Rosemary Morillo New Chairwoman of Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians Replacing Scott Cozart

Raised on and still residing at the Soboba Indian Reservation, Rosemary Morillo was recently elected to lead her people for the next two years in the role of Tribal Council chairwoman of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians.

As the first female leader in more than 30 years, Morillo plans to address the challenges of her tribe and Indian Country as a whole.

“Ever since gaming brought Indians into the public eye, it’s an everyday battle to retain sovereignty,” she said. “There are still myths out there. People don’t understand what our status is. They think we are wards of the federal government because we are identified through our enrollment numbers.”

Programs that could benefit the tribe are not getting funded through community resources because people think the tribe’s needs are funded by the federal government, she said.

“The Soboba Band resides on trust land. We gave up everything to be put on lands chosen for us to live on,” Morillo said. “(Our council) is really no different than local municipalities. We have the same concerns about infrastructure, housing and services needed for a decent quality of life. We just have different titles: we have a chair and vice chair (instead of a mayor and vice mayor).”

Morillo replaces Scott Cozart, who was elected to a two-year term as chairman in 2010.

Former Soboba Chairman Roberty Salgado Sentenced to 41 Months in Federal Prison

FORMER TOP OFFICIAL WITH INLAND EMPIRE INDIAN TRIBE SENTENCED TO 41 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR TAKING BRIBES


LOS ANGELES – The former chairman of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians was sentenced this afternoon to 41 months in federal prison for taking approximately $875,000 in bribes from tribal vendors and concealing that income from the Internal Revenue Service.

Robert Salgado Sr., 68, who lives on the Soboba Reservation near San Jacinto, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dean D. Pregerson. In addition to the prison term, which Salgado must begin serving by June 20, Judge Pregerson ordered the defendant to pay $226,187 in back taxes to the IRS.

Salgado pleaded guilty in October to two felony charges – bribery and subscribing to a false tax return. Salgado pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial in United States District Court.

In a plea agreement filed in court, Salgado admitted that he accepted a total of $874,995 in bribe payments from five vendors who did business with the Soboba Band. The payments to Salgado, which were made by vendors hoping to obtain or keep contracts with the tribe, were given to Salgado in the form of cash, payments made to his creditors and checks payable to an entity controlled by Salgado.

Salgado specifically admitted:

• receiving $486,152 from a vendor involved in the tribe’s $12.5 million purchase of a golf course now called The Country Club at Soboba Springs and other real estate purchases;

• taking approximately $184,000 in bribes from a second vendor who was awarded food concession and other contracts at the Soboba Casino;

• accepting bribes totaling $89,000 from a vendor who received a series of construction contracts from the Soboba Bank;

• taking $65,843 in bribes, plus “substantial cash payments which cannot be quantified,” from another vendor who received a series of construction contracts; and

• accepting a total of $50,000 in bribes from Abbas Shilleh, the owner of California Parking Services, Inc., which provided valet parking at the Soboba Casino.

In sentencing papers filed with the court, prosecutors asked for a prison sentence, stressing that Salgado “did not take one or two bribes. He took hundreds of them over the course of a decade. Defendant ran the tribe as if it belonged to him. Now he must pay the price.”

Salgado also pleaded guilty to a tax offense, admitting that he filed a 2001 tax return that claimed he and his wife earned $146,114, but in reality earned substantially more. In the plea agreement, Salgado admitted he also did not accurately report his income for tax years 2002 through 2006, failing to pay a total of $226,187 in taxes.

Shilleh, 47, of Diamond Bar, pleaded guilty last month and admitted he paid bribes to Salgado (see: http://www.justice.gov/usao/cac/pressroom/pr2011/030.html).

Shilleh is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Pregerson on June 6.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS - Criminal Investigation.

Robert Salgado, Former Chairman of SOBOBA, Pleads Guilty on Bribery

Robert Salgado, former Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians, who was relieved of duty in November 2009 pleads GUILTY.  He had tried to blame this on Riverside Sheriffs, remember

FORMER TOP OFFICIAL WITH INLAND EMPIRE INDIAN TRIBE PLEADS GUILTY, ADMITS TAKING NEARLY $875,000 IN BRIBES

LOS ANGELES – The former chairman of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians pleaded guilty this afternoon to federal charges related to his acceptance of approximately $875,000 in bribes from tribal vendors and concealing that income from the Internal Revenue Service.

Robert Salgado Sr., 68, pleaded guilty to two felony charges – bribery and subscribing to a false tax return. Salgado pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Dean D. Pregerson, who earlier in the day heard a prosecutor’s opening statement on the first day of a trial for Salgado.

In a plea agreement filed today, Salgado admits that he accepted a total of $874,995 in bribe payments from five vendors who did business with the Soboba Band. The payments to Salgado, which were made by vendors hoping to obtain or being allowed to keep contracts with the tribe, were given to Salgado in the form of cash, payments made to his creditors and checks payable to an entity controlled by Salgado.

In the plea agreement, Salgado specifically admits:

• receiving $486,152 from a vendor involved in the tribe’s $12.5 million purchase of a golf course now called The Country Club at Soboba Springs and other real estate purchases;
• taking approximately $184,000 in bribes from a second vendor who was awarded food concession and other contracts at the Soboba Casino;
• accepting bribes totaling $89,000 from a vendor who received a series of construction contracts from the Soboba Bank;
• taking $65,843 in bribes, plus “substantial cash payments which cannot be quantified,” from another vendor who received a series of construction contracts; and
• accepting a total of $50,000 in bribes from Abbas Shilleh, the owner of California Parking Services, Inc., which provides valet parking at the Soboba Casino.
• Salgado also pleaded guilty to a tax offense, admitting that he filed a 2001 tax return that claimed he and his wife earned $146,114, but in reality earned “substantially in excess of that amount.” In the plea agreement, Salgado admits he “also did not report his income accurately” for tax years 2002 through 2006, and that he owes the IRS a total of $226,187 in back taxes.

Judge Pregerson is scheduled to sentence Salgado on February 7, 2010. As a result of today’s guilty pleas, Salgado faces a statutory maximum sentence of 13 years in federal prison. The plea agreement contemplates a sentence of 87 months to 108 months in prison, but the actual sentence will be determined by Judge Pregerson.

Shilleh, 47, of Diamond Bar, was indicted along with Salgado last year. Shilleh, who has pleaded not guilty in the case, is scheduled to go on trial before Judge Pregerson on February 1.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS - Criminal Investigation.

Soboba Chairman Robert Salgado RELIEVED OF DUTIES Following ARREST

UPDATE:   Salgado pleads GUILTY

Robert Salgado has been relieved of his duties as head of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians, according to a written statement released Tuesday by the tribe.

Tribal liaison Mike Hiles said the tribe would have no additional comment, but said in the e-mailed message, “Effective today, the Tribal Council of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians has placed Robert Salgado Sr. on administrative leave pending resolution of the allegations against him, during which time Mr. Salgado is not authorized to conduct business or represent the tribe in any capacity. The decision was made by the Tribal Council of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians in a closed session today.”

Salgado was arrested by FBI agents last week on a 36-count federal grand jury indictment accusing him of soliciting and taking bribes from four companies doing business with the tribe.

In a news release announcing the indictment, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jill T. Feeney and Brian E. Klein of the Major Frauds Division said, “As the elected chairman of the Tribal Council of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians, Salgado exercised substantial influence over the business dealings of the tribe and he had the authority to sign contracts on behalf of the Soboba band.”

Bribery is a crime for officials in tribes that have received $10,000 in federal assistance during the year in which the offenses are alleged to have been committed.

Six counts of the indictment involve filing income tax returns that substantially understated Salgado’s income.

Though the returns gave income amounts ranging from about $146,000 to more than $200,000, his actual income was “substantially higher,” according to the indictment.