PROVIDENCE -- U.S. District Judge William E. Smith ruled yesterday that the Narragansett Indian tribe does not have the right to operate a tax-free tobacco store on its tribal lands in Charlestown and that the state acted properly when it used a...

Federal Judge William Smith's ruling that the state had the authority to shut down the Narragansett Indian tax-free smoke shop was a huge victory for Governor Carcieri.

PROVIDENCE -- In a highly-anticipated ruling this morning, U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith found on the the side of the state in the Narragansett Indian tribal smokeshop dispute, saying that it has the authority to impose a tax on cigarettes sold on tribal lands. Smith also ruled that the state did not violate federal law or the tribe's sovereign rights in executing a search warrant at the shop.

CHARLESTOWN -- The biggest story in South County this year unfolded on a steamy July morning in the dusty parking lot of the Narragansett Indian Tribe's tax-free smoke shop on Route 2.

PROVIDENCE -- Three Indians have filed a federal lawsuit accusing the state police of assault and battery and violating their rights when troopers raided a tribal smoke shop in July.