And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Tribal members vote out both rival leadership factions. > By Stevan Rosenlind and Cyndee Fontana > The Fresno Bee > (Published February 17, 1999) > A majority of Table Mountain Rancheria members voted Tuesday to revoke > the authority of two factions vying for tribal leadership, a move that > Indian law lawyers said may put the tribe's multimillion-dollar casino > operation at risk. > The move also may leave the Fresno County tribe without anyone to > respond to recent federal subpoenas for the casino's accounting and > gambling transactions. > > Lawyers for both leadership factions said the dispute could end up in > federal court, followed by an order for law enforcement authorities to > support one group or the other. > > "Right now there is no telling where this is going," said Howard > Dickstein, who represents the Table Mountain general council, comprising > a majority of the rancheria's 55 adult members. > > At stake is control of Table Mountain Casino near Friant, which grossed > at least $32 million in 1997-98. Each adult tribal member receives > $14,000 a month from casino profits. > > Dickstein said the general council voted Tuesday to revoke the authority > of the incumbent leadership led by Vern Castro, tribal chairman since > 1991. Members also turned aside a group, led by Leanne Walker-Grant, > that has contended over the past year that it is the legally valid > tribal council. > > "The tribe, as a whole, wants to decide what to do next," Dickstein > said. > > Castro could not be reached to comment Tuesday. > > Al Alarcon, a spokesman for Walker-Grant, said her group Tuesday tried > to take possession of tribal headquarters on Sky Harbor Road. Tribal > security officers rebuffed that effort, he said. > > "There was some verbal and physical confrontation," Alarcon said, "but > we backed off because we want a very easy, peaceful transition." > > A lawyer representing the Walker-Grant group said Tuesday's vote by the > general council was "null and void" because it violates the tribe's > constitution. > > Lawyer Magel M. Russell also said the vote "leaves the tribe without a > leader and the Department of Interior would never support any move that > leaves the tribe without a leader." > > A leaderless tribe would be unable to run the casino, operated under > agreement with the federal government, Russell said. The tribe also > would be unable to answer two subpoenas issued by the government to > inspect the casino's books. > > "We have a real concern about those two issues, in light of the general > council's vote," Russell said. > > Russell said Walker-Grant supporters are trying to determine which > law-enforcement agency has jurisdiction over Table Mountain. The group > may then get a court order to take over the casino with the assistance > of law enforcement. > > The Walker-Grant leadership group won two recall elections against the > Castro group early last year. Castro said the recall elections were > invalid because they did not conform to the tribal constitution. He > appealed the results to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. > > Complicating the issue is a vote last October in which Castro was > re-elected tribal leader and chairman of the casino. His opponents did > not participate and contend the results are meaningless because neither > Castro nor the tribe's nominating committee had authority to call an > election. > > In a Feb. 12 memo, Kevin Gover, assistant secretary of the Department of > the Interior - which oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs - recognized > Walker-Grant and her "interim council" while an appeal of the recall > elections continues through channels. > > In the letter, Gover said he took the step based on a new report finding > "multiple violations" of a gaming revenue allocation plan. Those include > payments beyond agreed-upon amounts, unauthorized plan amendments, > unapproved payments to the tribal chairman in the form of advance > bonuses, and differences in payments to some tribal members. > > Each constitutes a violation of the tribe's agreement with the Interior > Department and may constitute a violation of federal law, Gover wrote. > > "This memorandum decision does not constitute a final decision for the > department," Gover said. "The purposes of this decision are to address > the public exigency urgency, to consider the merits of this appeal in > due course and to permit investigations to go forward unimpaired." > > Dickstein said Tuesday he has received copies of two federal subpoenas, > dated Feb. 12, that have been served on Table Mountain Rancheria. > > "It appears the assistant secretary is supporting the interim tribal > council," Dickstein said. "But the whole process in Washington D.C. is > far from over. The appeal isn't even completed yet." > > The subpoenas by the National Indian Gaming Commission demand records of > casino financial transactions and payouts to tribal members since Jan. > 1, 1996. > > Dickstein said the general council has called a meeting for next week, > inviting both leadership groups to appear with their lawyers. The tribe > will deal with the leadership issue and the subpoenas at that time, he > said. > > Dickstein declined to comment on the contents of Gover's letter except > to say it was part of an ongoing investigation. > > http://www.fresnobee.com/localnews/story/0,1225,65786,00.html > &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
