Discretionary fund records subpoenaed

The Navajo Nation's White Collar Crime Unit and the Ethics & Rules Office have launched a joint investigation of the Navajo Nation Council's discretionary fund.

On Monday, the Ethics and Rules Committee subpoenaed all the discretionary fund records of the council's 88 delegates.

Lawrence John, ethics office director, confirmed Wednesday that he had asked the committee to issue the subpoena, which was hand-delivered to Terralyn Begaye, the custodian of records for the speaker's office on Monday.

John said he asked for the subpoena as part of the joint investigation.

"We want to look at the big picture," he said.

Ella Wilson, supervisor of the White Collar Crime Unit, was unavailable for comment Wednesday but her supervisor, Chief Prosecutor Bernadine Martin, said that office would have no comment.

"So long as the investigation is under the chief prosecutor, details cannot be discussed," Martin said.

John said the investigators will examine the documents for violations of the ethics in government law.

The subpoenas come less than a month after the most recent of two stories in the Navajo Times about questionable expenditures of the delegates' discretionary funds ("Legislative relatives received $100,000," Oct. 8, 2009).

John cited the story, which reported that financial records showed the mother of an employee in the legislative branch finance office got checks from a dozen or more delegates - an apparent violation of policies governing the council's discretionary funds.

The rules limited aid to an individual to once a year per delegate. But Helen Becenti, the mother of legislative employee Vicky Cecil, got 40 checks in one year, totaling $14,525. Altogether, 29 delegates signed aid checks for her that year and some gave multiple times.

Eleven days after a Sept. 10, 2009, Navajo Times story revealing that the limit was being routinely violated by well-connected tribal members, the Intergovernmental Relations Committee voted to relax the rule so a tribal member can receive financial aid once every six months.

But it specified that a constituent or organization could only receive assistance from one delegate at a time.

John noted that the council's policy does not block legislative staff and their relatives from receiving discretionary assistance. But it does limit the number of times an individual gets a discretionary fund check, he said.

And if anyone on the financial staff was involved in the approval of financial aid for their family members, that could be a violation of the tribe's conflict of interest law, John said.

For example, he said, it would be a conflict of interest if Laura Calvin, who heads the legislative finance office, approved aid for her daughter, Amanda Teller, who has received over $28,000 in discretionary aid since 2003.

Applications for aid are reviewed and approved by the legislative finance office.

According to two delegates, changes made by the gatekeepers in the wake of the Times stories have now made it almost impossible to help some of the neediest tribal members. (See separate story)

The conflict-of-interest section of the ethics law states that no public official or employee shall use, or attempt to use their office or duties for "private economic gain" and ahead of the interests of the general public they are intended to serve.

The law also mandates public officials and employees to avoid any action or the appearance of using public office for private gain or giving preferential treatment to any special interest organization or person.

Among the checks Amanda Teller and her sister Andrea Calvin received were several signed by their father, Delegate Leonard Teller (Lukachukai/Tsaile/Wheatfields).  Teller is married to Laura Calvin.

Records obtained by the Navajo Times show that on Dec. 1, 2006, Teller signed a $200 check to Amanda Teller. Andrea Calvin, the other daughter, received a total of eight checks from him. Two were in 2008 and amounted to $1,000, two were in 2006, totaling $800, and in 2006, she received four checks from Teller that amounted to $2,000.

None of those named in the Times stories have responded to the Times requests for comment.

On Wednesday, John said Laura Calvin asked him if he wanted all the records for all of the 88 council delegates.

His response was "yes."

When Calvin explained that it would be a lengthy process to make copies of the documents subpoenaed, John said he offered to have his staff pick up the records and make copies.

At press time Wednesday, Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan (Iyanbito/Pinedale) had not responded to questions and telephone messages from the Navajo Times concerning the investigation.

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