According to Exhibit D, ‘Promissory Note,’ of Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Contract #SEP FY10-20265, Oneida Energy, Inc. – a subsidiary of Oneida Seven Generations Corporation – was to commence repayment of a $2,000,000 loan beginning May 1, 2012 in the amount of $34,998/month on the principal and $3,334/month in interest for a total monthly expense of $38,332.
Is it possible that those payments are not being made by Oneida Energy but instead being paid from the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin’s General Fund as is the case with $750,000 that the Oneida Business Committee made available to OSGC to pay for the services of law firm Godfrey & Kahn for OSGC’s failed lawsuit against the City of Green Bay and their current attempt at an appeal?
Before ‘loaning’ OSGC $750,000 for legal fees, did OBC consider suggesting salary reductions to cover the costs? We know from a ‘Corporate Certificate’ in SEP FY10-20265 that, as of November 16, 2011, the following OSGC officers and Board members held these positions with Oneida Energy:
- Atty. William Cornelius – President & Chairman
- Michael Metoxen – Secretary
- Kevin Cornelius – CEO
- Nathaniel King – Director
What we don’t know are the specific salaries of these Oneida Energy officers because Exhibit F of SEP FY10-20265 verifies that:
The public does not have access to information about the compensation of the senior executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
This suggests that the officers/executives listed above receive salaries from both OSGC and Oneida Energy. Do they also receive salaries from Green Bay Renewable Energy, LLC; IEP Development, LLC; Oneida-Kodiak Construction, LLC; Glory, LLC; O-Hare, LLC; Oneida Generations, LLC; or any of the other enterprises associated with OSGC?
Shouldn’t OSGC’s shareholder – General Tribal Council – be informed as to what OSGC and Oneida Energy officers/executives are being paid and what salaries they may be receiving from related enterprises, as well as any outstanding debts that OSGC & affiliates may owe the Oneida Tribe?
Apparently GTC will have to demand to know the answers, because OBC & OSGC seem to think they have a reason to not tell us.
The Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin is going to give the Oneida Casino a $28 million facelift to better compete in a time of declining gaming revenue, but the Oneida Gaming Commission deserves a major excision.
As noted, Attorney William Cornelius is Counsel for the Oneida Gaming Commission as well as President & Chairperson of Oneida Seven Generations Corporation (OSGC) and Oneida Energy, Inc.
The Gaming Commission is responsible for the issuance of Gaming Licenses to Oneida Casino employees. Qualifying for a license requires one to abstain from fraud and avoid associations with those who perpetrate fraud. Violation of those standards results in license revocation, therefore the Oneida Gaming Commission and its Counsel must be held firm to the high standards of honesty and integrity they are supposed to enforce in keeping with the Oneida Gaming Ordinance.
Here are the reasons why Oneida Eye believes that Atty. William Cornelius should resign or otherwise be removed from the Oneida Gaming Commission:
- OSGC has made multiple misrepresentations of material fact to the public & elected officials
On January 9, 2013 Brown County Judge Marc A. Hammer adjudicated in Case No. 2012CV2263 that OSGC made several material misrepresentations to the public and elected officials (see pages 90-92).
- OSGC is associated with the subsidiary of a known corrupt corporation
Public information regarding associations between OSGC and Marubeni subsidiary PIC Group raise serious concerns as to why OSGC would partner with PIC and how PIC obtained their agreement with OSGC.
PIC to Operate New Biomass Gasification Plant
PIC is pleased to announce that it has entered into a full care, custody and control Operations and Maintenance agreement with Oneida Energy for a new biomass gasification project located in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
As of March 2008, PIC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marubeni Group, a publicly listed company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan with $41.1 billion in revenue.
Marubeni Corporation has agreed to pay a $54.6 million criminal penalty to resolve charges related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for its participation in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts, the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced today.
- OSGC wrongly withholds financial & familial audits as well as investor information from OBC & GTC
OSGC has been delinquent in making audits and investor information available to OBC and Oneida General Tribal Council (GTC) as required by OSGC’s Corporate Charter and GTC & OBC directives. One has to wonder if that’s due to financial shenanigans or if OSGC is trying to hide other questionable partnerships, investors or activities.
- Attorney William Cornelius apparently made false representation of his OSGC Board membership and office in a loan document with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
An April 26, 2013 Memorandum from Oneida Tribal Secretary Patty Hoeft states:
William Cornelius’ term expired Sept. 13, 2011. He was appointed by the BC and administered an oath of office on Feb. 22, 2012 to a second term.
However, Exhibit E, ‘Unlimited Guaranty,’ from Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Contract SEP FY10-20265 regarding a $2,000,000 loan to Oneida Energy, Inc., for which OSGC acted as the Guarantor shows at the bottom of page 4 that it was signed Atty. William Cornelius representing himself as Chairman of OSGC on November 16, 2011 – two months after his OSGC Board term had expired and three months before he was reappointed and sworn in.
- Attorney William Cornelius poses risks to the reputations and morale of the Oneida Gaming Commission & the Oneida Casino
As President & Chairperson of OSGC, William Cornelius is responsible for actions taken or neglected on his watch, and it seems that the only explanations for OSGC’s corporate misconduct boil down to two possibilities:
- Gross incompetence & intransigence on an organization-wide level;
- Intentional deceit, including grossly incompetent attempts at deceit.
No one who leads a company characterized by either of the above, which makes multiple misrepresentations of material fact to the public & elected officials, which enters agreements with the subsidiary of a known corrupt corporation, which fails to meet financial, familial & investor reporting obligations, and who themselves personally makes false representation of their Tribally chartered corporation Board membership and office in a loan document is fit to serve as Oneida Gaming Commission Counsel.
Based on the above information, Oneida Eye believes it’s in the best interest of the Oneida Tribe, the Oneida Gaming Commission, and Oneida Gaming & Retail operations for Atty. William Cornelius to step down or be otherwise removed as Gaming Commission Counsel lest actions by him, OSGC, its personnel or its associated enterprises diminish the perception internally and externally of the scrupulosity of the Oneida Gaming Commission and/or Oneida Casino.
In light of the Oneida Gaming Commission’s recent call for updated signed acknowledgments by gaming-licensed employees regarding reporting requirements, the Oneida Gaming Commission must lead by example in examining actions and associations of its own commissioners & counsel and enforce high standards of honesty and integrity which OSGC and Atty. William Cornelius appear to fail to abide by.
In a time of declining gaming revenue, the Oneida Tribe cannot afford to risk any public perception that unseemly or dishonest conduct will be tolerated by Oneida Gaming Commission Chairperson Shirley Hill or the Oneida Business Committee.
The General Tribal Council and Casino employees deserve better.
