The attorneys hired to represent several members of California’s Chukchansi tribe who allegedly participated in an armed raid on the Chukchansi Gold Casino in Coarsegold last year may be getting paid out of casino funds.
That is the allegation of members of one of the opposing tribal factions that did not support the October 9 raid on the casino—a raid that helped close down the casino, which remains closed to this day.
One of the three feuding tribal factions, the Morris Reid faction, filed an affidavit in court claiming that the criminal attorneys representing the Tex McDonald faction are being paid from tribal money that McDonald secreted.
Fifteen defendants are being prosecuted in the case
The Morris faction also asks that the court hold a third group, the faction of Reggie Lewis and Nancy Ayala, in contempt for not carrying out the judge’s orders to equally distribute payments to all enrolled members. The Lewis and Ayala faction have been in charge of the tribe’s books for more than three years.
In a related development Madera County Superior Court Judge Mitchell Rigby, who had been presiding over the casino raid case was disqualified from judging it after he was removed by a “peremptory challenge” by the defense.
Rigby allowed the challenge and moved the case to the courtroom of Judge Dale Blea.
