U.S. Representative Richard Pombo (R-Tracy) said federal
legislation with the potential to shave a decade or more from
efforts to develop Sargent Ranch, thousands of pristine acres
northwest of Hollister, should not move forward before claims of
fraud in tribal politics have been investigated.
U.S. Representative Richard Pombo (R-Tracy) said federal legislation with the potential to shave a decade or more from efforts to develop Sargent Ranch, thousands of pristine acres northwest of Hollister, should not move forward before claims of fraud in tribal politics have been investigated.
“If there are allegations that are out there they should be answered before the legislation moves forward,” Pombo said in a Tuesday interview, referring to HR 3475, a bill introduced by U.S. Representative Mike Honda (D-San Jose).
The legislation calls for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to issue a final ruling within one year on the Amah Mutsun Indian tribe’s petition for federal recognition. The process of receiving recognition as an official tribe, which otherwise could take a decade or more, is the first step before the Amah Mutsun can reclaim Sargent Ranch, part of their ancestral lands.
As chairman of the congressional House Resources Committee, Pombo has the power to bottle up any legislation affecting tribal affairs. His comments came in response to a report last week that found that BIA officials relied on alleged forgeries in adopting a neutral stance toward a leadership dispute in the local Amah Mutsun Indian Tribe – a decision that could shape the fate of Sargent Ranch and other nearby areas considered ancestral lands.
Amah Mutsun tribal leader Irenne Zwierlein has struck a multimillion-dollar development pact with Sargent Ranch owner Wayne Pierce, a high-profile developer, to open up the land to large-scale development. Santa Clara County supervisors have spurned Pierce’s past efforts to build golf courses and hillside homes on the property, but the economic development deal with Zwierlein that could allow him to sidestep county zoning laws. Everything hinges on the tribe gaining federal recognition and placing the land under Indian sovereignty.
But rival Amah Mutsun leader Valentin Lopez, whose faction hopes to preserve most of Sargent Ranch, claims Zwierlein has no authority to negotiate such deals. He says her claims to leadership are based on forged documents – a charge Zwierlein denies.
In late July, Lopez disclosed a forensic analysis he commissioned backing up his allegations. The analysis found that two forged letters were sent to federal officials five years ago, after Zwierlein resigned as tribal chairwoman and formed a new governing body.
Pombo said that “if the BIA is incapable of or unwilling to give a timely response” to the fraud charges – something he doubted the agency has the capacity to do – that the matter should be referred to the Department of Interior’s Office of Inspector General, the agency responsible for investigating charges of wrongdoing at the BIA and other department bureaus.
Neither Pombo nor representatives from congressman Honda’s office committed to placing the phone call to trigger such an investigation.
“I don’t know that we’re going to call for an immediate investigation but we would certainly expect the documents in question to be scrutinized,” said Jay Staunton, press secretary for Honda. “We’re going to need to review our options and determine the best course of action.”
Pombo and representatives of Honda have both stated that they have met with representatives from both factions in the tribal dispute, and have no intention of taking sides in the matter.
The BIA, meanwhile, held fast to its position that any suspect documents would undergo review and referral to the inspector general’s office, once the tribe’s petition for acknowledgment comes up for active review.
“Our staff, they are not criminal investigators, they are historians, archeologists and genealogists,” said BIA spokeswoman Nedra Darling. “And if this is something people feel strongly about, they should not wait until we get to the formal review process when it might come up. Forgery is a crime and there are agencies that deal with criminal matters precisely.”
In the absence of an immediate referral from the BIA, investigations can be tipped off in two ways, according to Roy Kime, a spokesperson for the DOI’s Office of Inspector General.
“We have a hotline that people can call in and report fraud, waste, and abuse,” Kime said. “So that could be one method of an investigation being initiated. Or, in the past we’ve had congressional inquiries. They usually come from committees or committee chairmen, but they might come from an individual congressman.”
Lopez expressed disappointment in the lack of immediate action by federal lawmakers and regulators.
“We will be writing letters to our congressmen asking them to request that the BIA and the inspector general immediately investigate this,” Lopez said. “We’ll be looking at other government authorities who have responsibilities for researching these kinds of matters. We intend to keep pressing them until someone recognizes that fraud is a serious crime and is not to be ignored -especially by the government.”
Zwierlein and Pierce did not return requests for comment.
