Most of yous guys are ignorant and pathetic. Everyone in Baraga root for everyone to fail instead of succeeding. With this economy everyone could use some money. Find a way to get it. The government wastes way to much money. Why not worry about the drugs that all of the kids and adults of this area are doing? To the U.S. government get your priorities straight. I personally know the Fish family very well and know that they are good people. Mr. Fish just knows how to get his own and everyone is jealous and nags on him. If i recall right he has dontated thousands and thousands of dollars back into the county for various reasons. He is a good man and a hard worker who knows how to make a dollar especially in the hard economic times.

I suppose knowingly breaking the "law" should be punished, but let's look a little closer at the laws we all submit to without a second thought.

The vast majority of people in the "land of the free" never stop to question the government's enactment of the excessive cigarette tax in the first place. I was never given the opportunity to vote on that. Who is in control here, the people or the state?

As if the government is justified to do so at will, and then forever more entitled to taxes that make what would be a 50 cent pack of cigarettes cost over $5.

Look around you. The state requires a permit to park, drive, fish, hunt, pitch a tent for pete's sake, plow your own field, or build a fence...and on and on and on...if you are even allowed to do these things at all anymore.

Where does your paycheck go? You are taxed on your income, by the state and the feds, social security tax, medicare tax, sales tax...have you looked at your cell phone bill lately? The lion's share of your hard earned money goes directly to government, and more and more every year.

We are becoming...no, we have become a nation of sheep. The men and women who revolted from Britain in the 1770s would be revolted by us...lazy, satisfied, and undeserving of the country handed down to us. We just accept the high taxes, failing schools, gun control laws, and ever increasing limits on our personal freedoms without so much as a wimper. And let some guys get caught dodging the ever increasing government's demand for more of our money and what happens? More than half of the sheep jump on the bandwagon, happy that the 'criminals' are punished for their crime of not paying what big brother is 'owed'. Why is the government owed 4.50 on every pack of cigarettes sold? Can anyone answer that? Because some bureacrat says so?

Read the Declaration of Independence. People revolted because they were tired of being told what to do, having their money taken away, and their personal freedoms limited. What do Americans do today in the face of this tyranny? Zip. Zero. Nada. Just applause when the unjust laws are enforced. Home of the brave and land of the free? I don't hear the conversation of a free and free thinking people...I hear a herd of 'bahahahah'

I love it....Karma....now take your nose out if the air

well i think there is more to this then unpaid taxes what about the money the used to start and build this operation? did they ever pay back the funds that was given to them. there are many people who know what i am talking about. It was suppose to be a sports shop but i guess they wanted the big money instead. but of course the funds that were transferd through the local bank had reached there hands but somehow the paper work did reach them and the ones involed dont seem to remember how this paper work could have been lost so i guess they have the funds and they dont have to pay the tribe back. thats right the tribe helped build this place. now i want to know what the tribe plans on doing to never let this happen again and also what about this new tribe that these poeple belonged to, i think i heard from a small bird that there parents were going to be rich because of casino they were going to own in the ontenogan area how come we are not hearing about this, was it realy just one man who started that. come on there is so much to tell i think i will just wait to what happens again...

I am laughing at some of the comments. Some are quite funny. But, these are comments and not essays. The comments are made out of anger, frustration, or "Just Because". So to turn all of this into a rip on the teachers or the lack of education is quite comical. Comments are usually written "As We Speak". Grammatical errors should be glossed over. Comments are typed using slang and grammatical errors and even Type-0's. I think the comments should stay with the story.

Don't blame Baraga teachers for lazy students. There are many decent teachers but morons can not be forced to learn...

Who cares, everyone needs to make money ! They could of been selling crack.. Then that would been worth the ATF doing something about it.. Who cares about the tax not being paid the state and feds mishandle the money anyways

OH MY GOD when I seen the nerd post I had to post!!!

I LOVE IT!!! People picking at eachother YES it is their EGO.......and they hate themselves and have to find imperfections in other people HAHAHAHAHA :O

Yay I just moved to Hawaii and I LOVE IT. I love to see all the BS in Baraga though my hometown is pathetic!

Uncle Sam takes all hard peoples money anyways so ...SO WHAT right? I like Joe Fish and Lamb...they are nice guys.....

You know what needs to be fixed in Baraga? Drug problem and there is nothing for kids to do there. What a town.

PS to the home building guys YOU ARE WAY hotter then nerds :D

LMAO

Keep going ! LOL for joy ! Crooks are a dime a dozen around here. I cant wait to see what you find next. You are doing a HUGE service to the Upper Peninsula.

Put them in their place. Behind bars..............

Our small towns have to get clean and stay clean. So many people have a good line to cover their butts and of course they know that the communities need money so that is enough to shut some people up.

The price for shutting up is way to high. It cost our small towns big for generations. It already has. Look around ! Yes I said it ! I does not matter if it is a situation like this or drugs and alcohol. The price is to high.

Everyones deserves a chance. Be it a humble existence or not. So some of these people on here should stop the Ignorant Gossiping and bull so you can work on your own life. You deserve a chance to. Give yourself a break !

I for one have been burned to many times by the ignorance of others and will not tolerate criminals. Here is my advice to you. If you see criminal activity or suspect it make a phone call to the, proper authorities. It may be your grand children's life you are saving. That may seem like and odd concept when you are 25 but think about it. If someone cared enough it may not be you going to jail or getting treatment for substance abuse. Think of the last baby you laughed and played with. What is their future ? You can make a difference NOW !!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope to see local law enforcement develop a health working relationship with some of these agencies that have more resources.

God Bless you all !

feel it is necessary to point out how "normal" people in baraga county do not know how to spell. ain't that just grand!

I do not agree that those who bought their cigarettes are as much to blame as the crooks who sold them. If you go into Citgo or any convenience store do you even question that anything they are selling there is illegal? No. When I bought my cigarette from them, of course I didn't know they were selling them illegally. Get real.
I say this time and time again - Money IS the root of all Evil. Is money that important that you would risk your reputation, your family, your future doing some kind of scam like this. Did you think you would never get caught?
How come everyone involved isn't arrested yet - that's the question. Why are tribal members involved not arrested.
Everyone that said they knew what was going on and everybody knew what was going on. How come nobody did anything about it? I myself didn't know anything was going on because I don't know these people and don't care to know them truthfully. Everything I have heard recently has been nothing but negative.

I work a full time job and have since I've been a teenager. I don't own a hummer, a swimming pool or any other unnecessary luxury - its ridiculous and mocking in the face of all the people who have recently lost their jobs and are homeless due to the economy - not to mention all the homeless and hungry people just in Baraga County. I have a roof over my head, a dependable car to drive and a wonderful, loving family and friends. What more could you want and why? I don't need to keep up with the Jones' because I know who I am and so does God.

People - take a good hard look at yourselves and look at what is important in your life. For one - you can't get buried with all your money and expensive "things". Think about it.

What the hell is wrong w/ all you nerds who like to sit home and pick apart peoples writing skills and grammer.Did you evr think that it doesn't even matter to alot of people if they write or spell perfect it's not an S.A competition like you won in high school. Some people don't have desk jobs or the time to keep up on those kind of skills (like me)and 3/4 of the population and if everybody was like you who would do the real work in this world?You wouldn't be able to buy a house, a car or ever get either of them fixed and lots of other stuff you enjoy would not exist.So grow up and let people talk if your having a hard time understanding what there writing and can't move on past a mis spelled word maybe somesone normal can reads it to you.Oks P.S I hope people realize 9 mil. is a very distorted figure it was leagal to sell them up untill 1 year ago and they lived good but they didn't have that kind of money.Do you realize how much they would have to have earned to owe that much in tax think abouts it manba.

Okay your whole post makes no sense, we are not talking about poor, innocent people that had the ATF come in and take their belongings in front of their kids, they ARE guilty, that is a known fact. The ATF would not come with here with that much force for a what if, or an allegation, they know for a FACT that these individuals have been doing this, for over 2 years. As far as saying everyone else who bought smokes from these people were supporting them, come on, we assume they were running an honest business (and paying taxes)for their product, how is everyone supposed to know they were screwing the government. It is also human nature to wonder where people get the money when they start buying vehicles, boats, and homes, we wonder how they can afford all of that with just cigarettes. So if you think this curiosity is jealousness, think again. Hey if they ran an honest business and bought these things, good for them, what it comes down to is they didn't, and now they have to pay for it. It comes down to guilt or innocence, and they are for a fact guilty, and they WILL get what is coming to them.

If you are committing a Federal crime, you are giving up your right to privacy to the Federal Government. The Federal Government then has every right to enter your property and search and seize items belonging to you as they see fit(without your permission).
There are always going to be people out there somewhere who will be jealous of the items or privileges others have, that is just a part of life. Now if that person goes around flaunting and bragging about all of their toys and privileges than other people are going to talk and get annoyed after a while. So don't be pretentious and don't commit crimes and you won't be the talk of the town.

I actually interviewed in Baraga County for an English teaching position five years ago, and didn't get the job. Too bad--looks like the area could use one.

I'm interested in the depth of involvment of the local banks and businesses. The scope of this amount of money had to be held somewhere?

From a L'Anse Business Owners perspective - I hope this is a sign of good things to come. It's sad to think that you are better off getting arrested for cocaine possession than impaired driving. It's a shame that the Local Police have to take the drug dog through the area schools to do a search for illegal drugs.

Furthermore, if this area is going to survive in the future its time to clean up the trash - this means everyone involved.

I have been reading the comments over the past few days on this story. It saddens me to hear the vicious things everyone has to say about "Mr. Fish," his family, and the others involved in this so called bust. There are innocent children involved in this mess also. Most of us are guilty also related to this matter. I recall many of the Baraga County residents, native, non-native purchasing these so called illegal cigarettes for their own benefit to save a buck. So the ones accused in this matter aren't the only ones guilty of screwing the State of Michigan. These people are human beings just like you and I, they have families they have to support too. People's jealousy of how many vehicles they own or the house they live in is just petty. I've lived in this area all my life, and wether you make an honest living or not, if you have more than someone else they will always critisize you for having it no matter how you accomplished it. Remember everyone, the biggest judge is the dear Lord above. That is the biggest court room everyone should be concerned about. Remember that when your so quick to throw negative and sometimes cruel comments out about your fellow man. These people are humans beings too, they have skin that hurts when you pick at it too. How would you like it if you had complete strangers storm your house, violate you while your young children are present,take basically everything you own besides your underwear, leave you with no money, and no transportation. Can't say I would care for it too much. And as far as no good coming from this money, I do recall KBO, and J&L Enterprise putting quite a bit of money back in to this community by donations. So lets please quit the slander think of peace, and let the courts decide guilt or innoncence.

I find it quite amusing that Joe was suddenly busted and shock and awe has followed it's happening. EVERYONE in Baraga Co knew he was still selling cigarettes out of his home, he's been doing that since the Tribe had the non-tribal shops(meaning buy at the Pines or your SOL) closed.
I could care less about what they owned.. If you live, work or park yr butt for any length of time on tribal land you are far from poor. Hummers and Lexus' at the Social Services offices should tell you something.
Personally, the saddest part of this whole thing is... We lose the best Pizza place within 30 miles!

I just want to remind everyone out there that if people did not give Joe Fish and John Varline their business, they would not have a business!!!! So, who is really at fault here, the buyers or the sellers. You need both to make it happen. The buyers are just as guilty, are they not?

Looks like Baraga County could use a few good English and writing teachers. Some of those comments were poorly written almost to the point of complete incoherency. Hopefully now that the underground, backdoor cigarette sales have stopped, locals will buy them legally and then that money can go back to help the schools, because clearly they need it.

I'm sure these "law breakers"(modern day Ben Franklins) were spending a lot of money in Baraga. I hope your community can afford to give 9 million dollars to the federal/state government as opposed to your neighbors. Also, schools, everywhere, are no good. Never have been, never will be. They do however provide a place for a lot of information to be thrown at your child. If your child can't catch it, they are retarded, and it's your fault. It's never too late to get an abortion and try again though.

good point about the cig tax.
maybe that is why there isn't more help to get people to quit smoking.
where would they make up that money.
i wonder just how much tax they collect in a year on cigs alone.

Once again Baraga County is in the news in what we can call another less than shining moment!! What I don't understand are the people who are so quick to step up and defend these idiots! Here are the facts: You break the law, you go to prison/jail. End of story! To the people who are defending these criminals get a grip, to the people who actually were a part of this idiot conspiracy get a life and most importantly GET A JOB, a real job so that the rest of us of us hard working taxpayers might someday get our "break"!

Who cares about tax money for the schools, these guys are products of the local school systems. That tax money should be used to upgrade the prison and make room for the future baraga criminals, maybe give some money to the ATF they got a lot more work in baraga to do.

I couldn't believe there were so comments about their "cars, toys, SUVs, big homes," etc.? You people are so transparent.

You sounded bitter, jealous, and pathetic! Instead of worrying about what other people have, try being thankful for what you've got. Try giving something of yours to someone who has even less than you. All of a sudden, you'll find your whole attitude and outlook on life to be different. You'll lose so much stress. You'll be a happier person. If you think you're doing poorly financially, realize there's someone else worse off than you. Do something for them. You'll be amazed at how good it feels. Helping others also helps you to appreciate your situation more as well.

Although many like to think they are none of the indian tribes in the u.p. are a sovergn nation.In order to quallify as a soverign nation a tribe must survive on it's own like the Lakota indians in South Dakota.They refuse and do not recieve any asistance from the US gov. and survive 100% by there own means.One of the meanings of the word sovering is independent nation. When a tribe makes the choice to accept government assistance it disqualifies that tribe form being elligible for soverign nation status and soverign nation rights.So although it sounds like a great thing to say at the right time every now and then it's foolish because you are not a soverign nation nor are any tribes in the state of MI. untill you make the choice to give up all US gov assistance.If you were to do so this would now mean no police agency other than you own can touch you and you could never be taxed on anything other than by your own nation and many other thing would change.Right now you are a member of two nations not one.So a soverign nation is a nation withing a nation surviving on it's own.Not a nation within a nation surviving with the assistance of the other nation. If I spelled something wrong blame it on L'Anse schools.

I think TV6 is doing a fine job. The information that is presented is good, and does not contain slander. If you read the article, the Federalies have everything sealed at this point anyway. Looking up information from government offices is a moot point, as criminals are not going to be following that procedure anyway. Good job Ms. Jewel, the people are just nikkin cause their illegal smokes got taken away.

Now if they can pass these people(and many others) on to the DEA then we will see some major stuff hit the fan. Well they must have posted bond or something because Mr. Fish was outside today washing one of his many vehicles (perhaps stolen?) probably thinking and telling people how he will get off and get a slap on the wrist. Well bad things happen to bad people and he's got his coming and hopefully he and the others will get it. Oh yeah and I hope he has a great wedding this weekend, cause you know what everyone will be thinking when they see him, what a lazy crook. GET A JOB

Okay, innocent until proven guilty. Fine with that.

However, I'm so tired of reading these comments about who is worse than whom. Somewhere along the way people have got to learn right from wrong and half the people leaving these messages claim to be from Baraga County, but they can't spell SURE, nor can they distinguish the difference between principle and principal. Perhaps a few cents of the 9 million will go back to the state and funnel back to the school system, and in turn, we can teach the kids of these people on the internet how to spell basic words.

At times, people outside of the area read these news stories and while typographical errors are one thing, misspellings over and over also say something about the community. "Well I guess if they can't spell, how can we expect them to know right from wrong?" :banghead:

WELL IT'S ABOUT TIME !!! THERE WAS ALOT OF SHADY THING'S GOING ON WITH THIS BUNCH,FOLLOW THE MONEY TRAIL, IT LEAD'S TO JOE'S HOUSE. IT'S TO BAD THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE A GOOD EDUCATION , TO KNOW ANY BETTER. EVER WATCH DUMB & DUMBER ? IT JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU WHAT GREED WILL DO,FIRST WE HAD THE JACKSON FIVE, NOW WE GOT THE SMOKIN FIVE. GOT TO HAND IT TO YOU JOE,YOUR SCAMS GET BIGGER EACH TIME,HEY TRY WORKING ON SOMEONE'S PAYROLL SOMETIME, OH YEAH YOU TRIED MANUAL LABOR ONCE & IT WAS TOO HARD. I HOPE YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE. WITH ALL THAT MONEY JOE,DID YOU EVER THINK ABOUT HELPING THE CHURCHES,SHELTER HOME,GOODWILL ETC... NOW YOU WANT A COURT APPOINTED ATTORNEY. FROM THE TAX PAYER'S!!! BY THE WAY WHAT ARE YOU DRIVING NOW ?

It ticked me off to hear that people are blaming the Tribe for the ignorance of a few people in Baraga County. The Tribe is not responsible for Mr. Fish's actions or any of the other's involved in the cigarette issue. I wish though that the drug problem in Baraga county would be a major subject to work on. There are individuals that work for the Tribe and are living in Tribal Housing that have been turned in numerous times and they still work and live on the rez. Sorry, but selling cigarettes is a far cry from the pot and cocaine floating around - look in the Sentinel, a few already got busted for cocaine - we need more drug busts and to heck with the cigarettes! I'm not saying the guys involved were correct in what they TRIED to do, but since they have been under investigation for 2 years - spend some of that time on the drug issue - I would rather have my kids smoke cigarettes (don't like it) instead of cocaine up their noses - do something about it before we have more kids selling illegal items.

its about time joe fish gos down. he has ripped off so many and always gets away i hope they throw away the key on this jerk iam sure his brother will bail him out like before i hope not i hope he gos down for a long time and for you people who stands with him needs to find a new person to like up at not an con man like him

I was just wondering if all of the drugs sold around this county matter. There are plenty of those people living high on the hog never working a day in there life and turning our children into drugies.I am pritty shure they don't pay taxes and live off the state to boot. Maybee we should look at them and clean up our town. Its just me

While it is true that they are 'innocent until proven guilty', the sad thing is that many people in Baraga were aware that these individuals were operating outside the bounds of the law. It was common knowledge. It is very easy for people who are not community members to use the 'innocent until proven guilty' argument. However, as I said, it was common knowledge.

Which brings me to this:
I wonder how many local people turned a blind eye to their crimes and are only now speaking up...after they were caught? Why not nip it in the bud in the first place?

And, apparently, some of those who knew about the illegal activities were the actual 'customers' of this bunch who are now caught. So, they are just as guilty.

Believe me, I am NOT defending this bunch. I am glad they were caught. The dollar amount of 9 million being the amount the gov't was 'robbed' of brings to mind another question:

If 9 million is the dollar amount that would have been reaped by the gov't from that one small operation...just think about ALL of the tax money the gov't is reaping from legitimate Michigan businesses on cigarette sales annually! Now figure in all the Lotto ticket sales, state income taxes and fuel taxes (Michigan has some of the highest fuel taxes in the US).
Surely, it must easily equal way beyond trillions of dollars from Michigan residents alone!

And WHERE is all of that cigarette tax (and other tax) money going?

And tell me, again, WHY is it that schools are having trouble with funding and having to make shortcuts?

I smell several rats....thankfully, the obvious lawbreakers were caught! But it's not those rats I'm smelling now...it's the ones in high places in the gov't and all of the beaurocrats I'm smelling. And they rot of crookedness and greed.

By they way....good job ATF! Now, if we could just get someone to clean up the rest of our country and our gov't we'd really be smellin' good!

I've been laughing about this all day, since I first read it. If what I am told is right, how they did this, how in the heck did they think they wouldn't get caught? Not too bright, but I guess it shows what greed will do. I have a nice sporty car, a boat and lots of other stuff, too... I worked 25 years to get them. There are no shortcuts in life, at least not this way. I knew two of these guys in high school. One was a complete bully, who picked on smaller and weaker kids. It's been years, but looking back on that.. it's funny.

Well, well, well...how is it possible that a few innocent cigarette sales can turn into this? HAHA! These people have been running around the community acting all HIGH CLASS with their expensive vehicles, casino trips, Coach purses...ect...What a shame they ALL haven't been locked up! They are innocent until proven guilty, but that is in the works. No wonder Michigan is in such bad shape, too many crooks among the tax payers. Shame on them!

Laws were broken. Charges have been made. People will be held responsible. These people disgraced their families and set a poor example to their children. Their children will be adults one day and what principals will they have when they go forth into the world to work and make a living for themselves? They have let this community down. Kudos to the ATF!!!! It's been wayyyy overdo.

All of that money (9 million+) could have been put to better use, like saving a majority of Education programs in Michigan that are on the chopping block because of budget cuts.

Baraga County..Give me a break..Try owning a HOnest business in baraga county where 3 miles around the head of the bay lies tribal owned gas stations, who automatically recieve gas upon delivery 30 cents cheaper than the white man.Then u go to hougton and marquette and their gas is 10 cents higher than us.. we try to run a business with nothing handed to us and taxes like crazy.cigarettes we make under a doller a pack because once again we pay taxes. How can we servive. Tribal memebers ONLY should be able to recieve the tax break.
Then we gotta listen to every local person come into the store and tell us how over in baraga gas is so much cheaper and cigarettes are so cheap..It gets old people..come on people now maybe you will realize how hard it is to run a business and start supporting your local honest businesses and quit supporting them. I hope some of you realize you have been supporting an illegal opperation..

What most of you seem to be forgetting is that these individuals are considered innocent until proven guilty. Or at least they're supposed to be considered innocent until proven guilty, a lot of you appear to be ready to line them up for the firing squad already. So far the ATF has made allegations of wrongdoing, but nothing has been proven. Or maybe you would prefer forgoing a trial, let's just take the government's word? Because we know the government NEVER makes mistakes, the government ALWAYS proceeds with the purest of heart and intention. Just think of all the tax dollars we could save if no one ever had to be tried for a crime again! If you're accused of a crime, we just lock you up. Excellent!!

In TV6's defense, there are several logical reasons why certain questions that locals may want to see in a news article would not appear. If you guys don't like the reporting, look to your own TV station--oh, you don't have one. There aren't enough people in the UP to warrant a big budget TV station with a plethora of reporters. This isn't a big city news station, where six reporters have to drive a few miles within the city to uncover a story, this is the UP, where a reporter may be told to drive to Baraga from Marquette, and then cover a story in Hancock, all the while driving back to Marquette to prepare a report all within, say, two hours.

They don't have time to talk to Joe Sixpack because, especially in the UP as illustrated by some of these comments, Joe Sixpack is about as informative as a brick wall. On top of this, TV6 is also part of the larger media phenomenon that is sweeping across this country: in order to compete for viewers, it must deliver stories faster than anyone else, which means they won't necessary be complete or accurate. CNN, Fox, all those crazy internet "news" sites, they all do this so you might as well get used to it.

There is a reason why news stories posted by a TV station on the internet are much shorter and incomplete than something in the Mining Journal. It's demographics. TV stations can only tell you so much so it's viewers can watch their precious Conan, Jay Leno, or American Idol as scheduled, whereas newspaper readers tend to make time for the newspaper for the sake of getting accurate, digested information.

I'm glad that TV6 is at least including a list of updates on this story is it unfolds, while honestly saying they don't have much information and will post more as it comes in. It means you all have to show a little patience for once.

I didnt realize Baraga County HAD a local Frog Jumping Contest. I'll have to plan on going.....GOOD Job ATF...keep em honest!

Shame on Jennie Jewel for not getting the facts straight. I guess if she was to get the facts totally straight maybe the pain would be less for the complainers. Libel and slander would not even be a concern.

So Joe fish doesn’t own a smoke shop. That’s enlightening. Hasn’t he been arrested once over by New York state and another time between Crystal Falls and Covington for transporting contraband cigarettes? That’s public info. I guess it is probably a good thing that the authorities confiscated them each time because he didn’t need them anyway. He doesn’t own a smoke shop! Wait a minute isn’t the building where the smoke shop was located Joe’s? Wasn’t he operating a body shop out of there or something just prior to the smoke shop?

The obvious transparency of flying under the flag of a tribal business on the reservation could lead a reasonable person to believe that it actually was Joe’s smoke shop. Don’t take offense Jennie. The more attention that gets focused on you is that much less that gets focused on him and his cronies. It gets real warm and uncomfortable under that spotlight.

For anyone who has ever seen Joe at a post office mailing out all of those boxes you are just going to have to assume that he operates some sort of courier service and not some sort of mail order business. Here’s a little FYI so you can CYA, don’t mention cigarettes.

Keep up the reporting TV6 because some people want to know.

Ooops Like someone said before who are we going to trust? A crazy rant of a comment? or the news reporter who wrote it? Lets see you took 45 seconds out of your day. They took an entire work day and 4 years of college. Thats as easy as a google search.

I believe that fish is not only thesole owner of the smoke shop. why is it that the natives are being stripped from their rightsnot to pay taxes. when they are SUPPOSED TO BE A SOVERIGN PEOPLE. WHAT HAPPENED TO THEIR SOVERIGNTY? they should have the rights to do what they want to do with on their own land. including us white people. we buy land and get taxed for it and then we have to pay taxes on top of taxes. and yet we have to pay ciggarets tax= tax on loans tax on gas 'tax on this and tax on that. where does it end?. what happend to taxation without representation? I dont see the goverment helping the elderly with their bills living off social securities little check they get and believe me its not big. how are they supposed to pay for their medical even after medicare the bills are outrageeous. can the goverment live off of six hundred a month and pay. bills doctors house payments or rent or even buy food for a month with it. I think not. SOMETHING HAS TO change with the whole system. AND SOME ELDERS THEN WOULDNT HAVE TO EAT CAT FOOD OR DOG FOOD.next we will have topay taxes on our burial plots. OOOPs i think we already did|bb.

"Serious Concern" says he's all about TV6 getting the facts and yet he doesn't quite know what he's talking about himself. These shops didn't have any licenses from the tribe or anyone else for that matter so how could the tribe cancel them in December of '08. The only thing the tribe did was change their law to say that these shops had to sell state taxed cigarettes. They could have been licensed but they obviously did not want to sell state taxed cigarettes!! Don't put the blame on the tribe!

For all of us smokers who pay the highest tobacco tax in the country, this is great! Someone trying to take advantage of "big brother" and NOT paying their fair share. I hope they get the book thrown at them BUT if they do time, then who pays for that? The tax payers AGAIN!

To math, it is actually about $9.2 million in unpaid tax, go back to school.

To the ATF, keep up the good work! Stay safe out there.

Serious Concern,
Very well written. I'm glad that someone has a sense of mind to put forth a comment that is not just emotion driven but also backs it up. It seems that most reporters, maybe its the station, thinks that anywhere west of Marquette/Negaunee is not news worthy. I wonder if the reporter came to our area not wanting to do the piece. There are some people left that rely on the news instead of gossip to see what happened in their town. ATF raids, arrests and seizure of property are a very big deal in a small town. We watch your station, we are your viewers. She could have made this a worthy piece by actually doing some investigating. Please give us the courtesy and ask your reporters to investigate instead of acting as if they was reporting on the local frog jumping contest. It is just an opinion.

Hey Big Bay reporter where did you go to school did they have math!?!? 460,000 cartons times 10 packs per carton at $2.00 tax per pack. 460,000 x 10 x 2 can you see it now. This equals $9 million plus.

I don't understand why the business owners are still running around Baraga County being free when their so called spouses are in jail. Why aren't they held accountable. These business are in their names not JOE's or John's. One is saying dont worry he will be out and we will ride through town flipping everyone off and the wedding is still on. How can you live with yourself all high and mighty up on that hill? Well glad to see HOPEFULLY that they will finally put this man behind bars because it seems like he is getting away with running cigarrettes back and forth for years and gets caught and then let go with a slap on his wrist. Nice way to start off a marriage. Hope it lasts and doesn't drag you into the mud like he did his first wife? Good luck to you all!!! Also what a disgrace to your family and friends. Do everyone a favor in Baraga County, MOVE and take your dirty money with you!!!!

Its about time this town gets cleaned up. Now there are a few more I'd like to report for other major crimes and we could be getting closer to a better community. You know who you are and you will get caught.

460,000 cartons times 10 packs per carton times $2 comes out to be? let's see who should i trust. some backwoods hick who finally got internet or someone who actually went to school for what they do?

DO the math 460,000 cartons at 2 dollars is far from 9 million.

This is the ATF doing their job and doing it well. Not paying $9 mil in taxes is a crime. It is good to know that we are not completely forgotten in the U.P. when it comes to law enforcement. I am sure ATF will follow through and investigate thoroughly. Hopefully, all involved will be held accountable.

ATF is there a more worthless government agency than that? Alcohol,Tobacco and Firearms should be in a convenience store not a government agency.

Why are the rest of the business partners not also being held accountable for their part and partnership with these five conspirators?? Are they all of a sudden playing dumb?? Did they think there Escalade just fell from the sky - along with their fancy houses and pools???

As reported by TV6's Jeni Jewell...
"Now both businesses that ATF agents were spotted at are Superior Pizza and Joe Fish's Cigarette Shop on US-41.
The sign for Joe Fish's Cigarette Shop wasn't up when TV6's Jeni Jewell visited there today."

Here's the fly in the ointment... Joe Fish doesn't own a cigarette store. He never has.

That would be one very good reason why there was no sign when TV6's "reporter" went to Baraga today. It would seem that Ms. Jewell's investigative reporting is considerably more "rough" than diamond.

I wonder... Did she bother to get out of the car and ask; oh I don't know... a question or two? This is a fairly big deal in these parts, quite a scoop for any truly interested reporter. Wouldn't this "gem" of a reporter inquire as to what the name of the cigarette stores were?

This is hardly the first time that tribal tobacco sales in Baraga County has been in the news. TV6 should have provided her with background information prior to her leaving Negaunee so she could prepare to "report" something. Why didn't this reporter have a reporter's intuitive to go to the tribal government offices and make an inquiry as to the ownership of these businesses?

If Ms. Jewell had made the effort she may have discovered that all of the cigarette stores were owned by tribal people (not the white men arrested). Tobacco sales from the stores operated within the tribal laws on the reservation until the tribal council cancelled their tobacco permits in December of 08. Had there been any questions asked Ms. Jewell would have also discovered that cigarettes have not been sold from the store since the tribe shut them down in December of 08.

It seems this reporter didn't take time to ask questions of local people and policy makers at all. Baraga is a small town but there is a City Hall, a Tribal Government Building and a plethora of local taverns filled with folks who could give you an ear full of baloney and a tid-bit of truth. One could follow that tid-bit to someone who knew what was going on fairly quickly in a town this size. That's called an in-ves-ti-ga-tion and co-mmun-i-ca-tion. For future reference those are useful tools when providing unbiased and informative re-por-ting.

There has been a story provided but it is no more informative or accurate than the local gossip at the local hair salon or nearest bar stool. TV 6 WLUC has made a fine example of what not to do as a source of professional news information. It makes one wonder if TV6 knows what investigative reporting is. Better yet do they know what Calumny Libel is? "Here's a quick review from Wikipedia for those who don't know...

"In law, defamation -- also called calumny, libel (for written words), slander (for spoken words), and vilification -- is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government or nation a negative image. It is usually, but not always,[1] a requirement that this claim be false and that the publication is communicated to someone other than the person defamed (the claimant). In common law jurisdictions, slander refers to a malicious, false and defamatory spoken statement or report, while libel refers to any other form of communication such as written words or images. Most jurisdictions allow legal actions, civil and/or criminal, to deter various kinds of defamation and retaliate against groundless criticism. Related to defamation is public disclosure of private facts, which arises where one person reveals information that is not of public concern, and the release of which would offend a reasonable person. "Unlike [with] libel, truth is not a defence for invasion of privacy."[2]

False light laws are "intended primarily to protect the plaintiff's mental or emotional well-being."[3] If a publication of information is false, then a tort of defamation might have occurred. If that communication is not technically false but is still misleading, then a tort of false light might have occurred.[3]"

I discovered this information in a 45 second research investigation. I think TV6 should at least attempt to do the same when they decide to "report" the news.

Just to think of how this $9 million in state taxes could have helped some of those in need in Michigan!!!! With unemployment in the community so high this cash could go a long way!!!! Guess it will never be paid back however as would take the rest of there crooks lifetimes and beyond to make that kind of money legally!!!!!!!! Hope some of it is recovered in cash in the homes and selling the toys they have been flashing around!!!! Guess there will be a few homes and businesses for sale in Baraga!!! What a scam!!!

Let's go after the drugs next as that is another problem around here that needs to be addressed also!!!!!! Way to many drugs in the community!!!!