News you can use
News you can use
A Havre businessman and former school board chair and a former state and tribal official and his wife were scheduled to appear in federal court in Great Falls this morning to again answer charges they embezzled disaster money at Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation.
Former Havre school board chair Shad Huston and Tony and Hailey Belcourt pleaded not guilty last fall to charges they conspired to embezzle money the tribal government received to repair damage from the 2010 flood.
Tony Belcourt, the CEO of the tribally owned Chippewa Cree Construction Corp. that was the lead contractor for the disaster repair work, was a previous Chippewa Cree Tribe council member and a former state representative.
The federal government re-indicted the three Feb. 20 in a 19-page document alleging Belcourt made payments to Huston through his businesses including TMP Services and K & N Consulting with the understanding Huston would make payments back to Belcourt, “so that both could corruptly profit from the expenditure of tribal insurance and (Federal Emergency Management Agency) funds.”
The indictment lists $597,895 it says are payments from Chippewa Cree Construction or the the Chippewa Cree Tribe to Huston’s businesses between May 20, 2011, and Dec. 22, 2011, and $322,500 in payments made by Huston or his businesses to Tony and Hailey Belcourt between June 24, 2011, and Dec. 22, 3011.
Reader Comments(4)
EagleII writes:
Hey Genius, they were not re-indicted three times on the same charges. You seriously want us to believe that the Federal Government has nothing better to do than wear these people down emotionally (they did it to themselves) and financially (the finances they STOLE from the tribe). Give me a break. Also, people don't accept plea deals on charades. But heck of an effort Genius.
03/07/2014, 1:01 pm
frankie writes:
Not very smart, genius. Anybody that has a rudimentary knowledge of this case knows that there is a reason for these indictments.
03/06/2014, 3:10 pm
genius writes:
Doesn't take a genius to see that after re-indicting these people three times on the same charges that the government is waging a war of attrition against these defendants. Basically, trying to wear them down and break them (financially and emotionally) and attempting to coerce them into plea deals as the government appears to have neither the evidence and or proof to convict these people. The government does however have the resources, our resources to keep this charade going.
03/05/2014, 8:44 am
Snowman writes:
It doesn't take a genius to see that the whole deal is theft and money laundering.
03/04/2014, 5:16 pm