Pedro Nava, Audra Strickland Among State Politicians Who Failed to Report Gifts

» Friendly Press on 01.22.10 @ 08:49 AM

Where was the Newspress?  Are they hiding something for their ‘friend’.  Great reporting Noozhawk!

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» TMS on 01.22.10 @ 09:53 AM

News-Press-Less does not know what it news until it is published a few days earlier in Noozhawk and the other sources.

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» JAX on 01.22.10 @ 11:02 AM

The widespread corruption of Sacramento politicians by Indian Gambling casinos and other special interests is a scandal of epic proportions.

  The mainstream News media, however, does not want to touch this issue because Indian casinos and businesses are their biggest advertisers. Who sponsors the 6:00 news on KEYT and KCOY? These are the most expensive advertising spots there are.  The Chumash casino runs as many as 5 advertisements per issue in the the “Independent” (what a misnomer that name is). Once the Chumash ran a 4 page color glossy centerfold in the Independent. What do you suppose they paid for that advertising spread?

Then there is The News Press and the Santa Maria Times who astutely avoid any of the news that involves or comes out of the Chumash casino all the way from found bodies, widespread drug use and sales there, prostitution rings in the hotel, sexual harassment of female employees and a host of other illegal activity all swept under the rug and kept from the public eye.

The Chumash (a tribe of barely fractional, even questionable, descendants of any real Indians inhabiting this area hundreds of years ago) paid off Assemblymen Nava and Coto and other politicians to get highway 154 named the “Chumash Highway” in an effort to get free publicity to attract motorists using San Marcos pass to their casino under the guise of paying tribute to the now extinct California Chumash Indians. Where was the news story about this caper?

The Federal or local grand jury should investigate why the public relations or public information officer for the County Sheriffs Department, charged with fairly and accurately informing the public about ALL crime and criminal activity in the County, etc. is in fact married to the public relations spokesperson for this Chumash casino “tribe”!

Is there any wonder why no information about the bribery, political pay-offs, crime and corruption, gambling addictions, theft, bank robbery and embezzlement and other seedy events, arising from gambling addictions, that eminate from the Chumash casino, is never reported in the local media.

One deputy Sheriff assigned to a special detail at, and around the casino, a few years ago arrested 36 felony drug users and sellers in only a 6 week period. Something that would normally have made the headlines in any honest uncorrupted News outlet but it only made the front page of one tiny Valley Newspapers in business at the time, because the Deputy was pulled off that special detail later on for doing his job too well and the casino did not want the public to know anything about the widespread criminal activity going on there.

Not only are these Indian casinos THE biggest contributors to politicians in Sacramento they use some politicians as pipelines to funnel large sums of money into the pockets of other politicians which often go unnoticed! Take for example the Pechanga Casino and the Prison Guard Union (CCPOA) who formed a PAC to funnel millions of dollars to several Sacramento politicians, under the phony name of “The California Native Peace Officers Association”! After all, what politican would be afraid to show they recieved a contribution from this noble sounding (but non-existant) group.

Then there was state senator Jim Battin from Palm Springs who funneled millions from the many Indian casinos in his area to Sacramento Politicians under the guise of his campaign PACs calling themselves by the laughable name of “Friends of Jim Battin Committees”, lending new meaning to the expression, “It pays to have friends”.

Then when the State Fair Political Practices Commission, (FPPC) filed complaints against him for improper campaign financing practices, he established the “Jim Battin Defense Fund” which of course was promptly funded by Battin’s friends, the Indian casinos!

Do not expect to hear or read about any of the widespread corruption, crime, bribery, pay-offs and perks, stemming from Indian casinos and their hotels, spas, showroom venues, restaurants and other businesss that are provided to Sacramento politicians.  The unethical and cowardly elements of the media do not want to bite the hand that feeds them.

In addition it is not “politically correct” to criticize anything “Indian” even though most of the tribes running gambling casinos in California are not made up of Indians or have so remote a connection to any real Native American who lived in California centuries ago, that the term “Indian” has no real meaning. Other than, of course, a license to have a tax free, gambling casino, immune from all laws everyone else has to obey and immunity from lawsuits for misconduct no matter how outrageous it is and to continue to recieve federal welfare and grant monies over and above the vast profits resulting from the losses of gamblers, many of whom cannot afford to lose that money.

Similarly, to dare to report the truth to the public would subject that news outlet, as it often does, to the use of the “race card” played by these ersatz “Indians” in order to silence any public or media criticism.

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» JAX on 01.23.10 @ 10:41 AM

Bill Clausen;

It is not that partisan cross-criticism that prevents the enforcement of the law.  There are many laws being broken by these corrupt politicians and casino “Indians”, and it is often bipartisan corruption. State Senator Cox’s wife, for ecxample, got over $800 in free spa services at an Indian casino and he is a Republican.  A recent Republican candidate for Attorney General was asked at a meeting if he took money from Indian casinos?  Without blinking an eye he replied “Well, everyone takes money from Indian casinos”!

If there was fair and honest media coverage it is likely that these many gutless law enforcement agencies and public officers would be forced to take action and enforce the law, and these politicians could not hide behind their offices and these ersatz and nascent “Indian tribes” could not hide behind claims of being descendants of “poor downtrodden Indians of yore” not to be criticized by anyone for their many corrupt and illegal actions!

These casino Indians are required by federal and state law to have tribal-state compacts in order to offer class III casino gambling. Even under the sweetheart/giveaway compacts negotiated in secret in 1999 by the corrupted, now deposed governor Gray Davis as pay back to the illegal casinos that gave him over eight million dollars $8,000,000 to get elected, have provisions in them that could be enforced but never are!

It is not about partisan bickering, it is about the people of this state who are willing to accept wholesale corruption running rampant in Sacramento and previously brave media outlets that have now sold out to the advertising dollars from these casinos and their fear of being accused of being politically incorrect by picking on these casino “Indians” who aren’t even Indians at all.

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» JAX on 01.23.10 @ 03:10 PM

ConcernedCitizen;

The current Chumash tribal chairman wrote a letter to a Solvang Newspaper which was published, some years ago. (he is admitedly of German and Mexican heritage with a fractional ancestory to Chumash descendants. In that letter he claimed “his people” were marched to the current site of the land on which the casino and some housing is now located, AT GUNPOINT!

The true facts are that land was given to the occupants described as Chumash, for free by the Catholic Church (Archiocese of Los Angeles ) in 1934. The deed provided the land was to be held in trust by the Secretary of Interior although it was never taken into trust. That land had been set aside by the Church for the original five families of Native Indians who had resided on land near the Mission Santa Ynez in the 1800’s.  There are no living descendants of those original 5 families.

I have been going to that area for nearly 50 years. I don’t know when you say you were bringing food to impoverished people there and that you believe they were of Indian descent, but there is nothing derogatory or “racist” about discussing the facts and the truth nor the history of that enclave, past and present.

The fact that enrolled tribal members (who’s eligibilty is determined by the tribal government} are now recieving $45,000 each, every month, from the losses of gamblers (many of whom cannot afford to lose that money), is no license to permit pay offs to politicians in order to preserve that tax free and legally immune largess’ or to allow them to wield improper influence in Sacramento.

One who offers up a bribe or pay-off to a politician or official in exchange for special favors is just as guilty as the one who accepts it, hides it or fails to report it. Similarly the intermediary (or “bag men”) delivering the money, gifts or perks are just as guilty, whether they want to call themselves “consultants” “advisors”,  lopbbyists or any other eupahmistic title.

The current tribal government contributed over $10,000 to assemblyman Coto who shortly thereafter introduced a resolution to name highway 154 the “Chumash Highway”. He is an assemblyman from San Jose area some 300 miles away.

The resolution then went to the transportation committee chaired by assemblyman Nava who (coincidently of course) had recieved a $9,500 contribution from the Chumash tribal government shortly before that. The resolution passed that committee without opposition and was then introduced into the Senate by then senator McClintock who had recieved over $50,000 in contributions from the Chumash tribal government.

There was no notice to the residents of Santa Barbara County nor County government and no public hearings.  This happened even though the Californai Streets and Highways Code requires a resolution of the County Board of Supervisors in the County in which any such highway is located, before any proposed highway renaming can occur. The first the general public heard about it, was when the tribal government put out a press release after the fact.

More recently the Chumash tribal government gave Senator Flores a $15,000 contribution and within a month or two he introduced a Bill in Sacramento that would allow the Chumash(and ostensibly all other “Indian Tribes”) to acquire fee lands in California, that were subject to the Williamson Act, and then disregard the provisions and limitations of that Act.

Fortunately that Bill died in the Local Governmental Affairs Committee without even a second to consider it and State Senator Cox, a member of that committee, pointed out at the close, that the Bill would not have even been presented by Flores for consideration by that committeee if it were not for the Chumash.

I guess you could consider all these contributions and subsequent events just coincidences, ConcernedCitizen, but if you really are concerned about governmental corruption, whether it be a free meal, free chips to gamble with, spa treatments, show tickets or $50,000+ dollar contributions, you should not be concerned about hiding the truth for fear it is based on “ethnicity” or might offend somebody or amounts to some other version or description of what amounts to playing the “race card”!

Bribery, corruption and improper influences have no connection to race, religion or ethnic origins! The are legal and ethical issues, and in the case of California’s government and the politicians in Sacramento with their hands out are violated so often the laws and rules are comnstantly broken. It happens that today the Indian casino tribes have become the worst offenders.

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