the affidavit.

Bushey also said he located a May 2, 2008, check to the town of Highgate for $150 with a notation in the memo line “April’s boundary line adjustment.” It was signed by Merrill, he said.

Merrill was released on conditions following Monday’s arraignment.

If convicted, Merrill could be imprisoned up to 10 years and fined up to $10,000.

Merrill is the daughter of Homer St. Francis, the longtime chief of the Missisquoi band who fought for federal and state recognition. He died in 2001.

I see that she really slipped up when she wrote that check to the town of Highgate for $150.  Whoops. Probably wasn’t supposed to happen.

You see people, if the state of  Vermont recognizes April and her cronies (Fred Wiseman, Luke Willard, Donald Stevens Jr.,  Roger “Bad Haircut” Sheehan and Nancy Millette-Doucet), this is what is going to happen to the grant and loan money that they’ll be eligible for.

Car washes, cruises and much more!

It’s too bad that she wasn’t held on bail because then her cronies could start up a bottle fund for her bail money.

She’ll need money if she goes to jail so they should get to work on that fund, pronto!

More information on April Merrill’s arrest

Today’s Burlington Free Press has an article with more information on the arrest of April Merrill. Link and image are below:

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110202/NEWS02/110202015/Prominent-Abenaki-leader-accused-of-exploiting-vulnerable-adult

Note: The caption underneath the photo is not my own.

I do want to stress that if the Abenaki Alliance is granted recognition, that it’s possible we could see more headlines like this.  It cannot be of great comfort to the state of Vermont to know that April Merrill is capable of mismanaging such finances. She’s not the only one within the Alliance with this capability though.

Rhetoric aside, the facts speak for themselves and will become more apparent over time. This is certainly not an isolated incident, but rather a sign of things that could come, especially if the Alliance groups are awarded state and/or federal grants.

More to come as this story unfolds.

Alliance Pulls The Media Strings (Burlington Free Press)

They’ve really been on a blitz lately, turning to their allies in the Vermont print and broadcast media to prop them up every time someone challenges their little world.

Burlington Free Press article 1/20/11

MONTPELIER — Two Vermont Abenaki tribes are ready to have the state Legislature decide whether to grant them official recognition, and two more appear headed that way under new rules the tribes hope will end a long and frustrating process.

The Nulhegan band based in Brownington and the Elnu based in Jamaica won the recommendation of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, which has turned the applications to legislators.

“We are finally reaching the apex,” commission Chairman Luke Willard said Wednesday at a Statehouse news conference announcing the applications. “I do believe 2011 is the year.”

“This gives us our identity,” said Don Stevens of Shelburne, chief of the Nulhegan band.

The bands are seeking official state recognition they say will allow members to apply for scholarships set aside for American Indians and to meet federal rules for selling arts and crafts as native-made. Legislators established this new process for recognition last year.

Two more Abenaki bands aren’t far behind in seeking recognition.

The Koasek of the Koas based in Newbury won the commission’s recommendation, and the state’s largest band, the Missisquoi, filed its application with the commission Wednesday afternoon. The commission will prepare a report and forward it to the Legislature on the Koasek and will appoint a panel of experts to review the Missisquoi application, Willard said.

April St. Francis Merrill, chief of the Missisquoi Abenaki based in Swanton, handed out bound copies of the application to commission members. For her, it was an emotional moment. Wednesday would have been her father’s 76th birthday, she said. Homer St. Francis was the fiery longtime chief of the Missisquoi band who fought for state and federal recognition. He died in 2001.

“If it weren’t for my father, none of this would be happening,” Merrill said of the state recognition effort.

Efforts during the past 17 years to attain state recognition have run into repeated roadblocks. Abenaki were granted recognition in 1976 only to have it rescinded the next year over fears that it would lead to federal recognition and land claims. Legislation in 2006 simply granting overall recognition failed to meet federal guidelines for recognition.

That led lawmakers last year, through tenuous negotiations, to set up a new process by which bands would apply to the commission for recognition with detailed information about the bands’ members and links to Vermont. Three outside scholars then review the information and decide whether it meets specific criteria. The commission then decides whether to recommend recognition to the Legislature. Lawmakers then vote whether to grant the band recognition.

The law specifies that recognition does not allow the bands to make land claims and establish casinos, as American Indians have done in other states.

Although four bands acted relatively quickly to seek recognition, handing over tribal information for public perusal also gave members pause. Vermont Abenaki long have been wary of making the names of their members public.

In the late 1920s, Vermont Abenaki were subjected to a state-sponsored eugenics campaign that promoted the sterilization of Abenaki as an undesirable population, and for tribal members to deny their heritage.

Mistrust also runs strong among bands of American Indians, some challenging the authenticity and motives of others, with malicious comments spread on the Internet.

The Missisquoi withdrew an application for recognition in the 1980s rather than publicly list its members, Merrill said, but she hopes times have changed, and the information won’t be used against anyone.

Merrill said she had mixed feelings as she submitted her band’s application Wednesday. “We’ve been through this process and had it taken away so many times,” she said, but she added, “We have a good feeling about it.”

Stevens, a former member of the Missisquoi band who joined the Nulhegan after research showed his family had roots there, said receiving recognition will be worth it. He pointed to a silver bracelet on his arm made by a member of his tribe who would be able to sell such jewelry legally as Abenaki-made — likely earning a higher price and generating more demand — if the band earns recognition.

“This process has been bittersweet, because we’re the only people on the face of the earth that have to prove who we are,” Stevens said.

 

Of course, they call comments like mine “malicious” but the only thing that’s malicious here is the way the VCNAA deals with this recognition issue

They submit applications with Frederick Matthew Wiseman’s “criteria” to a commission that contains members or allies  of each incorporation, who then proceed to “rubber-stamp” their approval. The application goes to a committee chaired by one of their allies (honorary Clan of the Hawk “chief”, Vince Illuzzi), who will most certainly send it along its’ way to the rest of their cronies.

Yeah, nothing malicious to see here people. Move along.

The Burlington Free Press wouldn’t know the truth if it landed on their pages. That’s what they get for being a Gannett publication, only interested in publishing PR fluff. They’ve completely forgotten how to be actual journalists.

Something sure smells rotten in the State of Vermont and the stench is coming from Montpeculiar.

But, the process will play out as it may. If these incorporations get exactly what they want, the state of Vermont will be left with a huge PR disaster, once the corruption reaches the noses of the Federal government.

I’m sorry if I come off as crass and rude here. If you read a newspaper 50-60 years ago, you would see articles with content similar to what I write, criticizing each of these incorporations and their motives.

Instead, the Burlington Free Press rolls over and plays dead while these people bring their circus antics to their front pages.