ALBANY — Gov. Paterson yesterday signed a controversial land-swapping pact with a Wisconsin Indian tribe that could lead to the creation of a near-$1 billion casino/hotel/shopping complex in the heart of the economically depressed Catskills.

The deal, which needs federal government approval, ends the Mohican tribe’s historic claim to more than 23,000 acres in upstate Madison County in exchange for its acquisition of 330 acres in Sullivan County near Monticello.