From: Gary Hunt at the Outpost of Freedom in Golden Hills Paugeesukq Reservation
Date: August 18, 1993 Phone: (203) xxx-xxxxI arrived in Colchester yesterday afternoon at about 12:30. I landed at Hartford -Bradley airport and rode by cab the approximately 25 miles to Colchester. We asked directions when we got into Colchester and as we turned onto Stanavage Road, were stopped by two State Police in two cars. My trunks were in the back of the station wagon (taxi) and they asked if I were carrying guns or cigarettes. I responded by showing them a pack of cigarettes from my shirt pocket, and showed them the tax stamp on the bottom. They asked for my ID and I showed them my infamous Press Pass from Kinko’s in Waco. They then advised me that the Indians had guns, and that I was entering a very "risky" situation. They allowed me to proceed.
I had been speaking with Big T (Tom Bennett) for the past few days. When I arrived, I was given a very warm welcome by all on the Reservation. I was given one end of one of the trailers (a typical construction/ supply trailer) to set up my computer and modem. I was later fed two large meals, and am still trying to "wear them off". I was given a tour of the facilities "on Reservation" and met most of the "warriors" that are protecting the sovereignty of the Reservation.
About 4:00 PM I was given a tour of the perimeter roadways, which are as much as a couple of miles from Reservation property. On this tour, we encountered seven State Police vehicles. One of the officers we spoke with was "off duty" and, presumably, receiving double time pay for his work. Later on in the evening, we made a similar tour and counted seventeen vehicles, including a State Police plain clothes detective who, for some reason, wanted to know my date of birth. I guess he is still attempting to find an answer! We did not cover all of the side roads that are nearby, however in the few side roads we did "check out", we found one State Policeman with a very bright spotlight on his car. He was alone on a dead end street, and I think that he was afraid more than anything else. As we turned around and drove away, he turned his light off.
There are many other side roads that, I have been told, harbor State Troopers hoping to catch a glimpse of Moonface Bear sneaking in, or out of, the Reservation. I imagine there is a promotion in waiting if any should succeed in serving the warrant. This would, however, lead me to believe that as many as 20 - 25 officers may be on duty at any given time. If we use a base pay of, say, $35.00 per hour times the twenty officers we have a cost of $700.00 per hour, twenty-four hours a day. That’s about $17,500.00 per day. The state tax on cigarettes is $4.70 per carton. This means that the cost of subsidizing the "law enforcement" (say tax enforcement) effort costs the "taxpayers" of Connecticut the equivalent tax revenue of over 3700 cartoons of cigarettes per day, nearly four times what the average sales would be. So, for every day that the "Intimidation Team" is on duty, it would take four days of taxed cigarette sales to pay for the effort. And the beat goes on!
Tomorrow I will talk about the "warrant" for Moonface Bear’s arrest. Tonight I will get some much-needed sleep in the beautiful rolling countryside of Connecticut.
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