This morning’s e-mail news alerts contained a sad assortment of cases involving alleged fraud and unethical conduct by tribal government officials.
There was this: The Suquamish Tribe has hired an independent investigator to review the Tribal Council's credit card usage after allegations that one councilwoman had withdrawn more than $6,800 for non-government uses. Councilwoman Linda Holt remains on the board, though some elders have asked for her resignation. Holt is accused of taking out unauthorized cash advances with her government credit card. Read more …
And this: The former Passamaquoddy tribal governor at Indian Township and the tribe’s ex-business manager are due in federal court today to face trial on charges of misusing federal funds. Robert L. Newell and James J. Parisi Jr., are charged with misusing $1.7 million in federal funds, health care center funds and other tribal money over a 4-and-a-half-year period. Newell, who most recently served as tribal governor at Indian Township from 2002 to 2006, and Parisi, who served as Indian Township’s finance director from 2003 to 2006, were indicted on March 19 by a federal grand jury after a nearly two-year investigation. Read more …
And finally this: Last week, Rjay Brunkow, solicitor general for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, revealed that a yearlong "active criminal investigation" by the FBI, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and a Twin Cities law firm hired by the tribe has uncovered massive fraud within the band's Community Development Department, involving tribal building projects. No criminal charges have been filed, but so far the band has fired its commissioner of community development and five department employees, all of whom were implicated along with former Tribal Chairwoman Melanie Benjamin in having personally received services or materials from public projects, Brunkow said. Benjamin was removed from office last month, but denies any wrong-doing. She says she will fight to regain her seat. Read more …
