Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1996-04-19

              Convicted Leech Lake officials avoid
incarceration prior to sentence
By Gary Blair
Prison terms likely await three
officials ofthe Leech Lake reservation
convicted last week on 16 felony
counts by a federal jury in St. Paul,
Minnesota.
Those convicted were the
reservation's tribal chairman Alfred
"Tig/Acorn" Pemberton, secretary/
treasure Daniel Brown and the band's
former attorney, state senator Harold
"Skip" Finn (DFL) Cass Lake. The
three remain free on $5,000 signature
bond until their sentencing in about
two months. They were initially
released after the guilty verdict with
instructions not to have contact with
other tribal council members or to
receive any funds or property from
the band.
However, on April 18,1996, Federal
Judge Michael J. Davis told
Pemberton and Brown at a
subsequent disposition hearing that
they could receive any wages due
them by the reservation. Davis told
them that they were not to dispose of
their assets without notifying the pre-
sentencing office within 48 hours,
and they were not to leave the state
without permission. Davis allowed
them, however, to receive
reimbusement for legal expenses if
they comply with the ordinances
passed they passed allowing it. Finn
received similar instructions.
At the hearing, Pemberton's
attorney told Davis that his client had
resigned his position with the tribal
council effective Monday, April 15,
1996. PRESS sources at Leech Lake
say Pemberton did resign verbally;
however, he also plans to run in the
upcoming election scheduled for this
June.
Although Davis had told Finn
previously that he was not to receive
any funds or property from the
reservation,   it   appears   those
restrictions were loosened by his
latest ruling, which requires that any
such transaction first be reported to
the federal probation office. Davis'
orders came after assistant U.S.
Attorney Paul Murphy had requested
that the three be jailed in order to
protect the reservation from further
corruption if they remained free.
Murphy told Davis that when
council member Myron Ellis, a
convicted co-conspirator, was
released from prison for stealing
reservation funds, the tribal council
members refunded Ellis the money
the government made him repay as
part of his plea agreement. Murphy
hinted later that sentencing judge
Rosenbaum would be notified of the
transaction.
The trio was found guilty of
stealing more than $1 million from
the Leech Lake people through a
Officials cont'd on 3
LL officials avoid incarceration prior to sentencing
Free on bail, Finn hasn't ruled out his resignation
Babbit: Future of Indian gaming clouded by ruling
More MCT Candidate announcements pg 5
Indian Community School names new director pg 8
Voice ofthe People
i
Convicted Leech Lake conspirators find
welcome support from TEC
Native
Fifty Cents
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
By Jeff Armstrong
For nearly a year since the
indictment of state senator Harold
(Skip) Finn and the two top officials
ofthe Leech Lake Reservation, tribal
members have been told to put
demands for change on hold until
after their conviction. So when a jury
returned guilty verdicts against Finn,
tribal chair Alfred (Tig) Pemberton,
and secretary treasurer Dan Brown
on April 12, there was much rejoicing
on the reservation and beyond.
But despite pleas from federal
prosecutors and tribal members, the
three will remain free to raid tribal
funds to appeal their conviction and
to represent the reservation on the
MCT's Tribal Executive Committee.
"These men that have been convicted
of stealing a million dollars are still
in a position to do more harm," lead
federal prosecutor Paul Murphy told
Judge Michael Davis at an April 18
hearing. "If there is nothing else that
the court can do because of
sovereignty, then the court must detain
them."
But Davis appeared swayed by
defense arguments that the U.S. has
no authority to interfere in the internal
political affairs of the reservation,
relaxing previous limits on the
defendants' powers of office. And, as
the judge pointed out, imprisonment
would not in itself be a guarantee
against further corruption. The judge
allowed the three to continue to use
Leech Lake assets for their legal
defense, but only if they comply with
the ordinance they secretly passed
requiring   an   application   and
Support cont'd on 8
Founded in 1988
Volume B   Issue 27
April 19, 199E
1
A weekly publication.
Copyright, Native American Pre»«,  1996
Free on bail, Finn hasn't ruled out his
resignation
By Paul Gustafson
and Robert Whereatt
Mpls. Star Tribune Staff Writers
State Sen. Harold (Skip) Finn and
two tribal officials convicted of
conspiring to steal nearly $1 million
from the Leech Lake Band of
Chippewa remain free on bail but with
restrictions on their financial dealings
with the band after a court hearing
Thursday.
Finn, who returned to the federal
courthouse in St. Paul for a morning
hearing before U.S. District Judge
Michael Davis, was to meet in the
afternoon with Minnesota Senate
Majority Leader Roger Moe.
Finn said Thursday for the first time
since his conviction last Friday on 12
felony charges that he has not ruled
out resigning from the Senate.
Republican members ofthe Senate
Rules Committee are expected to seek
a cutoff of his pay when the committee
meets on Wednesday.
An attorney for Leech Lake Band
Chairman Alfred (Tig) Pemberton
said in court Thursday that Pemberton
is resigning from his post and that
other Tribal Council members could
accept his resignation at a meeting
today.
However, band members who are
political opponents of Pemberton said
after the court hearing that they expect
him to run for chairman in Tribal
Council elections this summer.
At the hearing Thursday, Davis
ordered Finn, who was the band's
lawyer, to report any financial
transactions with the band to court
officials and told him not to dissipate
his assets.
Davis told Pemberton and Dan
Brown, the band's secretary-treasurer,
that they cannot sign checks for the
five-member Leech Lake Band Tribal
Council and must report to court
officials any sale of assets valued at
more than $5,000.
The judge also ruled, however, that
the three men could remain free on
personal bonds pending sentencing
because they are not risks to flee and
pose no safety threat to others.
Davis left open a request by
prosecutors to prohibit the trio from
being reimbursed by band officials for
their legal expenses, saying the issue
raised questions about tribal
sovereignty. However, the judge said
prosecutors are free to renew their
request.
Outside the court, Finn said he will
not seek reimbursement of his legal
expenses from the band.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul
Murphy argued that Finn, Pemberton
spearing has always been an integral part of Ojibwe life. A painting by Kevin H. Roach, a Bad River
enrollee, depicts using the modern iron spear. The painting is part of the Ojibwe Art Expo now on tour.
State reaches agreement with Chippewa
on Walleye catch
Bail cont'd on 3
Babbit: Future of Indian gaming clouded by
Supreme Court ruling
By William F. Rawson
PHOENLX (AP) _ Interior Secretary
Bruce Babbitt says he doesn't know
whether he can negotiate gambling
compacts with Indian tribes now that
the Supreme Court has removed the
chief incentive for states to negotiate.
Last month the high court
overturned a provision ofthe Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act that allowed
Indian tribes to sue individual states
to force them to the negotiating table.
The ruling strikes at the heart ofthe
1988 law, which requires tribes that
want to open casinos to negotiate
compacts with their respective states.
It also requires the states to negotiate
in good faith and authorizes the tribes
to sue in federal courts when those
negotiations break down.
Babbitt, in Phoenix Thursday to
address an organization of religious
publications, said it isn't clear what
recourse tribes now have when states
refuse to negotiate.
Some believe the tribes can simply
bypass the states and negotiate directly
with the Interior Department, but
Babbitt isn't sure he has that authority.
"There have been conflicting court
decisions on that," Babbitt said.
A court ruled in a Florida case that
tribes may compact directly with the
Interior Department, but other courts
have issued opposite opinions, Babbitt
said.
He said it may take congressional
action to sort out the confusion left by
the Supreme Court decision. He said
he will also look into the possibility of
resolving the matter through his
Babbit cont'd on 3
By Robert Imrie
LAC DU FLAMBEAU, Wis. (AP)
_ A $100,000 licensing deal with the
Lac du Flambeau Chippewa band
should make more walleye available
to anglers this summer in northern
Wisconsin's prime fishing spots, state
officials say.
As part of the deal, the Lac du
Flambeau band, by far the most active
Chippewa band in spring
spearfishing, agreed to cut its walleye
quota low enough so that hook-and-
line anglers can take three walleye
per day from dozens of lakes primarily
in Vilas and Oneida counties.
But nothing is final for next year
unless state legislators agree to let
the Lac du Flambeau keep all the
revenue from state fishing licenses
and boat, snowmobile and all-terrain-
vehicle registrations sold on the
reservation _ an estimated $ 100,000.
That money would be used for
conservation needs, such as the tribal
fish hatchery, officials said.
The agreement announced Monday
by the Department of Natural
Resources and tribal leaders was
hailed as a boost for fishing and
tourism as well as the management of
reservation resources.
Tom Maulson, Lac du Flambeau
tribal chairman, said that if the
Legislature rejects its portion of the
deal, all terms and conditions are.
"completely null and void."
"If those people say no to it then
another treaty is broken," Maulson
said. "We have smoked our pipe and
given in a great way. What more can
we do?"
He referred to a "symbolic offering
for peaceful coexistence," in which
tribal leaders smoked tobacco from
an Indian pipe with DNR Secretary
George Meyer and John Matthews,
chief of staff for Gov. Tommy
Thompson.
"I really think this is win-win for
both sides," Meyer said, indicating
the state was open to similar
negotiations with the state's other
Catch cont'd on 6
Finn asked for 11th-hour deal
Attorneys press to have Finn repay tribe
They seek halt to his spending
sentenced in eight to 10 weeks.
By Paul Gustafson
Star Tribune Staff Writer
Despite winning criminal
convictions against state Sen. Harold
(Skip) Finn and two tribal officials,
federal prosecutors fear that they may
try to avoid repaying nearly $ 1 million
they conspired to steal from the Leech
Lake Band of Chippewa.
It's even possible that band members
will have to foot the sizable legal bills
of Finn; Alfred (Tig) Pemberton,
chairman of the band, and Dan
Brown, its secretary-treasurer, warned
prosecutors in the office of U.S.
Attorney David Lillehaug.
In a court hearing scheduled for
today, prosecutors will ask U.S.
District Judge Michael Davis to issue
an order preventing the three from
spending their assets before they are
Lillehaug has said he will seek
reimbursement of stolen money and
substantial fines as part of their
sentences.
Prosecutors probably will reprise
arguments offered last week in an
unsuccessful attempt to confine the
men pending sentencing. They echoed
complaints from dissident tribe
members that entrenched officials
such as Pemberton and Brown often
think they are above the law.
Exhibit A, said prosecutors, is the
case of Myron Ellis, a member ofthe
Leech Lake Band Tribal Council. He
pleaded guilty in 1995 to misapplying
tribal money by receiving payments
through Reservation Risk
Management Inc., the company Finn
controlled, which operated a self-
insurance plan for the band.
When prosecutors subpoenaed band
records for Finn's trial, however, they
found documents indicating that the
restitution cost Ellis nothing.
According to court documents, he
made his payment to the federal clerk
of court in St. Paul, who sent a check
to the Leech Lake Band, whose
officials then issued a check
reimbursing Ellis.
In asking that Finn, Pemberton and
Brown be kept in custody, Assistant
U.S. Attorney Paul Murphy wrote, "It
is a virtual certainty that they will
plunder the coffers ofthe Leech Lake
Band for their own purposes. They
will misapply tribal funds to satisfy
the expenses they have incurred for
attorneys... [and] in anticipation of
the fines and restitution that may be
imposed by this court."
Attorneys for the three men assured
Repay cont'd on 6
By Molly Guthrey
Staff Writer, St Paul Pioneer Press
On the eve of his trial, state Sen.
Harold "Skip" Finn tried
unsuccessfully to either have the
charges against him dismissed or
enter into the original plea agreement
he had backed out of several months
earlier.
Then the DFLer from Cass Lake —
moved — successfully — to have
those court motions sealed by a judge
for fear of pretrial publicity. U.S.
District Judge Michael Davis
unsealed the documents Tuesday, four
days after a jury found Finn guilty of
stealing from his tribe in an insurance
scheme.
Finn said he made the motions in
late February after learning the
government found documents among
its papers that it had earlier accused
Finn of ordering destroyed. Finn's
trial started in early March.
Senate Minority Leader Dean
Johnson, R-Willmar, said that if
legislators had known about the last-
minute plea attempt, an ethics
investigation would have been held
during the remainder ofthe legislative
session. That could have meant
expulsion for the senator. Finn told
the Pioneer Press on Saturday that he
won't resign, but also won't seek reelection this fall.
"It would have made a difference,"
Johnson said. "We would still have
been in session a good 30 days and
the ethics committee would have
Deal cont'd on 6
Justice accuses Nebraska bank of charging
Indians more for loans
By Cassandra Burrell
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Justice
Department is suing a small Nebraska
bank for allegedly charging American
Indians more to borrow money than it
charged similarly qualified whites.
The department filed suit Monday
against First National Bank of
Gordon, Neb., accusing it of charging
higher interest rates to residents of
the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District
Court in Rapid City, S.D., asks the
court to order the bank to stop
discrimination, pay compensatory and
punitive damages to the victims, adopt
a plan to remedy discriminatory
practices and pay a penalty of up to
$50,000 to the U.S. treasury.
"It's unfair and illegal to make
Native Americans pay more," said
Deval Patrick, assistant attorney
general for civil rights. "Every
American deserves a fair chance at
credit, which can make a difference
in improving their lives."
Michael V. Smith, an attorney for
the bank, rebutted the charges, saying
customers are considered for loans
based on their personal financial
histories. The bank handles loan
applicants as other any other bank
does, he said.
"The First National Bank of Gordon
does not maintain records as to the
race of any of its borrowers," Smith
said in a telephone interview from
Gordon. "We think this litigation is
going to show that any race difference
is attributed completely to business
decisions."
The one-branch bank in
northwestern Nebraska is about 25
miles from the South Dakota border.
Bank cont'd on 6