Chapter 2- Open Letter from Bob Foreman (cont.)

< Tribal Attorney David Rapport was quoted in the August 2006 Harpers magazine stating, “Part of the impetus for the Redding Rancheria disenrollment, according to the tribe’s own lawyer, was “all kinds of interpersonal things. There were a lot of things family members did to others that were resented.”

I can only assume Mr. Rapport’s was referring to the things my family brought to the tribal council table that officials wanted to keep hidden. Often times these “interpersonal things” were brought to my family’s attention by family members of former Tribal Chairwoman Tracy Edwards’ family the “Benners” and family members of current Tribal Chairwoman Barbara Murphy’s family the “Haywards.” These “interpersonal things” were brought to my family's attention after these tribal officials tried to sweep the corruption under the rug.

One such example was when members of Tribal Attorney Tracy Edwards' family were upset when they found out their brother and uncle Jim Benner, who was the tribe's Gaming Commissioner at Win River Casino, had fraudulently enrolled his adopted daughter into the tribe years earlier. 

I understand that JoAnna Turmel (Benner) talked to you about issues concerning ***** ******'s enrollment status.  You indicated to me that you would like me to “check into this.” Following our conversation I looked into the file surrounding ***** ******'s enrollment.  The file is complete.  March 13, 1997 letter from Tribal Attorney Tracy Edwards to Brenda Foreman-Spidle.

That may have satisfied my daughter Brenda but it did not satisfy the Benner family.  For the next two years they complained to both my family and Enrollment Director Hope Wilkes.

“I have known since I was very young that ***** was not Jim Benner’s biological daughter.  The fact that he adopted her after he married her mother was never an issue of secrecy…I went to the acting secretary at the time, Hope Wilkes, and asked her why is ***** voting, and I told her that she had been adopted by Jim many years earlier.  I was told by Hope, “That it had all been taken care of. Jim had brought in *paternity papers for her.”      September 29, 1999 letter to the Enrollment Committee from current Tribal Councilwoman Jo Anna Benner Turmel, sister of Jim Benner. 

 “My Uncle Jim is guilty of fraud against this tribe knowingly and willing enrolled a child that was not his own.  If you look at an enrollment application it specifically ask if the child is adopted my uncle had to have lied when he did her application.”  Letter from Patricia R. Alonso to a number of Redding Rancheria tribal citizens.

Eventually the Tribal Council requested the Gaming Commissioner Jim Benner and his adopted daughter do a simple DNA test to determine paternity.  No test was done so the Gaming Commissioner’s daughter and her children were taken off the Tribal roll.

Tracy Edwards speaking on the Foremans disenrollment,“This family was the only one enrolled without an **original birth certificate.”  Redding Record Searchlight article titled Tribe Defends Decision to Expel Foremans,  February 19, 2004.

Two years before the Gaming Commissioner Jim Benner's daughter was removed from the tribal roll: “...in the past the Indians here were shunned because of poverty and prejudice.  Tribal members now use DNA testing on the children of single mothers who claim the baby’s fathers are Indians.  Two such women have been turned away.…Money does crazy things to people” says Tribal Gaming representative Jim Benner. October 24, 1998 article titled Impoverished north-state tribe gambles, hits jackpot.

< Gaming Commisioner Jim Benner, left, with NIGC Chairman Montie Deer.

picture from October 2000  Redding Rancheria Review article titled NIGC commissioner visits Rancheria.

                                                Leon Benner, brother of Jim Benner, on right>

Redding Rancheria Tribal Councilman, North Eastern Representative for CNIGA. Picture from April-June 2006 issue of The Smoke Signal article titled CNIGA Meets with Governor Schwarzenegger.

My family tried to put in a better system of checks and balances but they were always met with resistance.  Such was the case when I, as the Tribal Chairman, called for an audit of Win River Casino.  Former Casino Bingo Manager Glen Hayward Jr., who was supervised by his cousin General Manager Gary Hayward, protested strongly in a letter presented at a tribal council meeting: 

To Tribal Chairman:

I'm writing this letter to ask you about the auditor that you hired to do the Managerial Review.  First let’s ask what type of credentials this man has? Second, where did he get his information?  These are all questions that every Win-River manager would like answers too.  Now my personal question, what type of bullsh*t scam are you trying to pull now.  Obviously there’s something in it for you otherwise you wouldn't be putting this much interest in our hall.

Every manager in this hall has busted their butts, to make this place work.  We work a lot of hours for low pay and bad benefits.  This is something that we don't complain about, because unlike you, we're working for our people!!!  But one thing that I do complain about is the *lack of trust, supported overall attitude, that yourself and most of the Tribal council has with this management team.

Bob, all of our positions were approved by tribal Council.  Now Bob, if your still stuck in that insecure untrusting ere, where your worried about the Haywards taking over or vice versa, then you need to wake up and come back to real life. In closing, I would like to inform you, that when the auditor comes back next week he had better have factual and documented evidence to back up his accusations, or I will take legal actions against yourself and the Redding Rancheria for defamation of my character and slander of my name.

< Glen Hayward, Bingo Manager

On December 2, 1999, Bingo Manager Glen Hayward Jr. was convicted of felony grand theft for stealing a substantial amount of money from Win River Casino. The true amount of money taken was never revealed. 

I know families of all races, including past presidents of the United States, have “black sheep” in them.  That doesn’t mean we stop loving them or praying that they will return on to the right path.  But doesn't mean we condone their past behavior by putting them in positions of authority that could jeopardize both U.S. and Tribal citizens.

Tribal Councilman Virgil Baker Sr. is just one such example.  According to a Shasta County Sheriff Deputy’s arrest report for a felon in possession of a firearm, “I went to the Winn River casino in response to a reported man with a gun and shots fired. Upon arrival, I talked with McKinney, who is a security supervisor. He said that Baker had been causing problems at the casino for the last two hours. Baker who appeared to be intoxicated was in the parking lot yelling at the security guards, throwing rocks at the building and cars in the parking lot, and threatening him (McKinney).

Baker would leave and then come back a short time later and start the same thing again.  At one time, Baker walked up to the front door of the casino and threw a dead skunk into the casino. Later, Baker walked through the parking lot carrying a rifle. He walked into the underbrush area north of the parking lot and a few minutes later they heard several gunshots. No one actually saw Baker fire the rifle.

After being released from incarceration, Virgil Baker Sr. was hired to work at Win River Casino under the Supervision of General Manager Gary Hayward. On July 12, 2000, Virgil Baker Sr. was convicted of felony grand theft for stealing $2000.00 as an employee of Win River Casino. 

“We don't want our tribe to be run by *outside consultants.” Edwards said…..The casino's top executives General Manager Gary Hayward and Gaming Director Mike Hayward are tribal members. Redding Record Searchlight newspaper article titled Tribal leaders prepare for power shift.  February 23, 2005.                                 

<  Gary Hayward                                                                                                                                                  Mike Hayward >

New CEO Tracy Edwards failed to mention that Gary Hayward supervises his brother Gaming Director Mike Hayward as both a Tribal Councilman and as the General Manager of Win River Casino.  Nor did Ms. Edwards mention that, in 1990, Mike Hayward was sentenced to a state prison for felony burglary of the first degree.  After his release, he had his probation revoked for felony battery with serious injury.               

...Tribe attorney David Rapport said the rancheria followed tribal policy for removing members. “I know from dealing with the leadership of the tribe that they were not motivated by casino money at all,”  Rapport said.  Associated Press newspaper article titled Casino Wealth Escalates Tribal Membership Fights, March 28, 2004.

I can still hear Barbara Hayward-Murphy's words at those tribal council meetings “don't you trust?” or “are you questioning my integrity?”

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