Crime

‘You Hate the Indians!’: NY State Sen. & Wife Attacked at Seneca Nation Casino

You Hate the Indians!: NY State Sen. Mark Grisanti and Wife Attacked at Seneca Nation Casino

New York State Sen. Mark Grisanti and his wife Maria said they were attacked at a Seneca Nation casino Friday night. (Image source: Buffalo News)

A New York state senator and his wife were attacked and beaten at a Seneca Nation casino hotel in Niagara Falls after the lawmaker tried to break up an argument between two men, one of whom accused him of hating the Indian tribe, the Associated Press reported.

Sen. Mark Grisanti and his wife Maria had been attending a fundraising gala for the Seneca Diabetes Foundation Friday when he noticed two Native American men looking like they were about to fight, according to the New York Post. Grisanti approached the men and tried to diffuse the situation.

“He basically asked who I was, in a certain fashion. And I didn’t answer him. And he asked again, and I said, “I’m Mark Grisanti. I’m a New York state senator. And he made a comment like, ‘You haven’t done [blank] for the Senecas,’ and then punched me in the rib,” Grisanti, a Republican whose district includes Niagara Falls, told Buffalo’s WIVB-TV.

According to the Post, Grisanti was also told he was “no [blanking] good. You hate the Indians!” The senator was then punched in the side of the head.

When Maria Grisanti tried to come to his aid, she said she was attacked by two women who appeared to be with the men fighting with her husband.

“I didn’t even know what hit me,” Maria Grisanti told WIVB. “All I knew is I hit the ground, I was down, with two girls on top of me who straddled me, picked me up by my head and just kept continuously slamming.”

The senator walked away without serious injury, but his wife ended up with a concussion and bruising around her face.

You Hate the Indians!: NY State Sen. Mark Grisanti and Wife Attacked at Seneca Nation Casino

New York State Sen. Mark Grisanti and his wife were attacked at the Seneca Niagara Casino Friday night.

Mark Grisanti said the men who attacked him left without being being detained. According to the AP, Niagara Falls police Superintendent John Chella said detectives were “reviewing the situation and investigating any and all facts to determine what exactly took place.“ He added that ”once the facts are determined,“ police will decide ”what course of action to take, if any.”

In a statement, Seneca Nation President Robert Odawi Porter expressed regret over the incident and said he hoped Maria Grisanti would recover quickly.

“I would hope for better behavior and conduct from everyone at such an event as this, although it transpired sometime after the gala ended,” he said. “Sadly, one cannot control individual behavior.”

According to the Associated Press, the Seneca Nation has been in conflict with state lawmakers over issues related to its sovereignty, including revenue from tribal casinos and its right to sell cigarettes without collecting state taxes.

Grisanti said he doesn’t blame the tribe for what happened, saying they’ve always had a good relationship.

“It was just a very strange night,” he said.

Comments (196)

1 2 3 ... 5
  • Devil Dog 7175
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:14am

    You havn’t given me… You havn’t done enough for me… You havn’t catered to me… You havn’t fed and clothed me… HEY AZZ WIPE (clue) DO IT FOR YOUR SELF! And don’t give me this crap about being held back… Cut off the “Gubment stash checks” and get a job! And by the way… IN A CASINO???? How bout spending some time on a company payroll for a change.

    Report Post » Devil Dog 7175  
    • Thunder Bear
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:58am

      Hey azz wipe, using your words, ever hear of a federal treaty. They are a SOVEREIGN NATION BY FEDERAL TREATY!!!! The state has NO authority to do ANYTHING. If you had ever been on the rez you would know there are a whole lot more working for the Seneca Nation, including the casino, than are on welfare. Do some research before you make a fool of yourself again.

      Report Post »  
    • junior1971
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 11:06am

      Hey thunderwear, if a sovereign nation allows it’s citizens to attack the people of this nation, then perhaps military action is in order. Don’t you think? As if the tribes were any less war-like than my ancestors. Give me a break. Some people are just poor losers.

      Report Post » junior1971  
    • Msgt Ret
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 11:20am

      I’ve had a lot of experience with a so called tribes “SOVEREIGN NATION BY FEDERAL TREATY” having worked for one for 11 years. Their so called Sovereign nation status is only thrown in everyones face when it suits them. When it comes to their schools, roads, government checks, food stamps, government $$$ if you graduate from high school, and medical care then they all line up and forget they want to be “Sovereign”

      Report Post » Msgt Ret  
    • thekuligs
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 11:21am

      I always wondered why, if they are a “SOVEREIGN NATION” we have to give them any type of assistance at all. I didn’t personally screw over any Indians, and I didn’t inslave any black people. But it’s like we will pay for those acts by others until the end of time.

      Report Post » thekuligs  
    • hidden_lion
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 2:47pm

      We have to give them assistance, because we screwed them out of the good property. The money given them is a pittance compared to what we took. We violated more treaties than we kept. We can’t do anything to fix the past, but we can start by letting them run their business and keep the government out of it. A contract is a contract.

      Report Post » hidden_lion  
    • southernloyalty
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 4:06pm

      What do yo mean we. I didn’t do anything to the Indians. Personally I’m sick of the guilt trip. One civilization was conquered and replaced by a more advanced civilization. Its happened throughout history all over the world from the begining of time to present day. The Indians are no more special than any other group. I guess they should have evolved better and fought off the Europeans. Unfortunately for them they didn’t and they lost. Only in America do people pay other defeated people from the far past for things that happened hundreds of years ago because we all suffer from a guilt trip like a bunch of sissys.

      Report Post »  
    • Patrick Henry II
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 7:26pm

      @ thekuligs
      I know for a fact that some the “Indian” peoples from that region in history owned slaves and indentured servants. Maybe they owe reperations for that. lol…
      I wish people would get over their little differences.

      Report Post » Patrick Henry II  
    • Lucy Larue
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 7:59pm

      DEVIL DOG 7175,

      I may have said what you said a little less graphically but you are correct.
      It is DISGUSTING that in 2012 we STILL have “Indian Reservations”.
      We need to eradicate the Bureau of Indian Affairs and do away with reservations!

      Yeah Indians you got a raw deal over 200 years ago. Deal with it. You’re Americans! Act like it!

      Report Post »  
    • RJJinGadsden
      Posted on February 13, 2012 at 7:38am

      Let us not forget how the federal government treats the “Sovereign States.”

      Report Post » RJJinGadsden  
  • jungle J
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:12am

    Obama has the lazy and dishonest riled up…this is what he wants and only the sane understand that.

    Report Post »  
  • JustJason
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:11am

    Nothing except spend money at their casino when vegas is allot better.

    Report Post »  
  • macpappy
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:08am

    Thats funny, selling snake oil on a thread about Indians, and rip-off casinos.
    Your selling future is not so bright.

    Report Post » macpappy  
  • Mess23
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:06am

    How dare the state touch their entitlements? Is this the same tribe suing the corner store for selling them the beer that is causing them to be alcoholics?

    Outside of Navada, why are the Native Americans to only ones allowed to monopolize on the casino industry?

    Entitlements will be the death of this country.

    Report Post »  
    • macpappy
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 11:03am

      The country will survive, but our Republic will die if we conservatives do not take at least the Senate. Harry Reid has to go, his leaving office might even be more important than Obama leaving office.
      In a world of Justice, the Republicans would take the Oval Office, keep the House, and take command of the Senate. However, we all know that there is no such thing as guaranteed justice, The media has made the Republican Primary a joke, through character assassination has eliminated the only real conservatives that would run, and left with with the choice that MSM wants us to have to begin with. Even though forced to hold our noses to vote for POTUS, we must win the Senate or nothing else matters. Even with the POTUS, and the House, being conservative; Harry Reid can still stop any legislation from passing.

      Report Post » macpappy  
  • progressiveslayer
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:06am

    I found the security video of the alleged incident.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcr6opqAFVU&feature=related

    Report Post » progressiveslayer  
    • RJJinGadsden
      Posted on February 13, 2012 at 7:47am

      PROGRESSIVESLAYER, LOL, haven’t been a huge fan of South Park, but that scene hit the spot.

      Report Post » RJJinGadsden  
    • JESUSTRUEWAY
      Posted on February 14, 2012 at 11:03pm

      @progressiveslayer- YOU SOUND LIKE SUCH A FOOL!!!

      Report Post » JESUSTRUEWAY  
  • ares338
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:57am

    It’s funny….casinos never make anybody rich except a few people! People never understand this. I would never want one close to me. I refuse to gamble in one. Everything is stacked in their favor; hel1 they even say you can’t use your own brain (card counting) so srcoo um. If I want to gamble, I have a game with friends.

    Report Post » ares338  
  • wolverine
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:54am

    as person of western heritage yiu know what we say about good indians

    Report Post » wolverine  
  • 00gabooga
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:51am

    Fire-water makum me less tolerant of Pale-faces, especially when they interrupt pow-wow.

    Big-heap wampum make this problem go away.

    Report Post » 00gabooga  
  • macpappy
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:50am

    when a kid, I am proud to say I always played the cowboy,

    Report Post » macpappy  
    • AmazingGrace8
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:50am

      My brother, a few years older than me, and I always played Indians (we are not Indians), never cowboys. My brother is an atheist and a radical-liberal….I am a Born-Again-Christian and conservative. p.s. we always had great debates, however, when the health-care issue was going on, I said it was leading this country towards socialism and he called me…..wait for it……A RACIST!!!

      Report Post »  
    • JESUSTRUEWAY
      Posted on February 14, 2012 at 11:09pm

      @ macpappy- you are such a fool & a idiot!

      Report Post » JESUSTRUEWAY  
  • progressiveslayer
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:47am

    These Indians sound like savages and they‘re lucky they weren’t scalped,and why are they bitch!n they own casinos? They’re awash in millions of dollars so stop complaining.

    Report Post » progressiveslayer  
    • CatB
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 11:23am

      “Mark Grisanti said the men who attacked him left without being being detained. According to the AP, Niagara Falls police Superintendent John Chella said detectives were “reviewing the situation and investigating any and all facts to determine what exactly took place.“ He added that ”once the facts are determined,“ police will decide ”what course of action to take, if any.”

      WTF??? Cowboys afraid of Indians claiming “tribal land” .. that is why I avoid Indian Casinos .. no LAW in them.

      Report Post »  
  • cristo52
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:43am

    This is what happens when Hollywood stops making good Westerns.

    Report Post »  
  • C. Schwehr
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:39am

    Sounds like this was a setup to get this Senator and his wife….nobody was detained? With security all around the casino? This was a set up by the casino OWNERS (the tribe)! At least I know one casino to never step foot in…..

    Report Post »  
  • canadianlady
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:38am

    This is the product of the four years of divisive class warfare brought on by Barack Obama and his evil administration.

    Report Post »  
  • shagstar
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:37am

    now this, is a heart warming story i would like to see everyday! good job blaze and give those indians my thanks! senator dumb a$$ and his chicken hawk wife are lucky they were not scalped! lol

    Report Post » shagstar  
  • disenlightened
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:37am

    Cigarettes, booze and gambling. Native-American life in a nutshell. Who say‘s they haven’t progressed? They used to live in tents, defecate in the woods and move with the weather.

    Report Post » disenlightened  
    • Polarized America
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:55am

      i roll my own. make my own beer,i love to play Texas hold- um. and last summer i pooped in an outhouse while camping in the northeast last summer, then i moved to Florida for the winter ..;-0

      Report Post »  
    • disenlightened
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:10am

      @BIG CHIEF POLARIZED AMERICA
      Welcome to the tribe. Here, I’ve got a blanket for ya :)

      Report Post » disenlightened  
    • Polarized America
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:25am

      Well thank you Mr. Carson ( aka disenlightened ) I‘m just glad that I’ve been vaccinated… *l*

      Report Post »  
    • Mtroom
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:29am

      Why are you attacking me, I have done nothing to any of you…I don’t smoke, drink or gamble…Have only stepped into a casino once in my life..and that was for a buffet…All you people make me sick..Heap everyone into four idiots actions.. Call yourselves righteous rulers of America, and don’t even know what America stands for..Get all bent when some group call you tea party people racist, and you go off and prove their point..You know nothing of what my tribe has done for this country..You know nothing of how my tribe lives..You go to your church and claim falsehoods about loving mankind, yada,yada, yada…And you wonder why your losing your country…Think you are any better than these four idiots…Your not, your just like them..Keep listening to your teachings of us being savages, because we will still be here when you lose your country…Stu’pid Americans

      Report Post » Mtroom  
    • disenlightened
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:34am

      @MTROOM
      Hey kid, come here. Pull my finger.

      Report Post » disenlightened  
    • Mtroom
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:57am

      @ disenlightened..Sure, anytime…Come on down, I’ve got a nice TEEPEE you can stay in, unless the weather changes and we have to move…Need some cigarettes?.. You are really brave sitting at a computer…You still in your moms basement?..Drinking mountain dew by the case so you have something to P in? Hey, when you went to school, did you ride on a long bus or a short bus?…Did you wear hockey equipment when you weren’t on a team?..

      Report Post » Mtroom  
    • Polarized America
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 11:00am

      Nice to meet you Mtroom, you and i have something in common, so please relax
      some people like to put people in groups instead of treating them as individuals.
      and i find that having a sense of humor is good medicine

      Report Post »  
    • disenlightened
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 5:40pm

      @MTROOM
      Now, we know you don’t have a teepee. You guys are in doublewides now. And that‘s pretty good for a group who’s crowning achievement was the flint arrowhead. If you guys had thought of the wheel you might have had a chance, but you didn’t. Now, shut up and assimilate.

      Report Post » disenlightened  
    • JESUSTRUEWAY
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 8:30pm

      @ DISENLIGHTENED: you sound as if you have a problem with native americans! why is that? im a proud cherokee indian with a college degree, a tea party republican, i have a well paid job in the private-sector, i dont drink, smoke, or gamble, i live in a very nice roofed & bricked 2,200 sq/ft home in tulsa, oklahoma, i have a wonderful & beautiful wife and two boys which we all love our Lord Jesus Christ. and yes- we live a very normal and modern life in america. so DISENLIGHTENED- tell me ‘THE TRUTH’ about your life! my friends & i are interested to know how progressive your kind do! your right ‘MTROOM’- he needs to ask his mother if he can get out of the basement and see the real world :) p.s. well said ‘MTROOM’

      Report Post » JESUSTRUEWAY  
    • JESUSTRUEWAY
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:23pm

      just what i thought- no response. DISENLIGHTENED AND THE OTHERS NATIVE AMERICAN BASHERS- most of you’ll dont have anything worthy of posting about your lives. so all i can do is pray for you :)

      Report Post » JESUSTRUEWAY  
    • disenlightened
      Posted on February 13, 2012 at 8:02am

      I hate gambling, and anyone associated with it. It destroys lives and communities. It’s disgusting to see a group of people pinning their future to it. It’s as simple as that.

      Report Post » disenlightened  
  • the58thstate
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:35am

    a dem being attacked by his product. funny.

    Report Post »  
    • MYHEROISRON
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:48am

      Hi how are ya, hi how are ya, hi how are ya …

      Report Post » MYHEROISRON  
    • Choctaw25
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:54am

      Did I misread the article? My copy stated that he was a Republican.

      Report Post » Choctaw25  
    • hillbillyinny
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:05am

      @ the58thstate,

      Did you READ the story? And I quote, “. . . Grisanti, a REPUBLICAN whose district includes Niagara Falls, . . . ” (Emphasis mine)

      Report Post »  
    • macpappy
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:07am

      You should read the articles you comment on, the Rep. was a Republican

      Report Post » macpappy  
    • the58thstate
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 12:53pm

      i dont look at the r or d so much, i look more at the voting record. he was the vote that put gay marriage over the top. check it out and see where his loyalties are. he isnt a conservative and at best he’s a liberal republican. regardless of what he calls himself he is more in line with dems. btw i do read any article i post on. i say again its funny when these DEMS get attacked by their product.

      Report Post »  
  • Jezcruzen
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:35am

    I don’t know squat about the modern Senaca except they are but a shadow of their former selves. Indian reservations in general are the most hopeless and destitute places in the country. Alcoholism, obesity, and diabetes are rampant, as is unemployment. Most have only been able to create any income by selling vice – casinos and cigarettes. Every one of them would say its the “white man’s” fault! As long as they use that crutch they are well on the way to simply fading away forever.

    You can‘t help someone that won’t help themselves, but instead wallow in their victimhood.

    Report Post »  
    • SovereignSoul
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 3:40pm

      What would you like them to do; rise up and take their country back?

      Report Post » SovereignSoul  
  • hersey10
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:33am

    Where’s the video ? Release it or it didn’t happen . There is ZERO chance that it wasn’t caught by surveillance ……if it even happened .

    Report Post » hersey10  
    • macpappy
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:40am

      One has to ask, “did this really happen?”. Not news on Fox, Cnn, MSBC, or any other news outlet at all.
      If it did happen, why is it not news? If it did happen, then the Main stream media is hidding this incident, like it does all attacks on whites, by minorities.

      Report Post » macpappy  
    • sermaus
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 11:07am

      Even with a video an witnesses, tribal lands are subject to a very different set of rules, the local police wont even investigate, if the do they will set a precedent and that’s not good for them

      Report Post »  
    • Msgt Ret
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 11:31am

      In the state I’m from the settlement used to have a contract with the County Sheriff for law-enforcement. They now have their own police force trained at the State’s Law Enforcement Academy. They have to follow and enforce state as well as tribal law. Tribal members are/and can be subject to both…mookaman is not subject to tribal law!

      Report Post » Msgt Ret  
    • Msgt Ret
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 11:43am

      I should add that the tribal police do give a lot of rides home rather than file charges…enablers.

      Report Post » Msgt Ret  
  • Thighmaster
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:25am

    I‘ve always heard you can’t give them whiskey..

    Report Post » Thighmaster  
  • Dahart
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:20am

    The behavior of those Pepole is despicable,but the Indians have been trying to do for themselves for years but local,state and federal governments keep getting in the way.

    Report Post » Dahart  
    • macpappy
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:47am

      BS, I’ve been involved with Indians before, and have visited most reservations; and saying that the indians are trying to help themselves is BS. They are no different than any other group of folks that receive monthly checks for being indian. America does not owe the Indians anything, just like the US does not owe the black man anything. Two peas in a pod if you ask me. By the second week of every month, they will be sitting on their porches waiting on the “govment check” to arrive. I for one am tired of helping these miscreents to carry on.

      Report Post » macpappy  
    • JESUSTRUEWAY
      Posted on February 14, 2012 at 11:21pm

      @MACPAPPY- truth to be know, you are the one of the 49% that depend on Odumba’s entitlements and bogus disability checks each week! get a life.

      Report Post » JESUSTRUEWAY  
  • SpankDaMonkey
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:18am

    .
    Good for the Seneca Nation……

    More people need to beat the crap out of Democrat Lawmakers, then maybe they would not pass such stupid laws……………….

    Report Post » SpankDaMonkey  
    • C. Schwehr
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:36am

      Yup, more people need to be seriously injured so that a few low-lifes will feel better about the fact that they are voluntarily dependent on the federal government.

      Report Post »  
    • macpappy
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:11am

      the law maker was Republican. You might want to tone down the “lets attack lawmakers” post, before you get a visit from the Men in Black; they are monitoring this site.

      Report Post » macpappy  
  • Baddoggy
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:16am

    Was this the woo woo Indian or the one who takes money at the Quickie Mart? Oh wait, I know…It’s the Government teat sucker kind.

    Report Post » Baddoggy  
    • TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:18am

      Lt. Kernal BADDOGGY. Ya’ know, you shouldn’t knock all Native-Americans with such a generalized statement as “Governement teat sucker kind.” Russell Means (Native-American Activist and Libertarian) endorsed your giggly geezer dontcha’ know.

      Ron Paul supporters have a way of speaking with forked tongue while trying to do it with foot in mouth. Kernal BADDOGGY… is a pro at it.

      Report Post » TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12  
    • progressiveslayer
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:33am

      Time 2 See a shrink for your obsession with RP,you really do need to make that appointment for your well being.In the mean time stay away from firearms and sharp objects.

      Report Post » progressiveslayer  
    • TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:45am

      SLAYER. What? You jealous that I use your guy’s name in my postings than you do? Don’t whine! I give your guy more coverage than all the major networks combined. No black-out where I’m concerned!!

      Report Post » TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12  
    • RepubliCorp
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 11:12am

      Behind the curtain: What Paulbots really think
      http://vnnforum.com/showthread.php?t=48779

      Report Post » RepubliCorp  
    • proliance
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 11:45am

      Ignore Baddoggy. He’s a racist and bigot.

      Report Post » proliance  
    • progressiveslayer
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 2:44pm

      Time 2 That’s a good first step,you’ve admitted you have a problem,your obsession with Ron Paul now make the next step and see the shrink,your fellow bloggers will be thankful you’re seeking help.

      And you’re welcome.

      Report Post » progressiveslayer  
  • democritusoilder267
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:14am

    In this country we’re more divided by race then anything I have seen. This is getting out of control. Terrible situation but you can never help these people; they will also feel entitled to anything the government will give them. In my honest opinion humans are disgusting animals most of the time.

    Report Post » democritusoilder267  
    • progressiveslayer
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:34am

      Bingo! All minorities will milk the system for all it‘s worth until we’re bankrupt,then we will see their true rage.Most people think if they have half a chance of getting away with something they’ll go for it.The only way to eliminate fraud in all these unconstitutional programs is to end the programs.

      Report Post » progressiveslayer  
  • The_Jerk
    Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:11am

    Another victimhood claiming minority wanting others to do for them, that which they should be doing for themselves.

    Report Post »  
    • M13
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:22am

      Maybe you should wait until you sober up before you post something because once again you aren’t making any sense.

      Report Post »  
    • Jenny Lind
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 9:54am

      sounds sober to me.

      Report Post »  
    • disenlightened
      Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:15am

      He does drink a lot.

      Report Post » disenlightened  
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