The Associated Press reports that since his loss in his run for Lt. Governor in Georgia, Ralph Reed has been keeping a low profile – as least from the Texas tribe that is trying to serve him with a lawsuit
A Texas Indian tribe who filed a federal lawsuit against ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates says former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed and another defendant have been avoiding being served with a copy of the suit.
The Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Livingston filed a lawsuit in July alleging the men engaged in fraud and racketeering to shut down the tribe’s casino. Aside from Abramoff and Reed, the suit names their associates, Michael Scanlon, Jon Van Horne and Neil Volz.
Attorney Fred Petti said Van Horne and Reed are making it difficult to serve them “by making themselves unavailable.”
“It’s like they’ve gone underground,” said Petti, one of the tribe’s attorneys.
Once served, the men would have 20 days to answer the suit or file a motion to dismiss it.
“They all know they’ve been sued…because of the media attention,” Petti said. “But you have to physically give them a copy of it.”
According to press reports from when the tribe first filed suit last month
The Alabama-Coushatta said Abramoff and others conspired to defeat a bill in the 2001 Legislature that would have allowed it to operate gaming on its reservation. Reed helped to rally Christians against the bill with a group he formed, Committee Against Gambling, the tribe alleged.
The tribe, which says it has strong Christian values, alleges Reed’s group called state legislators, sent targeted mailings to voters and ran radio ads against the bill without revealing their true origins, preventing the tribe from fighting back.
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Reed’s work made the opposition to the tribe’s casino appear to be based on Christian concerns, not competitive concerns from its sister tribe, the Alabama-Coushatta said.
Had the public or tribe known the Louisiana Coushatta tribe was the main opponent, Christian groups would have been “less mobilized.” Because the Texas and Louisiana tribes share family ties, Louisiana Coushatta members would have opposed the attack on their sister tribe, the Alabama-Coushatta said.
