The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1994-08-19

              Two plead guilty to tribal fund misuse
State senator, Indian gaming head submitted fraudulent invoices
By Dennis J. McGrath
and Chris Ison
Reprinted with permission
A state senator and the man who
heads the Minnesota Indian Gaming
Association pleaded guilty in federal
court Wednesday to misusing Leech
Lake Reservation tribal funds.
Sen. Harold (Skip) Finn, DFL-Cass
Lake, admitted that he submitted
fraudulent invoices to the tribe and
steered more than $13,000 from the
tribe's insurance fund to Myron Ellis,
an official with the Leech Lake band
of Chippewa.
Finn said he would not resign his
Senate seat because the violation
occurred in 1988, two years before he
was elected to the Legislature. A
Senate IR leader said Finn should
resign because the timing of the
violation doesn't matter.
Finn and Ellis pleaded guilty to a
misdemeanor charge of misapplying
tribal funds. As part of the plea
agreement, Finn will pay the
maximum fine of $ 100,000, and Ellis
agreed to make restitution of $ 13,345
to the tribe. They contend the money
was used to reimburse Ellis for back
pay. Finn did not keep any of the
money himself, U.S. Attorney David
Lillehaug said.
Both face the possibility of a prison
sentence, as well. Federal sentencing
guidelines call for a prison term of
four to 10 months for such an offense.
Meanwhile, federal authorities
continue to investigate other aspects
ofthe case, Lillehaug said.
After entering his guilty plea, Finn,
45, apologized to his constituents but
said he wouldn't resign. "It doesn't
relate to anything I've done in public
office." he said.
Finn submitted the fraudulent
invoices to the tribe when he was
administrator of the tribe's self-
insurance fund. He is an owner of
Resenation Risk Management, which
managed the tribe's self-insurance
fund.
Finn's contract to run the fund was
lucrative, paying him just under
$100,000 per year for the four-year
period that the fund operated,
according to an estimate by his
attorney, Doug Kelley.
One issue during the probe was
whether Finn helped orchestrate the
money transfer to Ellis, a tribal
official, in return for the contract. But
Finn denied that was a motive.
Ellis, 51, is a tribal council member
and has been the reservation's
executive di rector. He also is the point
man forthe Minnesota Indian Gaming
Association (MIGA), which
represents most of the state's 17
casinos.
Officials stressed that the insurance
case did not involve casino money.
The payments occurred before the
resenation's two full-scale casinos
were developed. But because of Ellis'
high public profile with the gaming
association, the conviction may be
seen as another black mark for the
gaming industry, which is under
continued scrutiny from law
enforcement agencies because of the
large amounts of cash it produces.
Despite pleading guilty Wednesday,
Ellis said he does not plan to step
down as chairman of MIGA. MIGA
Executive Director John McCarthy
said officials there have not discussed
Misuse cont'd page 5
Finn/Ellis plead guilty to stealing tribal funds/ pg 1
Transcript of incriminating cordless phone conversation/ pg 6
NAPP Schedules demonstration seeking Finn's impeachment/ pg 3
Maynard Swan's Pine Point perspective/ pg 5
Changing ofthe guard continues in MIAC/ pg 1
Voice of the Anishinabeg
1
The
Fifty Cents
Members of Catholic Church at White Earth
address problems j
A weekly publication.
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal Opportunity Far All People
1
Founded inl9B8      Volume 6   Issue 8     August 19, 19934
Copyright. The Ojibwe Mews, 1994
By Gary Blair
Last Sunday, Bishop Victor Balke
paid a visit to St. Theodore's Catholic
Church located at Pondsford, Minnesota. The Bishop came to hear complaints about the church's priest, Father Vincent Ott, who they say hasn't
been responsive to the community's
religious needs.
Bishop Balke is from the diocese at
Crookston, Minnesota.
The meeting was attended by nearly
30 parishioners and was held in the
church after the 11 a.m. mass.
John Buckanaga, who was in attendance, told the bishop that the church
isn't doing enough to grow.
"We need to do something to bring
people back to the church who have
fallen away. We need to do more for
our youth," he said.
The Bishop said he was also aware
that there was dissatisfaction from
people who had been forced to go
home and get their own basin and holy
water before they could have their
baby baptized.
"That can be changed," he said.
"Those items can be maintained here
at the church." He also said there was
a complaint about the way a recent
wedding had been handled.
The PRESS attended that wedding
this past June. Both Indian people and
white sat in silence as Father Ott was
heard saying. "Now a good wife is a
silent wife. A good wife is one who
obeys her husband."
One guest said after the wedding
that she was totally shocked to hear
suchathingin 1994. Other discussion
at the meeting centered on remarks
made by Father Ott to one church
member and remarks supposedly made
by a white church member about one
ofthe Indian members.
To these comments the Bishop said,
"There is no room in the church for
racism. We are all one under God."
The Bishop also told the group that he
was glad to see so much spirit in the
church.
"You go to some churches and
they're dead spiritually. All that's
needed is to lock it up and I 've done
that to those kinds of churches. But,
here it's just the opposite," he said.
Bishop Balke informed the congregation that they had $21,000 in the
church' s funds which could be used to
ensure their needs are met in the future.
Father Ott, who was also present at
the meeting, then addressed church
members. He said he wasn't aware
that there was a problem. "I thought
everyone was satisfied with the way
things were," he said.
The PRESS was told that church
members want to build a new church
with a recreation center attached.
Buckanaga latertold the PRESS, "Our
Indian kids are starting to think that
the only time you go to church is when
someone dies."
Changing of the guard continues in
Minnesota Indian Affairs - Papers are served
By Gary Blair
It was a solemn Chip Wadena, who
resigned from the Minnesota Indian
Affairs Council (MIAC) recently.
There was a smiling Jerry Rawley,
secretary/treasurer ofthe White Earth
resenation that entered the room just
after Wadena's announcement and
quickly shook hands with this staff
writer.
Once Wadena left the meeting room
he sat in a chair just outside the door.
He looked similar to how one might
look at a funeral parlor.
The PRESS asked Leech Lake reservation secretary/treasurer Dan
Brown, who was also at the MIAC
meeting, if he knew that they were
going to be indicted (referring to the
Leech Lake tribal council). "That's
what we heard," Brown answered.
Additional reports say as a result of
thefederal investigation White Earth's
tribal council has been meeting at the
Mahnomen casino. Newly elected
council member Poncho Williams,
was recently asked how those meetings were going and it's reported he
said, "The king is dead," referring to
Wadena. Other reports say those
meetings at the casino have been one
big dog pile with Chip Wadena on the
bottom. They've been blaming him
for leading them down the trail of
corruption.
With the recent gulity pleas in federal court to misuse of Indian funds,
misdemeanor charges, by Minnesota
State Senator Skip Finn and Myron
Ellis, Leech Lake tribal councilman
and president ofthe Minnesota Indian
Gaming Association it's apparent
that there is more to come. As far back
as 10 years ago there were stories that
Wadena was getting scared that he
was going to get caught. Anyone on
the White Earth reservation who owed
their job to him at that time was quick
to dismiss those rumors. Those who
complained were called "welfare
bums" by the once controlling tribal
chairman. Distrust turned to anger
when Wadena sold out the White Earth
land claims known as WELSA in
exchange they say for a stay out of jail
card for his sixth DWI.
In the last four years discontent had
grown to a point that even Wadena's
most trusted employees were leaking
information about him. And when
federal investigators started asking
questions of those employees they were
quick to tell others about what they
were asked.
Last minute reports now coming
from Mahnomen say secretary/treasurer Jerry Rawley was sened papers
by the FBI. They say he walked out of
the casino and hasn't been seen since.
Other reports say Wadena hasn't been
seen for the past four days.
Becker County makes new road after
Indian protest
By Gary Blair
Last week Becker County officials
decided they'd rather bulldoze a road
for a Solway logging company than
get into a fight with members of the
White Earth Land Recovery Project
(WELRP) who blocked the company' s
only other access.
Monday, August 8th, the group
stopped Paul Lundberg and his employees from using a road to haul
Potlatch timber that was purchased
from the county.
Winona LaDuke, project director
told the PRESS on Saturday that her
members plan to break camp on Tuesday which included the use of a teepee. "We made our point, " she said.
According to an August 11, 1994,
article in the Detroit Lakes Tribune,
the county complained that they owned
the road being blocked and the reservation group claimed the same.
LaDuke says, "We own 715 acres
here and that' includes this road."
County officials said they'dbeen maintaining that road but apparently they
hadn't seen the part where the
blockcade was set-up because it was
just off the maintained portion.
WELRP is a non-profit educational
and cultural organization which is
comprised of tribal members from the
White Earth resenation. The project
holds almost 1000 acres of land within
the resenation borders. The group is
asking that all county, federal, state
and private timber sales within the
resenation borders should require an
archeological and cultural impact assessment prior to any issuance of permit, or cutting. A cumulative and
comprehensive management plan involving all agencies (federal, state,
county, tribal, and private) operating
on the resenation should be completed to avoid irreversible damage to
the ecosystem.
At present, many clearcutting
projects are undertaken in keeping
with county, or other agency guide
lines, but with no regard for the
"checkerboarding" of property
onership within the resenation borders. Consequently, seneral clearcuts
may be adjoined on diffrent properties, creating a much more significant
cultural and environmental impact
than a single cut.
We are requesting a summit of agencies and tribal hanesters, including
the White Earth Land Recovery
Project, to addressthis issue," LaDuke
said.
"Alternatives to wood as a fiber for
paper need to be discussed as a policy
issue for the state of Minnesota. We
believe that our trees can find better
ends than tissue and toilet paper. Paper can be recycled, and Minnesota
can continue to recycle paper. Alternative fibers can also be used for paper, most notably 'kenal,' commonly
grown in many areas of the country
and the world, which produces four
times as much fibre per acre as wood.
We believe these long term issues
should be discussed."
Senator Harold "Skip" Finn
Alfred "Tig" Pemberton
Tig' Pemberton elected chairman of MIAC
Cass Lake, Minn. — Alfred R.
Pemberton, Chairman of the Leech
Lake Resenation Tribal Council, was
elected chairman of the Minnesota
Indian Affairs Council at its regular
meeting last week.
Created by a Minnesota statute, the
Indian Affairs Council acts as an
American Indian liaison body with
the state legislature, state agencies,
and governor's office. It represents an
estimated 50,000 Indians of Minnesota, and was, in 1963, the first such
organization in the United States. It
has been copied by tribes and states
nationwide since its earliest beginnings.
Pemberton was elected by acclamation. Also elected were Curtis
Campbell, Prairie Island Dakota, vice-
chairman; Robert Peacock, Fond du
lac Chippewa, secretary; and Paula
Jean Claymore, Minneapolis at-large
member, treasurer.
The council is comprised of the
elected chairmen of the eleven Minnesota Indian resenations, plus two
at-large urban members who belong
to federally recognized non-Minnesota tribes residing in Minnesota
Pemberton is the fifth Indian Affairs Council chairman since the
council's inception. He follows Roger
Jourdain, Red Lake; Hartley White,
Leech Lake, the late Arthur Gahbow,
Mille Lacs; and Darrell Wadena,
White Earth.
"Considering those whom I am following, I accept my election with a
great deal of humility and seriousness," Pemberton said. "Holding the
best interest of almost 50,000 American Indian in the state is a great
responsibility."
Pemberton was first elected to the
Leech Lake Tribal Council in 1976.
He studied at Haskell Indian Junior
College, Globe Business College, St.
Paul, and Bemidji State University.
Pemberton said, "American Indian
tribes and people of Minnesota have
progressed far and fast as of late.
Much progress has been made in Minnesota by American Indians through
the strength of tribe-state relations
and the efforts of individual Indian
business men and women. There still
exists many needs to be met in our
Indian communities statewide. Today, the issues facing Indians of Minnesota are complex, hard hitting, and
far reaching. Indian tribes and communities must work together diligently
to protect, provide and presene all its
resources, especially its human, natural and economic. I pledge to carry on
this mission as my predecessors have
in the past."
Confrontation at White Earth leaves
questions unanswered
By Gary Blair
When Indian people at White Earth
complained about corruption on their
resenation they couldn't get anyone
to do anything. They protested in front
of their tribal headquarters and in
front of the casino that was being
built. Many of their elders were jailed
as a result of those efforts and meetings withU.S. Senator Paul Wellstone
did nothing to alleviate the tension.
Not until a white building contractor
from Detroit Lakes, MN complained
to the FBI that the resenation's tribal
council had engaged in bid rigging
when they built the Shooting Star
Casino was there effective action.
Within days PRESS sources say resenation officials were being investigated by federal authorites for income
tax evasion, bid rigging and kick backs.
Last Saturday evening the PRESS
once again visited White Earth. At the
construction site of the newly proposed sports complex being built just
north of the town of Naytahwaush
there appeared to be a cleared field,
centered by neatly lined up construction equipment and few signs of de
velopment. Recently, there have been
reports that the resenation is broke
and all construction projects have been
put on hold.
As photos were being taken, this
staffwriter was confronted by an angry Harold "Butch" Gordon, owner of
Gordon Construction, the company
who built the casino in Mahnomen.
Gordon jumped out of his car and
yelled, "I'm sick and tired ofthe lies
you've been writing about me! I'mnot
involved in any income tax evasion!"
When told that this writer hadn't
said he was, Gordon said to his wife,
"Gladys, what' she been writing about
me?" Gladys, just starting to get out of
the car, said nothing.
"I haven't been going to Minneapolis and giving any information to the
FBI," he then said. When told there
have been reports that he had, Gordon
asked, heatedly, "Who is saying that?"
When told that a lot of people on the
resenation are talking, including his
attorney and wife, he replied, "My
wife is right here." Gladys, did not say
a word, Instead she put her head down
on top ofthe car and a little later sat
down inside of it.
"I'm going to call my attorney and
get you on the phone at the same
time," Gordon responded.
The PRESS then told Gordon, "Do
that. I'll have him tell you the same
thing he told me." He then said,"If
you want to write about Wadena go
ahead; but leave me out of it. I only
work with those people because I have
to. I suppose if someone else were in
there, they'd be just as greedy as him
(Wadena)."
Gordon then confirmed reports that
the resenation's tribal council had
been recently called to the IRS office
in St. Paul.
PRESS sources say not only has
Gordon been meeting with federal
authorities, he plans to testify for the
government if there is to be a trial. His
wife, they say, had told co-workers
that she had been going to Minneapolis with him and her presence was
requested at one of those early meetings. Gladys Gordon also senes as
secretary ofthe Gordon Construction
Company.
Sources also say that Gladys told coworkers early on that she changed her
plans to retire from her job because of
her husband's pending uncertainty.