Candidate for San Bernardino County Supervisor comments on Barstow Casinos

From the Mojave Free Press...

James Ramos, candidate for San Bernardino County 3rd District Supervisor, on proposals for casinos in Barstow, CA. He is the former chairman of the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians

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CA Tribes & Alliance First Major Contributors to Gov. Jerry Brown's Tax Initiative

California tribes give $275,000 to Gov. Jerry Brown's initiative

12.20.2011

By Kevin Yamamura

California gambling tribes have given $275,000 toward Gov. Jerry Brown's new 2012 ballot initiative to raise taxes on sales and the wealthy, the first known major contribution to his effort.

The California Tribal Business Alliance and two of its member tribes have written checks to help Brown's cause, said the group's political director, David Quintana. The Alliance gave $75,000, while the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians and Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians each gave $100,000.

Brown's initiative would raise the sales tax by a half-cent and increase income taxes starting at $250,000 for individuals to raise an estimated $7 billion in the first fiscal year. Both would expire at the end of 2016.

"We wholeheartedly support this governor's vision for California," Quintana said. "We want to make sure the governor's vision can get before the voters so they can make a choice. We run the gamut of businesses, and if we don't have a healthy economy our businesses are going to suffer."

The California Tribal Business Alliance was active this year in opposing a bill backed by cardrooms and other gambling tribes to legalize Internet poker. Asked about the group's legislative interests as motivation, Quintana said, "No, what this is about is the state of California. We stand firmly behind his vision."

The contributions mark the first known major financial support to Brown's initiative campaign, though it has become difficult to track donations since the secretary of state's campaign finance website, Cal-Access, failed earlier this month.

The governor must collect 807,615 valid signatures of registered voters, an effort that could cost $3 million or more, depending on how many groups are circulating petitions at the same time.

GAMBLING: Anti-gambling groups outgunned in Capitol debate | PE.com

GAMBLING: Anti-gambling groups outgunned in Capitol debate | PE.com - The Press-Enterprise

11.15.2011

By Jim Miller

jmiller@pe.com

SACRAMENTO — Legalizing some form of Internet gambling in California depends on prominent gaming tribes, the horse-racing industry, key lawmakers and other moneyed interests being able to come to terms.

The outcome does not hinge on what people like the Rev. James Butler have to say.

Butler, executive director of the California Coalition Against Gambling Expansion [CCAGE], is a leading critic of the idea of opening cyberspace to legal gambling. Compulsive gambling already ruins the lives of thousands, he and others contend, and letting people bet without ever leaving the house would make the problem worse.

But as lawmakers weigh the largest expansion of legalized gambling in state history, a once-influential coalition of gambling critics is overshadowed by competing gambling interests or otherwise missing in action.

The focus seems to be on how — not if — government should allow online gambling and derive revenue from it. (Complete Story)

Legal forms of gambling in California

Former Los Coyotes Chairwoman Dies at Age 91; She Supported Barstow Casino Plans but Grew Intolerant of Detroiter Michael Malik

Los Coyotes Elder Katherine Siva Saubel
Keeper of Cahuilla Culture, Language

Katherine Siva Saubel, a former chairwoman of the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians has died at age 92.  She was one of the last fluent speakers of the Cahuilla (Kah-WEE'-yuh) Indian language, who helped document the lore of the Southern California tribe.

Her nephew, Kevin Siva, tells the Los Angeles Times she died Nov. 1 at her home on the Morongo reservation near Banning.

Saubel was born in 1920 on the Los Coyotes reservation in San Diego County and was the eighth of her parents’ eleven children.  When she was four, her family relocated to the Palm Springs area where it is believed she was the first Native American woman to graduate from Palm Springs High School.

She married Mariano Saubel, a resident of the Morongo Reservation, in 1940.  They were married 45 years and the parents of a son. 

Saubel worked with researchers to produce a Cahuilla dictionary and grammar book and preserved the songs and medicinal lore of the threatened culture. In 1964, she helped launch the Malki Museum near Banning, the first nonprofit museum found and managed by American Indians on a reservation.

The Cahuilla (pronounced ka-wee-yah), once one of the largest California Indian tribes, are concentrated in Riverside and San Diego counties. Among the more prominent Cahuilla bands are the Morongo and the Agua Caliente band in Palm Springs.

In 1998, as an activist, Saubel brought electricity to the Los Coyotes Reservation near Warner Springs in San Diego County. She would later be embroiled in a bitter fight to eject certain tribal members from the Reservation.

Then, for the better part of the first decade of the new millennium, Saubel served as Los Coyotes’ Chairwoman.  In partnership with Barwest LLC, a Detroit-based casino syndicate organized by Marian Ilitch and Michael Malik, she attempted to establish an off-reservation casino for the Los Coyotes Indians in Barstow (CA), midway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. 

After experiencing a string of failed schemes and disappointing setbacks, Saubel grew increasingly frustrated with and skeptical of Mike Malik.  When she could no longer take his bullying and intimidation she simply terminated Los Coyotes’ exclusivity agreement with Barwest.  Malik was furious.  Saubel told reporters Malik was ‘The Devil’ and alleged he was responsible for ‘seducing’ younger members of the Los Coyotes tribe. 

Subsequently, Malik and his operatives had Saubel removed as Los Coyotes’ chairwoman.  As her replacement he recruited the young and inexperienced Shane Chapparosa, one of the younger members of the tribe whom Saubel had accused Malik of seducing.

Saubel received an honorary PhD in philosophy from La Sierra University, Riverside, California, and was awarded the Chancellor’s Medal, the highest honor bestowed by theUniversity of California at the University of California, Riverside.

Funeral mass and burial for Dr. Saubel are scheduled for Nov. 8 at St. Mary’s Indian Mission and St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Banning.

Among the various tributes to Dr. Saubel:

• Banning Beaumont Patch: Malki Museum Closed Tuesday to Honor Co-Founder, Katherine Siva Saubel, PhD
• Gannett:   Native American culture expert dies at 91
• Idyllwild Town Crier: Dr. Katherine Siva Saubel passed away Tuesday, Nov. 1
• Indianz.com:  Katherine Siva Saubel, Los Coyotes scholar, passes on at 91
• Los Angeles Times:  Katherine Siva Saubel, preserver of Cahuilla culture, dies at 91
• Malki Museum:  Memories Celebrating Dr. Katherine Siva Saubel
• Riverside P-E:  Katherine Siva Saubel remembered for her accomplishments
• Sacramento Bee:  So. Calif. Indian activist Katherine Saubel dies
• The Desert Sun: Cahuilla elder, icon Katherine Siva Saubel dies

National Women’s Hall of Fame

Wikipedia

Malki Museum History

Was it Dennis Whittlesey's Intent to make the case for Michael Malik's Los Coyotes Barstow (Off-Reservation) Casino?

For more than 15 years, attorney Dennis Whittlesey has been a tool of Detroit gambling promoters.  Among other things, Detroiter Michael Malik’s crew has previously introduced him into their Barstow (CA) casino schemes.  With his latest article is Whittlesey making the case for Malik’s Los Coyotes casino in Barstow, 165 miles away from the tribe’s so-called "remote" and "undevelopable," geographically undesireable San Diego County reservation?

United States: Another Tribal Casino Facing Financial Distress – This One May Have Been Its Own Worst Enemy

11.01.2011

By Dennis J. Whittlesey

...The casino site is located on the Dry Creek Rancheria, a small federal fee tract of land located some seven miles east of U.S. Highway 101 at Geyserville. Visitors must drive a two-lane country road to reach the site, and then navigate a narrow, winding country road (now paved) up a steep hillside to the casino itself. Water supply and waste disposal have been problems in the past, although one of the project's worst problems was that the hill was unstable and a major "hillside stabilization project" had to be completed before major construction could be commenced. That project reportedly cost some $15 million at the time.

Because of the narrow roads serving the casino site from U.S. 101, access always has been a concern. Indeed, a major component of the refinancing would provide funding to construct an emergency access road.

Prior to the casino's construction, the Alexander Valley Association (an organization consisting of the landowners within the valley) even brokered agreements with local and federal officials and politicians that would have facilitated a rare off-reservation casino development. Proposed sites for the casino were located adjacent to U.S. 101 and featured easy access to the site. Comprehensive utility services were in place for each of the prospective sites, not the least of which were those for water and sewer. For reasons never made clear, the tribe and its developers rejected all of these alternative locations in favor of using Rancheria land.

The tried and true axiom for any real estate acquisition is "location, location, location." A prime consideration for many casino developments has been the ability to "capture" highway traffic to augment the local population clientele. While there are no known publicly released studies identifying the capture rate for River Rock, geographical location may raise some concerns.

The casino is constructed, so relocating to improve the capture rate may not be a viable option. With the challenges in today's finance markets, the consequences of past decisions can be, and often are, amplified. The confluence of today's "new [ab]normal" finance markets and past decisions may well spin the tale of River Rock when its story is finally written.

Court Rules Los Coyotes can Toss Eagle Rock from Reservation

Court denies training center's temporary restraining order

10.28.2011

By Edward Sifuentes

A federal judge ruled Friday that the Los Coyotes Band of Mission Indians can evict a military training center off its North County reservation.

The Eagle Rock Training Center is the site where a fire started July 21 and burned about 22 square miles.

The firm, which leased the land on the reservation for the training facility, filed a lawsuit in federal court Sept. 15 after the tribe attempted to evict the business from the reservation.

Attorneys for Eagle Rock asked the Judge William Q. Hayes to issue a temporary restraining order to keep the tribe from pushing them out.

On Friday, Hayes denied their request.

At issue is whether the tribe's then-chairwoman, Francine Kupsch, had the authority to agree to the lease on behalf of the tribe.

Hayes said she did not.

"ERTC has failed to present any evidence to show that the Los Coyotes General Council authorized any version of the lease," Hayes wrote.

Sean Roach, Eagle Rock's CEO, declined to comment Friday night.

After the tribe gave the training center an eviction notice in June, Eagle Rock officials said in court documents that they attempted to negotiate with the tribe to clarify the lease agreement, but that tribal officials "failed to negotiate in good faith," according to the lawsuit.

Earlier this month, Mark Radoff, an attorney for Los Coyotes, told the North County Times that the tribe can not be sued because of sovereign immunity and that there was no lease agreement because it was never approved by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Eagle Rock officials said in court documents that they were told the tribal council had voted and approved the lease and that the chairwoman signed a lease agreement that included a waiver of the tribe's sovereign immunity.

Hayes cited previous rulings that say "sovereign immunity cannot be implied but must be unequivocally expressed" and that there is a "strong presumption against waiver of tribal sovereign immunity."

The firm also alleged that the dispute over the lease agreement and the tensions it created between the tribe and the company may have led to the fire.

Two tribal members were arrested shortly after the fire and charged with arson for setting a guard shack belonging to Eagle Rock on fire. Both men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

"Members of Los Coyotes even threatened to take matters into their own hands if ERTC did not vacate the property," according to court documents. "Tragically, such threats came to fruition when the tribe allowed certain tribal members to take matters into their own hands by pouring gasoline on the ERTC's security booth and lighting it on fire."

Barwest (Malik, Ilitch) Behind Earlier Los Coyotes Dispute; Tribal Elder calls Malik "Devil," says he's "Seduced" Younger Members

Dispute threatens to split Los Coyotes tribe
11.01.2007

By Malcolm Maclachlan

An internal disagreement over whether to continue the relationship with their longtime business partner is threatening to split the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians.

The tribe joined with a Detroit-based management company in 2003 as part of their effort to land a casino. After yet another setback in that effort, the tribe's longtime leader wants to sever ties with Barwest LLC and its owner, Michael Malik. Another faction in the tribe may be on the verge of attempting to oust her, Saubel said.

The result has been a barrage of accusations and counter allegations.

Los Coyotes has been in the news in recent months as the tribe sought to work with another tribe, the Big Lagoon Rancheria, to open a casino in Barstow. (Los Coyotes' reservation is located in San Diego County. Big Lagoon is in Humboldt County.) Saubel claimed that Barwest and Malik "have done nothing" for the tribe except make empty promises.

"Why should we give [Malik] another chance when there are other people who want to help us?" Saubel said. "He's standing in our way."

Saubel said the 300-member tribe is now divided into two approximately equal halves. Her group includes most of the older tribal members, she said. They also remain allied with the investment firm Barronhaus and its principals, Barron Maisel and Gretchen Belli.

The other side is led by a pair of younger tribal leaders, Shane Chapparosa and Tina Johnson. Saubel said this group includes the rest of the Chapparosa family and many of the tribe's younger members. They remain allied with Barwest.

"We are planning on moving forward with Barwest," said Chapparosa, who is listed as the tribe's vice spokesperson. He said he continues to work under Saubel.

When told that Saubel had made conflicting statements, he indicated that the dispute could be settled by next week. "We have some internal tribal matters that we need to take care of," Chapparosa said.

Capitol Weekly has acquired numerous and contradictory documents detailing the relationship between Barwest and Los Coyotes. A spokesman for Barwest, Tom Shields, characterized the leaking of these documents as "part of a long line of efforts by people who want to derail this project." One of these documents was a September 28 letter from Saubel to Malik and Barwest, written on tribal letterhead.

"The tribe is in the process of starting over," Saubel wrote. "As part of this new beginning, and at least for the time being, the Tribe will disengage from LCB Barwest LLC."

Shields characterized this as part of an ongoing discussion, and said the tribe never entertained serious offers from any other outside management company. He denied that there was any "dispute" within the tribe.

"There are confidential letters that have gone back and forth between the tribe," Shields said. "It's unfortunate that there are folks out there who feel they need to distribute confidential information."

In another complication, Barwest owns the Barstow land on which the tribe hopes to build their casino. In her letter, Saubel wrote "regardless of whether Barwest comes to work with us again as a developer and casino manager, the tribe hopes to negotiate the purchase of the Barstow real property owned by LCB Barwest."

Shields said that Barwest "provided the financing part of that is purchasing the land," and the parties still intend to build there. In a Wednesday story in a local Barstow paper, the Desert Dispatch, Malik was quoted as saying he would not sell the land to the tribe if they were no longer working together.

In the meantime, Shields said, the tribe had cut ties with the Barronhaus. This was indicated in an October 17 letter from the tribe’s official counsel, Joel Bernstein of the firm McDermott Will & Emery. "The tribe voted on October 14, 2007, to sever all business relationships with you. You are not to represent to any third party that you represent the tribe."

"We had some deep concerns about some of the people who were involved with the tribe," Shields said. "They have severed that relationship."

Not so, said Saubel. She said Barronhaus has "done a good job" and continues to work with the tribe. She said the letter in question was drafted by Bernstein but never sent. When asked how the letter got out, Saubel said she didn't know. However, the tribal offices were broken into over the weekend and numerous internal documents were stolen, she said.

Maisel also said that his company continues to work with Los Coyotes. Barronhaus started working with Los Coyotes in 2002, and actually brought Barwest in the next year, a decision he said was a mistake. He also said a lawsuit filed against them by Barwest in June was a "frivolous" attempt to force them out and that papers were never served. Maisel went on to allege the Barwest was the source of the letters leaked to the media.

"The source is Tom Shields trying to split the tribe in two," Maisel said.

Big Lagoon chairman Virgil Moorehead said that his tribe is no longer involved with the Barstow Casino effort and are going ahead with a solo attempt to build a casino on their own lands, 750 miles to the north. The two tribes had a deal with the state to pursue a shared casino in Barstow, but that expired six weeks ago.

"Since September 17, we're focused on Big Lagoon and our negotiations with the state," Moorehead said.

Senator Patricia Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, proposed a gaming compact for the tribes this year in SB 157. The bill never moved out of committee and was amended in September to become a measure on licensing wine growers. The Michael Malik Sr. Trust contributed $2,000 to Wiggins' Senate campaign last year.

Saubel said there is a council-only meeting today to discuss the casino efforts--a meeting she was not invited to be but plans to attend anyway. A full tribal council meeting is set for mid-November. Saubel claimed the Malik has "seduced" the younger member of the tribe and called him "the devil himself."

"I was 83 when we started this. I'm 87 now," Saubel said. "I think he's just waiting for me to keel over."

NOTE: This wouldn't be the first time Mike Malik "seduced" younger members of a tribe. In the early 2000s, a married Malik had an affair with the Heather Lufkins, the young daughter of then Bay Mills Indian Community chair John Lufkins. She has alleged in court that Malik coerced her into lying during his subsequent divorce proceedings to shield real estate assets for his advantage.

On the Los Coyotes Reservation, There's a History of Dispute Resolution akin to the Wild West

Indians aim to drive family from tribe in vicious dispute

4.09.2000

By Chet Barfield

Staff Writer

LOS COYOTES INDIAN RESERVATION -- Cattleman Frank Taylor rips hay from a bale, tossing handfuls to a dozen cows & calves that came running like puppies at the toot of his pickup horn.

Cattle, he explains, "are very clannish." If one group strays into another's territory, "those cows will hook them & chase them out."

Taylor, 61, is learning about that firsthand. He & his extended family are the focus of a dispute that's tearing apart this remote reservation in the mountains above Warner Springs, 70 miles northeast of San Diego.

Tribal Chairwoman Catherine Saubel & her followers are trying to banish the Taylors from the tribe. They openly hate the family of 20, whose late patriarch, Banning Taylor, ran the reservation for almost 50 years before his death in 1998 at age 92.

The Taylors refuse to budge. They've hired a lawyer to plead their case to the Sheriff's Department, Congress & the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Tensions that have simmered for years are reaching the breaking point. A brawl erupted at the monthly tribal meeting in March when the Taylors defied an edict not to attend. Sheriff's deputies were called to break up the fight, which caused some cuts & bruises but prompted no arrests.

Many up here fear things could get worse. Hot-tempered foes of the Taylors are brandishing guns & making threats. Frank Taylor keeps a weapon of his own within reach -- "for shooting rattlesnakes," he says.

Each side points fingers at the other: "Two men in a white pickup (like Taylor's) tried to run over our kids." . . . "My dog was shot in the face." . . . "I've had two dogs poisoned in the past year. . . . "

And, from the Taylors: "Our cattle have been shot." . . . "My grandson was almost grabbed out of our car." . . . "My fences & corrals have been vandalized. . . . "

"When a dog gets shot, he (Taylor) gets blamed for it whether there's evidence or not," said sheriff's Deputy Scottie Dawson, who has been patrolling Los Coyotes & other North County reservations since 1991. "It's been going on since before I was a deputy out here."

How did it come to this? Much of the answer dates back to the 1930s, when Banning Taylor was adopted into the tribe.

Born in Warner Springs, Taylor, a cattleman, moved in the early 1900s onto a 157-acre homestead that juts into the southwestern border of the 25,000-acre reservation. He raised his two sons there. (One died in 1986.)

In 1934, Taylor was adopted by tribal vote into the Los Coyotes band, which consisted of a Cahuilla Indian village in the mountains overlooking the Anza-Borrego Desert, & some Cupeños occupying the foothills near Warner Springs.

The tribe now has 290 members, only about 40 of whom live on the reservation. Half of those residents are Taylors.

The late patriarch's Indian blood -- or lack of it -- has been an ongoing issue of contention.

"He's a white man," said the chairwoman's brother, Cahuilla elder Alvino Siva. "And all of his children, if you check their birth certificates, are all white."

Banning Taylor publicly claimed to be of mixed ancestry, Irish & Cupeño. Yet stories persist, passed down for generations, that he tricked his way into the tribe.

Some say he was a bootlegger who got the Indians drunk or did them other favors. Others say tribal members who spoke no English were told the adoption vote was only to grant Taylor a work permit.

"Banning Taylor has lied & lied & lied. He was a smart man, smart crook-wise," said Cupeño elder Ruth Cassell, 73, who left the reservation in her childhood but returned in the 1960s. "He was a white man. He could get jobs for the Indians. He got liquor for the Indians, too.

"He was the only one who had a truck. He used to go someplace & get fresh vegetables -- bananas, celery, sometimes lettuce & tomatoes. . . . He used to bring it, & we'd be glad to see him."

Frank Taylor says he has records proving his Cupeño lineage back to Juan Antonio Garra, leader of a notorious 1851 Indian uprising. He said he brought the documents to a tribal meeting last year, but Saubel wouldn't accept them.

Taylor also has copies of a 1978 U.S. Interior Department administrative ruling in which critics, including Saubel, tried & failed to have Banning Taylor's adoption declared invalid.

The department's Indian affairs bureau sent a letter March 30 to Rep. Ron Packard -- with a copy to Saubel -- stating it still stands by that ruling, & it would be "inappropriate (for the tribe) to raise the issue of the validity of the adoption of Banning Taylor Sr. or to attempt to disenroll his family upon these grounds his long tenure as chairman from the mid-1940s until 1996, when old age & ill health forced his retirement.

Critics say Taylor took care of his own & ignored the tribe's needs. One example was the power & phone lines, which until two years ago stopped at the Taylor ranch. His family lived in comfort while Indians on the other side of the hill lived in trailers & shacks with wood stoves & kerosene lamps.

Power lines were brought to the poor side in 1998; seven months after Saubel took office. But the project was started by Frank Taylor, who had been chairman the previous two years.

Frank Taylor says -- as his father did -- that tribal members themselves voted down the power extension in the 1970s because they distrusted government grants. He says his family members work & bought what they have with their own money.

Throughout Banning Taylor's years as chairman, Saubel & others accused him of taking government funds without putting them to use for the tribe. Now the Taylors are saying the same about Saubel.

The 80-year-old chairwoman dismisses these as white man's lies. She issued an edict -- backed by a vote at the March meeting -- giving the Taylors 60 days to document their enrollment or get out.

"We want them out, out of the reservation, because that reservation is for Indians, not blondes, blue-eyes & redheads," said Saubel, who left Los Coyotes as a youth & lives on the Morongo reservation near Palm Springs. "If I was white like them, I wouldn't want to be stuck in there with the Indians."

Tribal secretary Francine Kupsch said she & many others believe the Taylors are not legally enrolled & should have no rights in the tribe.

"It's all B.S.," she said of the 1978 ruling on Banning Taylor's adoption, "because nobody can decide our membership up here. Only we can."

Barstow Beware: Under Shane Chapparosa's Leadership, Los Coyotes' Approach to Dispute Resolution?

REGION: Military training firm sues Los Coyotes tribe over lease

10.09.2011

By EDWARD SIFUENTES

esifuentes@nctimes.com

A bitter dispute between the Los Coyotes Band of Mission Indians in Warner Springs and a company that operates a military training facility on the North County reservation has spilled into court.

The Eagle Rock Training Center, which leased land on the reservation for the training facility that also serves as a set for Hollywood film crews, filed a lawsuit Sept. 15 after the tribe attempted to evict the business, according to documents filed in federal court.

The training center operators claim the tribe is trying to renege on their 25-year lease agreement.

Officials with the training center also allege that the dispute contributed to a hostile environment that led to the burning of a guard shack on July 21. The fire burned about 22 square miles of wildland before firefighters were able to stop it. [Eagle Fire]

Two tribal members, Jeremy Ortiz, 23, and Jesse Durbin, 23, were charged in August with setting the fire. Both men pleaded not guilty.

After the tribe gave the training center an eviction notice June 16, Eagle Rock officials said in court documents that they attempted to negotiate with the tribe to clarify the lease agreement. But tribal officials "failed to negotiate in good faith," according to the lawsuit.

"Members of Los Coyotes even threatened to take matters into their own hands if ERTC did not vacate the property -- tragically, such threats came to fruition when the tribe allowed certain tribal members to take matters into their own hands by pouring gasoline on ERTC's security booth and lighting it on fire, and destroying new surveillance cameras that were installed after the fire," according to court documents... (Complete Story)

For nearly a decade, Detroit casino syndicators (Michael Malik & Marian Ilitch) have been using the Los Coyotes tribe, and others, to front an opportunity that could allow the Detroiters to build and manage a $160 million casino in Barstow (CA).  In part, approvals for such a venture hinge on the ability of the tribe to prove the Los Coyotes Reservation in Warner Springs (CA) is unsuitable for business purposes.

When the Detroiters woke up to realize Francine Kupsch had signed the deal with Eagle Rock which agreed to pay the tribe 10 percent of its profits, plus build a new tribal hall and a children's playground, among other things, they could not have been too happy. After all, they claim to have spent millions already attempting to protect their exclusive rights to a Barstow casino franchise.

According to court documents, Eagle Rock had spent about $450,000 paying Los Coyotes rent payments and improvements to the children's park and training facilities, according to court documents. Adding value to the deal between Los Coyotes and Eagle Rock was the fact that  ERTC was also being used as a set for Hollywood film crews.

The last time these tribal leaders had a major dispute and were attempting to evict people from their Reservation (2000), they took up firearms and the San Diego County Sheriff had to get involved. (Indians aim to drive family from tribe in vicious dispute; San Diego Union-Tribune; April 9, 2000)

And did we mention that once again, Detroit was named the #1 Most Dangerous City in America?

You might also want to see: Los Coyotes tribal leader calls Barwest's Mike Malik "devil;" says he has "seduced" younger tribal leaders.

Attorney Dennis Whittlesey up to his Old Tricks

Firm's Biography:
Dennis J. Whittlesey

We've had several inquiries recently about the whereabouts and activities of attorney Dennis Whittlesey. Apparently he remains with Dickinson Wright attached to that firm's Washington, D.C. office.

Whittlesey is still acting in the capacity of third-party pimp for the interests of his Detroit casino syndicator pals.  And that includes posting articles to an out dated little trafficked old blog supporting the Detroiter's agendas.

Take a look at some of the posts he's added recently to that tired blog:

• Newly Recognized And Searching For A Casino Location On Long Island
• Detroit Casinos’ July Revenues Increase From Same Month Last Year: Michigan Gaming Control Board Releases July 2011 Revenue Data
• Barstow Bounces Back
• Detroit Casinos' June Revenues Increase From Same Month Last Year: Michigan Gaming Control Board Releases June 2011
• The Catskills Tribal Casino Scam 

Bay Mills Indians Get $600,000 HUD Grant for Housing & Economic Development

HUD Press Release

HUD AWARDS $52.6 MILLION TO NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES FOR HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES

Bay Mills Indian Community of Brimley, Michigan, will receive $600,000

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded more than $52 million in grants to tribal communities in 21 states to improve or create housing and economic development opportunities for low- to moderate-income families. The competitive grants are provided through HUD’s Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) Program to support a wide variety of community development and affordable housing activities.

“These funds will help American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments create sustainable and community-driven solutions,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Housing and infrastructure needs in Indian Country are severe and widespread. I’m inspired by the work the tribal communities are taking on to leverage these funds and get their communities on the right track.”

Among the 69 recipients:

State	Recipient	Location	Amount
California	Chemehuevi Indian Tribe	Havasu Lake	$605,000
Michigan	Bay Mills Indian Community	Brimley	$600,000
New York	St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York	Akwesasne	$600,000

Original HUD Press Release

Also see:

• Really? Poor Impoverished Indian Tribes have spent $5.6 million Lobbying for Casinos
• Casino Related Partners & Affiliates of Michael Malik and the Ilitch Family have paid Michigan Lobbyists nearly $240,000

Sept 14 is BIA Deadline for EIS Public Comment on Barstow Casino Scheme (Los Coyotes with Barwest/Ilitch/Malik)

REMINDER:  The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is taking comments on the environmental impact statement for the proposed Los Coyotes/Barwest (Marian Ilitch/Michael Malik) Barstow casino.  The deadline for public comment is September 14. Barstow (San Bernardino County) is more than 100 miles from the Los Coyotes reservation (San Diego County).

The BIA is reviewing the proposed Los Coyotes/Barwest casino under the two-part determination section of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.  A bill, S.1424, intended to restrict off-reservation gaming has been introduced by U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona).  If approved, it would replace that two-part determination section with an entirely new set of standards and conditions.

Contact Info:
U.S. Department of Interior,
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Pacific Region
2800 Cottage Way
Room W-2820
Sacramento, CA 95825

Federal Register Notice:
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians' 23-Acre Fee-to-Trust Transfer and Casino-Hotel Project, City of Barstow, San Bernardino County, CA (July 1, 2011)

indianz.com: Casino Stalker August News Archive for CA, MI, NY

Casino Stalker @indianz.com

TVT relevant news archive
8.02.2011 – 9.02.2011

Echo Hawk issues casino decisions for three tribes in California

The Obama administration brought good news and bad news for three California tribes seeking to build casinos. Assistant Secretary Larry Echo Hawk approved land-into-trust applications for the Enterprise Rancheria and the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians. Both tribes are...

Opinion: Readers react to off-reservation gaming in Michigan

"Gov. Rick Snyder is opposed to the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians proposed casino in Fruitport Township in part because it's for non-tribal lands, which he said could open up uncontrolled expansion of gambling throughout the state. Not surprising,..

Michigan governor opposes Little River off-reservation casino

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) opposes an off-reservation casino for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. The tribe wants to build a casino in Fruitport Township. The site is about 80 miles from the reservation. “I appreciate the tough...

Chemehuevi Tribe revives off-reservation casino bid in Barstow

It looks like the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians is getting some competition for an off-reservation casino in Barstow, California. The Chemehuevi Tribe is reviving plans for a casino in the city. Its original application, like the...

San Manuel chair to discuss Los Coyotes off-reservation casino

James Ramos, the chairman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, plans to meet with leaders of the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians to discuss off-reservation gaming. Ramos and his tribe oppose the casino. They say...

Editorial: Reject an off-reservation casino for Los Coyotes Band

"California voters never approved building tribal casinos at whatever site might get the most business. Tribes should confine gambling operations to reservations, not search for more lucrative locations. The governor and Legislature should reject a San Diego County tribe's proposal...

Opinion: Barstow jumps back into off-reservation casino game

"With the announcement last week that Interior is going to conduct public hearings on long-stalled casino development in Barstow, California, the City is once again a prominent player in the next round of gaming in Southern California. The latest development...

Parties due back in court over Bay Mills off-reservation casino

The Bay Mills Indian Community of Michigan will be back in court next Tuesday, August 9, in a lawsuit over its off-reservation casino. The state of Michigan and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians are suing the Bay...

Los Coyotes Band not worried about off-reservation gaming bill

The Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians of California isn't worried about S.1424, a bill to restrict off-reservation gaming. The tribe is pursuing a casino in Barstow, more than 100 miles from the reservation. The bill, if enacted,...

BIA Approves 2, Denies 1 California Casino-Purposed Land-Into-Trust Applications

Echo Hawk issues casino decisions for three tribes in California

via indianz.com  

9.02.2011

...Assistant Secretary Larry Echo Hawk, U.S. Department of Interior, approved land-into-trust applications for the Enterprise (Fact Sheet) and the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians (Fact Sheet). Both tribes are seeking to build casinos on land that is currently not part of a reservation and approximately 36 miles from each tribe’s respective headquarters...

The Guidville Band also sought a casino away from an existing reservation. According to a fact sheet, the BIA determined that the tribe lacked a modern and historical connection to the site, which is about 108 miles from its headquarters.

“The Guidiville Band’s application did not satisfy many of the requirements to develop a gaming facility at that particular site," Echo Hawk said in a press release.

Also:

Casino for Marysville approved (The Sacramento Bee 9/2)
Casino/resort OK'ed for Yuba County (The Marysville/Yuba City Appeal-Democrat 9/2) 

Turmoil within Los Coyotes Tribe Comes to Light Following Eagle Fire; Concerns that Somehow Detroit-Based Barwest was Involved

Tribal tensions come to light following Eagle fire

8.27.2011

By Edward Sifuentes

ast month's fire on the Los Coyotes Indian Reservation near Warner Springs exposed tensions between the tribe, the company that is operating a military training center on the reservation, and the developer who is working to build an offsite casino on behalf of the tribe.

Those conflicts apparently had been simmering for months and centered on differences among tribal members about the best way to make money.

The fire apparently exacerbated those differences when two tribal members were arrested and charged with arson.

The tensions over the tribe's proposed casino and its business partners were revealed in an email exchange following the fire about how to respond to the arrests. 

The fire began at a guard shack belonging to the Eagle Rock Training Center, operated by a private firm on land leased from the tribe and used for military training and film productions.

A former training center employee, Jeremy Ortiz, 23, and another man, Jesse Durbin, 23, both tribal members, are accused of setting the fire on July 21, about 10:30 p.m.

Authorities have not said what may have motivated the two men to set the fire, which burned 22 square miles and took more than a week to extinguish.

Officials estimate that the firefighting efforts cost $15 million.

A Los Coyotes tribal member who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Ortiz had been pressured by some family members to quit his job as a security guard at the training center.

"He was getting a lot of flak for it," the tribal member said regarding Ortiz' employment at the training center. "He was being called a traitor."

Ortiz didn't want to quit the job but did so under pressure, the tribal member said.

"'I couldn't take it anymore,'" the tribal member said Ortiz told him after resigning.

According to authorities, Ortiz admitted that he poured gasoline at the guard shack and he said Durbin lit it on fire.

Ortiz reportedly told investigators that he had decided to burn down the shack when he and Durbin were passing by, according to an affidavit.

Less than a mile away from the shack, authorities found a Ford Expedition stuck and blocking the road, according to the affidavit.

The hood was still warm and inside the cab was a red plastic fuel container, a Bic lighter and cans of Keystone beer.

'Time to get real'

In a statement issued by Eagle Rock, the company said Ortiz had previously resigned his position and was eligible for rehire.

However, he had been in trouble with the company before and was on tribal court probation for an incident on Dec. 14, 2010.

The exact details of the incident were not available but he apparently challenged someone at the training center to a fight.

In a tribal court hearing on Feb. 16, Brian Bonfiglio, an official with Eagle Rock, asked the judge for leniency. Based on that testimony, the judge agreed to suspend a $1,700 fine if Ortiz agreed to stay out of trouble for one year.

By some accounts, Ortiz was a troubled young man who was looking to turn his life around. In his own Facebook page, Ortiz hinted at a difficult past.

"Thinking of going back to school and finding a career I enjoy," Ortiz wrote. "On my own now, so time to get real about the moves I make in this life."

The tribal member said he was surprised when he learned that Ortiz had been arrested. He said he did not know what may have caused Ortiz to set the blaze.

"I wish I knew," he said. "I told him if he had any problems to please come see me."

Casino dreams

A neighbor who lives near the reservation said she has heard tribal members lament that their tribe has not benefited from Indian gaming.

The Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeňo Indians contend they are one of the poorest tribes in San Diego County.

It was featured on ads promoting the passage of Proposition 1A in 2000, which legalized Las Vegas-style gambling on tribal lands. While other tribes in the region have prospered with large gambling operations, Los Coyotes has struggled to bring its casino dreams to fruition.

For nearly a decade, the tribe has pushed to build a casino in Barstow, halfway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Los Coyotes and its partner, Detroit-based LCB BarWest, LLC, hope to attract some of the gamblers headed to Las Vegas on Interstate 15.

Blogger's Note: LCB Barwest L.L.C. was formed in 2005 by agents of Detroit casino syndicators Michael J. Malik, Sr. and Marian Ilitch.  There are a total of 9 "Barwest" entities registered at the Michigan Department of Corporations presumed to be affiliated with Malik/Ilitch.  A tenth, Barwest, Inc. does not appear to be a Malik/Ilitch affiliate.  John Kotlar, vice president of Tax Affairs at Ilitch Holdings, is the resident agent of eight of those nine affiliates.  Attorney William Serwer, a Malik agent, is resident agent of the other one.

See Also: 

• Los Coyotes Tribal Member Arrested; Charged with Arson in 14,000-Acre Fire Started on Reservation

Detroit Casino Syndicators Organize Additional Gaming Affiliates in Decade Long Pursuit of CA & NY Gambling Halls

Last week (8.25.2011) agents for Detroit casino syndicator Michael J. Malik, Sr., filed documentation with the Michigan Secretary of State establishing what surely are additional affiliates involved with the financing and management of casino development schemes involving partnerships Malik and Mrs. Marian Ilitch have established previously with Indian Tribes in California and New York.  Barwest affiliates have previously been associated with the Los Coyotes Band of Indians.  Gateway affiliates have been associated with the Shinnecock Indian Nation.

Entity Name	ID Number	Type
MJM BARWEST, L.L.C.	D6469D	Limited Liability Company
MJM BARWEST, L.L.C.	G97631	Filing Pending
MJM GATEWAY, L.L.C.	D6470T	Limited Liability Company
MJM GATEWAY, L.L.C.	F98915	Filing Pending

The following is a more comprehensive, possibly incomplete, listing of affiliates organized by Malik and his partner Marian Ilitch over the last decade as they have pursued various gaming proposals with the Los Coyotes Band of Indians (Barwest, LCB Barwest) and the Shinnecock Indian Nation (Gateway, Empire).

Entity Name	ID Number	Type
BARWEST HOLDINGS, L.L.C.	B5364W	Limited Liability Company
BARWEST LIMITED LLC	D36573	Limited Liability Company
BARWEST MANAGER, INC.	46514H	Corporation
BARWEST, L.L.C.	B7017H	Limited Liability Company
LCB BARWEST HOLDINGS, L.L.C.	B7687W	Limited Liability Company
LCB BARWEST MANAGER, INC.	54512C	Corporation
LCB BARWEST, L.L.C.	B6746L	Limited Liability Company
MJM BARWEST, L.L.C.	D6469D	Limited Liability Company
MJM BARWEST, L.L.C.	G97631	Filing Pending
MJM GATEWAY, L.L.C.	D6470T	Limited Liability Company
MJM GATEWAY, L.L.C.	F98915	Filing Pending
EMPIRE ASSOCIATES, L.L.C.	B5590M	Prior Name
EMPIRE VENTURES, L.L.C.	B5590M	Prior Name
GATEWAY CASINO RESORTS, L.L.C.	B5590M	Limited Liability Company
GATEWAY FUNDING ASSOCIATES, L.L.C.	B7525N	Limited Liability Company
GATEWAY HOLDINGS, L.L.C.	B1421R	Limited Liability Company
GATEWAY MANAGER, INC.	09829D	Corporation

Not included in these lists of Malik/Ilitch gaming affiliates are those related to Detroit's MotorCity Casino or gaming ventures/proposals involving Michigan's Little River Band of Indians or Bay Mills Indian Community.