Law | Politics

Former leader of Kickapoo Tribe calls lawsuit a political stunt

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Steve Cadue, left, with Olympic legend Billy Mills. Photo from Facebook

A former leader of the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas responded to a lawsuit that accuses him of violating his official duties.

A complaint filed in tribal court on August 12 accuses former chairman Steve Cadue of breaching his fiduciary duties by failing to address budget and revenue concerns running in the millions of dollars. A second complaint was filed against former treasurer Bobbi Darnell on August 17, accusing her of violating her duties in handling the budget.

But Cadue, who was removed from his position on the tribal council in January, calls the case a political stunt engineered by current Chairman Lester Randall, who filed both complaints. Cadue and Darnell are disputing the charges against them.

“They wanted to damage my reputation so that I would be hurt in future elections for tribal council,” Cadue told The Topeka Capital-Journal, referring to Randall and other opponents.

Randall became chairman in October 2014. He defended his decision to file the complaints against and Cadue and Darnell.

“There is no political motivation. They clearly violated our budget ordinance,” Randall told the paper. “The tribal council is the one that authorized me to file on the tribe’s behalf.”

Prior to his removal, Cadue had served as chairman several times over the last 30 years.

Get the Story:
Ex-Kickapoo Tribe chairman Steve Cadue: Lawsuit against him is politically motivated (The Topeka Capital-Journal 9/17)