We welcome news that the federal Department of the Interior’s
Office of the Inspector General is investigating allegations of
fraud involving the local Amah Mutsun tribe.
We welcome news that the federal Department of the Interior’s Office of the Inspector General is investigating allegations of fraud involving the local Amah Mutsun tribe.
If that investigation delays one faction of tribe’s application for federal recognition of sovereignty, so be it.
These claims involving forged documents that might affect who controls the tribe are serious charges and have the potential to involve millions of dollars. One faction, headed by Irenne Zwierlein, has submitted an application to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and another faction, headed by Valentin Lopez, charges that her application includes forged documents.
Zwierlein and Sargent Ranch owner Wayne Pierce are partners in a deal to bring a large-scale development to 3,000 acres of the ranch northwest of the San Benito County border.
If Zwierlein obtains federal sovereignty recognition, she and Pierce will be able to skirt Santa Clara County zoning regulations, which have successfully frustrated Pierce’s development plans in the past.
Zweirlein has said the existence of forged documents in her group’s BIA application is “absolutely irrelevant” to the sovereignty application process.
It’s a ridiculous claim.
Millions of dollars in development and the quality of life in San Benito County and south Santa Clara County are at stake. Forged documents are absolutely relevant and any questions about the authenticity of the application must be cleared up immediately.
This is especially pressing in light of legislation introduce by Congressman Richard Pombo (R-Tracy) and Mike Honda (D-San Jose) that would speed processing of the disputed Amah Mutsun application.
We applaud the Inspector General’s decision to investigate, and can only complain that it didn’t come at the behest of Pombo or Honda, which would have been in the best interests of their constituents.
But we are grateful that the investigation is at least happening.
We hope the Inspector General’s investigators can get to the root of the fraud allegations, and that the Department of Justice prosecutes any criminal activity the probe uncovers.
This isn’t just a tribal matter. It should matter to everyone who lives in South Valley.
The outcome will impact if, when, and how thousands of pristine acres in South Santa Clara County are developed, and by whom.
