Mr. Berman also picked up another partner, Alpha Hospitality, a gambling company that already had a deal with the Mohawks to run an off-reservation casino.

In October 1995, the vessel and its supporting infrastructure were acquired by Alpha Hospitality.

In the 1990's, the tribe and the company, formerly known as Alpha Hospitality, proposed building a casino on 29 acres at the racetrack.

Then there was Alpha Hospitality, where he became a director in 1993.

Alpha Hospitality's founder, Stanley S. Tollman, and four other men were indicted a year ago on tax evasion charges in connection with a separate hotel company.

Mr. Berman approached the Mohawks, who embraced the idea and asked him to work with Alpha Hospitality.

But in a surprising turn, the Mohawks jettisoned Alpha Hospitality and signed a new deal with Park Place Entertainment, then the largest gambling company in the world.

A week later, the chiefs told Thomas Aro, a vice president of Alpha Hospitality, that Park Place was interested in the raceway project.

Several of his partners in the deal, at a company called Alpha Hospitality, were indicted on tax-evasion charges in connection with a separate hotel company.

"I did get a call from Mr. Cummis," said Thomas Aro, executive vice president of Alpha Hospitality.