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Tribal organization[]

In 1978, the Cabazon Band had included than 30 members. [1] As of 2012, the Cabazon band counted 38 tribal members while their reservation had a population of 806. [2]

Leadership[]

  • Joe Benitez - Tribal chairman as of 1978. [1]
  • Arthur Welmas - Tribal chairman in 1980. [1] [3]
  • John A. James - became tribal chairman of the Cabazon Band in 1989 after serving as secretary-treasurer since 1977.
  • David Roosevelt - replaced John A. James as chairman in 2009. [4]

The Bureau of Indian Affairs paid the Cabazon tribe $10,000 to hire John Philip Nichols in 1978. [1]

Cabazon Tribal Council Vice Chairman Fred Alvarez was assassinated in 1981, possibly for threatening to reveal criminal activity by the Nichols family. [5]

Arthur Welmas was expelled from the tribe in 1991 for opposing the leadership of the Nichols family. [1]

Casino[]

The Cabazon Band owns the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.

From EIR: [6]

The ABC News "20/20" program showed that organized crime figures Irving "Slick" Shapiro and Rocco Zangari ran the casino for Nichols, and that one Tommy Marson, previously convicted of bankruptcy fraud in an organized crime skimming case, lent Nichols $50,000 in startup money.

See also: http://mafia.wikia.com/wiki/Rocco_Zangari

The Department of Housing and urban Development gave the Cabazon tribe $60,000 in 1983 to build the casino. [1]

PN Associates, Inc. of Delaware was used as a front company for the casino. [3]

Publicly named partners in the casino included: [3]

  • Arthur Welmas - President/chairman
  • John James - Secretary Treasurer
  • John Paul Nichols - Project Manager/Employee.
  • Brenda James - Director/Vice-chairman
  • Charles Welmas - Director, Vice-chairman
  • Leroy Alvarez
  • Joseph Benitez
  • Marc Benitez
  • Tracie Benitez
  • William Callaway
  • Amelia Callaway Giff
  • San Juanita Callaway
  • Helen Ruth Callaway,
  • William Callaway, Jr.
  • Brenda James
  • Bruce James
  • Fernando Hernandez
  • Linda Streeter
  • Treasure Welmas
  • Dillard John Welmas
  • Beverly Welmas
  • Floyd Welmas
  • Charles Welmas
  • Virginia Welmas
  • Douglas Todd Welmas

Wackenhut[]

Main article: Wackenhut

Wackenhut and the CIA have been accused of using the Cabazon reservation for drug running and the development of a compromised version of the Inslaw PROMIS computer program, and of murdering people to cover up these activities.

Western Environmental[]

The Cabazon band leases land to the Western Environmental soil recycling plant in Mecca, California, which has been accused of using the tribe's sovereignty to avoid following environmental laws. [7] Workers at the plant have blamed their ill health on contaminated soils and have accused Western Environmental of dumping soil without fully treating it. [8]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 John Connolly, Badlands, Spy Magazine, April 1992, http://books.google.com/books?as_pt=MAGAZINES&id=vB9jU1ahAwwC&jtp=42
  2. California Indians and Their Reservations, San Diego State University Library and Information Access, 2011, http://library.sdsu.edu/guides/sub2.php?id=195&pg=193
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 William H. Hyer, In re Cabazon Indian Casino, U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panels, Ninth Circuit, 1983 December 29, http://mt.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19831229_0040007.C09.htm/qx
  4. Debra Gruszecki, James out as Cabazon tribal chair, The Desert Sun, http://www.originalpechanga.com/2009/05/david-roosevelt-new-leader-of-cabazon.html
  5. Unsolved 1981 Triple Murder in California Was Hit Job, Authorities Say, 2009 October 2, Associated Press, http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/10/02/unsolved-181-triple-murder-in-california-was-hit-job-authorities-say/
  6. Executive Intelligence review, Volume 20 Number 3, 1993 January 15, http://www.larouchepub.com/eiw/public/1993/eirv20n03-19930115/eirv20n03-19930115_022-former_nd_governor_backs_casino.pdf
  7. Community View: Mecca Deserves Real Answers and Actions From Western Environmental, Coachella Unincorporated, 2012 May 23, http://coachellaunincorporated.org/2012/05/23/community-view-eduardo-guevara/
  8. Mecca's Misery, Chapter 4: Western Environmental workers, The Desert Sun, 2012 March 25, http://archive.desertsun.com/article/20120325/NEWS07/203240352/Mecca-smell-odor-misery-Western-Environmental-workers-headaches-Desert-Sun-investigation-iSun
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