The Tohono O’odham Nation of Arizona last week—in another salvo of its lawsuit against the state’s Department of Gaming to try to force it to certify the tribe’s Class III Desert Diamond Casino—fired what may be its most lethal blow, a 213 court document that purports to show that Arizona officials secretly colluded with two of the nation’s competing gaming tribes. It is asking for legal sanctions.
On September 14 the Nation filed a motion asking for spoliation sanctions because an officer of the state government purposely destroyed records of a secret meeting. The law calls this “destruction or significant alteration of evidence, or the failure to preserve property for another’s use as evidence in pending or reasonably foreseeable litigation.”
The Nation’s motion, citing a deposition given by state Assistant Attorney General Roger Banan, notes that he described attending several secret meetings held more than a year ago between state officials and representatives of the Gila River Indian Community and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, gaming rivals of the Nation. Banan signed a “common interest agreement” with the tribes without reading it, and discussed ways to prevent the Nation from opening its casino resort in Glendale.
Banan took notes of the meeting in order to brief his superior Daniel Bergin, director of gaming, but then later deliberately destroyed the notes.
The Nation seeks sanctions against the state for destroying evidence. It also seeks sanctions because, it alleges, that Bergin took various actions, “not in an attempt to fairly regulate Indian gaming in Arizona, but rather, as a direct result of its meetings with the Gila River Indian Community and Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.”
Among those actions was 1) sending threatening letters to vendors who did business with the casino, 2) sending threatening letters to employees hired by the casino, 2) and sending letters to the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control suggested that the department deny the casino a liquor license—all with the purpose of delaying the casino’s opening until friendly members of Congress could pass the Keep the Promise Act, which would force the casino to close.
Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Edward Manuel last week issued this statement: “This case has uncovered a disturbing level of secret coordination between the state agency that oversees Indian gaming, and two competitor tribes that this agency is charged with regulating. Despite these questionable tactics, our primary goal remains the same – to continue providing positive jobs and economic opportunity for the Tohono O’odham Nation, the West Valley and Arizona.”
