Akwesasne, NY – The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and Governor Spitzer have asked for a sit-down with Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne over the proposed casino at Monticello Raceway. He’s the man who can grant approval for the tribe’s application to take over 29 acres of land into trust for the proposed Monticello project.

Kempthorne has said he is not a supporter of Native American casinos off tribal lands.

But, the St. Regis Mohawks says they have met all requirements and conditions and they are seeking a decision from the secretary, said tribal spokeswoman Leslie Logan.

“This it the last effort, the last request we will have to make. The tribe has always felt very confident about its trust application,” she said. “We have met the statutory and regulatory requirements and regulations. The application is complete. We just want a decision at this point.”

There is no time limit by which Kempthorne must take action on the application, although Spitzer said, “We cannot afford to delay this project any longer.”

Logan said the tribe has the option of taking the secretary to court to force a decision. “We are looking for a decision one way or another,” she said.

The Mohawk’s want to build a $600 million casino with 3,000 permanent jobs.