Seneca Nation man charged in connection with $2.1M land deal

Thursday, February 10, 2011  

Bergal Mitchell III, a member of the Seneca Nation, was indicted on 13 counts in connection with his tribe's purchase of land for $2.1 million.

The tribe bought the 251-acre site in 2006. But only about $1.4 million went to the landowners and federal authorities say Mitchell and a former attorney who already pleaded guilty pocketed the rest for themselves.

“The Seneca people have long awaited the findings announced and are gratified that the search for justice is one step closer to conclusion,” Seneca Nation President Robert Odawi Porter said in a press release. “We must also recognize the inherent travesty that has been committed by one of our own against the Seneca Nation.”

The tribe used the land to develop the Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Course.

Get the Story:
Indictment filed in theft linked to golf course (The Buffalo News 2/10)
Former Seneca Nation official indicted (WIVB-TV 2/9)