Rosebud Sioux tribal rancher and businessman Charles Colombe has been in litigation with tribal administration over disputed Rosebud Casino monies for over a decade.
ROSEBUD RESERVATION, SOUTH DAKOTA –– In an ongoing legal case that is putting a more recent amendment to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Constitution to the test, a former tribal chairman is seeking redress for a business deal gone sour. Charles Colombe, who was a director and officer of and shareholder in Boyd, Boyd & Colombe (BBC) Entertainment Inc., which financed and built the Rosebud Casino in 1994 and subsequently managed it until 1999, recently filed a $500,000 countersuit against the tribe in U.S. District Court. Colombe claims the tribe owes his one-time management company for court costs in a case that has been in litigation since 2001. The RST initially filed suit against BBC Entertainment in tribal court following official termination of the management contract in August of 1999, alleging the corporation owed the tribe nearly half a million dollars. Colombe is also moving forward with an appeal in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. According to the original contract, 35% of the profits from the Rosebud Casino would be paid to BBC Entertainment as a fee for managing the casino. The tribe alleged that just prior to the contract running out, BBC Entertainment paid itself $399,353, which the tribe said was more than what was owed to the company. “At the termination date, there was over $400,000 built up in the BBC account, and it was paid to BBC as required by the management agreement,” Colombe said in a letter to Native Sun News. “The audits done on the termination date and at the end of the fiscal year after termination showed that even after the payment of the $400,000 to BBC … the RST Casino still owed over $10,000 to BBC. The audits confirmed that BBC owed nothing to RST,” he said. According to Colombe, the audits were conducted by a “respected” Montana accounting firm selected by the RST. The tribe approved the final audits and filed them with the National Indian Gaming Association as required by law, he said. “The situation in Rosebud is very unique,” said Colombe. “Our people voted on a number of constitutional amendments. Our Constitution falls under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. The constitutional amendments were the product of a group called ‘Women for Change,’ and the amendments were truly a grassroots effort.” In Colombe’s estimation, the tribe and the tribe’s Supreme Court, which eventually heard the matter, failed to uphold a newer constitutional amendment that calls for explicit separation of the executive and judicial branches. This lack of constitutional adherence led to a prejudicial decision against BBC Entertainment by the Supreme Court in the original litigation, he contends. “The highest vote-getting amendment was the establishment of the independent court. This independent court that the amendment called for still does not exist even though the council and the officers … swear to abide by and uphold our Constitution and the Constitution of the U.S.," he said. In July 2007, tribal members overwhelmingly voted in support of this “separation of powers” amendment, with successive approval by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The amendment took effect in September of that same year. Ironically, the tribe also passes resolutions assuring the federal government that it is in compliance with the Tribal Constitution, Colombe said. Additionally, the lead judge in Colombe’s case was removed from the proceedings in August of 2007 at the formal request of one of the tribe’s attorneys. The tribal attorney cited “neglect of duty, gross misconduct and incompetence” on the part of the judge as the basis for the complaint. The judge, however, refused to step down, according to Colombe. “The Special Judge continued the trial after his removal hearing and changed his previous rulings, disregarded the casino audits, allowed the casino accounting system to be changed and entered a judgment for RST against BBC for the full amount that RST claimed plus interest, making it over a half a million dollars,” he said. “If I heard this was going on at another reservation, I probably would not believe it.” (Contact Jesse Abernathy at editor@nsweekly.com)