Chief U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp recently sentenced former Winnebago Tribal Council member Thomas Snowball to five years probation and ordered him to pay ,500 in restitution for theft from the tribe’s WinnaVegas Casino Resort in Sloan, Iowa. Snowball had pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Omaha in August to one count of theft from a gaming establishment on Indian lands. Conspiracy and wire fraud charges were dropped under a plea agreement.
Nine former council members were indicted in July 2016 on charges of conspiracy, theft from a gaming establishment on Indian lands and wire fraud. Snowball is the fourth to be sentenced. Charles Aldrich, Louis Houghton and Lawrence Payer all have been placed on probation and ordered to pay restitution ranging from $36,000 to $36,500. Each pleaded guilty to theft from a gaming establishment. Darwin Snyder and former Tribal Chairman John Blackhawk also have pleaded guilty to theft and are awaiting sentencing.
Travis Mallory has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and last month a judge granted a defense request to have Ramona Wolfe undergo a mental health examination to determine if she is competent to understand the charges filed against her and assist in her defense. A judge recently dismissed all charges against Morgan Earth.
The case originated from a 2015 tribal investigation leading to the resignations or terminations of the nine by newly elected council members. An FBI investigation found that the former tribal council members had given themselves raises and bonuses totaling $327,500 directly from the WinnaVegas Casino Resort, without approval at council meetings, and that the distributions were listed as miscellaneous administrative expenses.
