Unkechaug's Mastic tribe replaces chief

Long-serving Unkechaug Indian Nation leader Harry Wallace has been replaced as chief of the Mastic tribe after a contested election on the Poospatuck Reservation earlier this month.

His replacement, tribal member Matthew Carroll, 51, was expected to take part in a tribal meeting last night. He could not be reached for comment.

An early April election was voided because a nontribal member voted, according to tribal officials and John Strong, a local historian who has written extensively about Long Island Indians.

A second election was held a week later, and Carroll was elected chief. No voting totals were available. Several new trustees were also elected, tribal members said. An official list of the winners was not available.

Wallace, 57, who had served as chief for 17 consecutive one-year terms, said in an interview Wednesday that he'll continue to operate a trading post on the reservation and will remain active in cultural activities.

John Maynes, a tribal member who filed a lawsuit against Wallace contesting his Unkechaug lineage, said he welcomed the new chief. "I'm hopeful that he's going to make changes," he said.

Maynes, who recently moved onto the reservation, said his original state lawsuit was thrown out of court, but a federal suit remains active.

Other tribal members said it was time for change.

"Harry was there for a long time," said Benny Morin, 49, a tribal member who lives on the reservation. "It is good to have change."

He called Carroll "a strong man. I think he'll be great."

Under Wallace, the Unkechaug tribe saw renovation and replacement of older homes and trailers, new roads and construction of a community center. Wallace instituted a surcharge on dozens of smoke shops operating on the reservation to fund the upgrades and community center.

Poospatuck smoke shops have been the subject of police raids and lawsuits, and a frequent target of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg has said Poospatuck shops are skirting state law requiring collection of taxes.

Some tribal members have harbored concerns that nontribal members were benefiting from smoke shops, an issue Morin said he hopes the new chief will address.

"That's one of the issues they'll be bringing up -- people being here who don't belong here, especially smoke shop owners," Morin said. "Most of these guys come in, they reap the benefits and don't give back."

Wallace said he hopes the new administration follows through on initiatives he started, including litigation to fight for the tribe's right to sell cigarettes free of state taxes and the community center. Under Wallace, the tribe received a 2009 ruling in federal court that declared the Unkechaug a sovereign nation, a victory that some said could clear the way for land claims.

Wallace called his 17-year tenure "a lot of work, a lot of time and a lot of emotion. I don't regret any of it . . . I'm going to be busy. They can't put me out to pasture."