United States Attorney John C. Richter Western District of Oklahoma March 7, 2008 CONTACT: Bob Troester                 405/553-8999

FORMER SECRETARY TO CHEYENNE-ARAPAHO CHAIRMAN SENTENCED FOR CONSPIRACY AND EMBEZZLEMENT OF CASINO FUNDS

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - John C. Richter, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, announced that Renee Island, 43, of Calumet, Oklahoma, was sentenced today to serve 10 months in prison and pay $34,837.38 in restitution to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. Island was convicted by a jury in January of 2008 of conspiracy and embezzlement of Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribal funds derived from the Lucky Star Casinos involving transfers of tribal funds between January and September 2003. Island was employed by the Cheyenne-Arapaho A-2 District as the secretary to Robert Tabor. (Case No. CR-07-49). In addition to Island, the following individuals have been convicted in separate cases arising out of investigation of the financial activities of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Business Committee:

A. Convicted and Sentenced. The following individuals have been convicted and sentenced:

• Robert Tabor, 62, of Calumet, Oklahoma, pled guilty to conspiracy to embezzle more than $114,000 of net gaming revenues derived from the Lucky Star Casinos. Tabor was the Arapaho District A-2 elected representative and Chairman of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Business Committee. In April of 2008 he was sentenced to serve 12 months in federal prison and was ordered to pay $114,376.47 in restitution. (Case No. CR-07-211)
• Colleen Tabor, 49, of Calumet, Oklahoma, pled guilty to embezzlement of $7,646.60 of Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribal funds derived from the Lucky Star Casinos. She was wife of Robert Tabor. In April of 2008 she was sentenced to serve 4 years probation and pay $7,646.60 in restitution. (Case No. CR-07-211)
• James Wayne Pedro, Sr., 69, of El Reno, Oklahoma, pled guilty to embezzling gaming revenues from the Lucky Star Casinos and also pled guilty to making a fraudulent statement to HUD. Pedro was an elected member of the Business Committee of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. In April of 2006 he was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $193,235.77 in restitution to the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma and $6,277 to the Oklahoma Housing and Finance Agency. (Case No. CR-05-203)
• Peggy Bigpond, 53, of Concho, Oklahoma, pled guilty to unlawfully receiving and converting gaming revenues from the Lucky Star Casinos to her own use. Bigpond worked as Pedro's secretary during a portion of his term of office on the Business Committee of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. In April of 2006 Bigpond was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $32,276.66 in restitution the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. (Case No. CR-05-204)
• Lea E. Schantz, 42, of El Reno, Oklahoma, pled guilty to receiving and converting gaming revenues from the Lucky Star Casinos, knowing that the funds had been embezzled. Schantz also pled guilty to making a false statement to HUD. In April of 2006 Schantz was sentenced to serve 8 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $48,434 and $6,277 in restitution. (Case No. CR-05-205)
• Vera E. Franklin, 55, of El Reno, Oklahoma, pled guilty to embezzlement of $7,000 of Cheyenne-Arapaho net gaming revenues from the Lucky Star Casinos. Franklin was an elected member of the Business Committee of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, serving as the Cheyenne District 2 representative. Franklin was sentenced in October 2007 to serve one month in federal prison and pay $7,000 in restitution. (Case No. CR-07-73)
• Louella Oldbear, 56, of Del City, Oklahoma, was convicted by a jury in November 2007 of embezzling over $17,000 and making a false statement to the FBI about the use of Cheyenne-Arapaho tribal money to purchase vehicles. She was sentenced to serve 12 months and 1 day in federal prison and ordered to pay $17,064.94 in restitution to Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes, and serve three years of supervised release and perform 104 hours of community service following her release from prison. Oldbear was Secretary to a Cheyenne-Arapaho Business Committee member. (Case No. CR-07-77)
• B. Convicted and Awaiting Sentencing. The following individual has been convicted and is awaiting sentencing:
• Edward Dunn Whiteskunk, 51, of Hammond, Oklahoma, pled guilty to embezzling $5,919 of net gaming revenues from the Lucky Star Casinos. Whiteskunk served as a member of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Business Committee and was the elected representative of the Cheyenne District 4. (Case No. CR-08-35)

All of these cases are the result of an on-going investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jim Robinson and Arvo Mikkanen.