A second former leader of the
Winnebago Tribe was
sentenced to probation for his role in the theft of gaming funds.
Louis Houghton, 70, was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay $36,500 in restitution to the tribe, The Sioux City Journal reported. He admitted that he supplemented his salary with funds taken from the
WinnaVegas
Casino Resort.
The money was distributed to council members in the form of
pre-paid debit cards, according to court documents. A total of 9 former leaders, including
former longtime chairman John Blackhawk, were accused of taking part in the crime.
In addition to Houghton,
Lawrence
Payer, 71, pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay $36,000 in restitution after pleading guilty.
Charles
Aldrich, 49, and
Thomas
Snowball, 56, also have pleaded guilty. They await sentencing.
That leaves the cases involving Blackhawk, Darwin Snyder, Travis Mallory, Morgan Earth and Ramona Wolfe unresolved. All had been indicted in July 2016, after they were forced out of office in response to allegations of corruption on the reservation.
The cases are being prosecuted in Nebraska, where tribal headquarters are located. WinnaVegas is on trust land in Iowa.
Read More on the Story:
Former Winnebago councilman sentenced for theft from tribe
(The Sioux City Journal August 21, 2017)
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