User:John Z/drafts/James Billie

MARCH 20, 1944: James E. Billie born.

After 24 years, 6 terms, he lost his position as chairman of the tribal council in 2003. He bought Micco Aircraft in 2006 from the Seminole Tribe.

Seminole Tribe v. Florida

http://www.sptimes.com/2003/03/19/State/Seminoles_sack_chairm.shtml

James E. Billie, the larger-than-life Seminole leader, was removed from his $312,000-a-year position Tuesday, ending a 24-year reign that brought both prosperity and controversy to the Florida tribe.

In a unanimous vote, the tribal council's four members found Billie had lied repeatedly to the tribe, ignored constitutional restraints placed on him and acted "as if the tribal government were his kingdom or his dictatorship."

"This is a sad ending," said Jim Shore, general counsel for the 3,000-member tribe. "James Billie was almost like a folk hero here. He could have gone down in history as one of the greatest tribal leaders of all time.

"His personality put us on the map. But after a while, he thought the tribal business was his personal candy store."

The 58-year-old Billie attended Tuesday's council meeting at tribal headquarters in Hollywood, Fla., but did not speak. He could not be reached for comment after the meeting.

In Billie's six terms as chairman, the Seminoles rose from a tribe subsisting on federal grants to a $300-million-a-year corporate giant whose members each received free education, free medical care and a dividend of $3,000 a month.

Billie, an alligator wrestler, songwriter and Vietnam veteran, brought a street fighter's mentality to the job as Seminole chairman. He cruised past state and federal regulators to expand casino gambling on tribal land, establishing a model for American Indian self-sufficiency copied across the United States.

Billie's pursuit of a secret offshore gambling venture became his undoing.

In findings released Tuesday, the council determined that Billie illegally manipulated a tribal investment account and funneled money to shell companies formed in Belize and Nicaragua to operate an Internet gambling site. The council also found that Billie helped create phony invoices to cover up the cash transfer.

Auditors ultimately discovered the falsified records and missing money. This led to the federal indictments of tribal operations manager Timothy Cox, computer consultant Dan Wisher and contractor Michael Crumpton on conspiracy, embezzlement and money laundering charges.

The case fell apart in December when Billie testified in a Broward County courtroom that he had authorized every element of the secret project. Billie said he undertook the plan after a consultant reported that an Internet gambling site might generate $740-million in three years. Billie said the site returned no more than $20,000 to the tribe.

A federal judge dismissed the charges against Cox, Wisher and Crumpton, but Billie's words on the witness stand became proof that he had lied to the Seminole Tribe.

Shore, the Seminole attorney, had counseled Billie about the Internet venture because he feared it might be illegal. Billie's pursuit of the plan despite that counsel "had the potential of jeopardizing the Seminole Tribe's existing gaming," according to the council's findings.

The council was particularly perturbed by Billie's admission in court that he had channeled $250,000 in Seminole funds into a Nicaraguan hotel bought by Cox and Wisher, then had given $80,000 to the two associates to finance a legal fight against the tribe for control of the hotel.

Contradicting his federal testimony, Billie told the council last week that the $80,000 was to post bond for Cox and Wisher after they were jailed by Nicaraguan authorities.

"Very few things upset a tribal member," said Shore. "But when an elected official stands up and says he is acting against the tribe for his friends, and then goes on to lie about it, that is something the tribal council cannot tolerate."

The council also found Billie illegally gave Cox authority to send a $15-million check to Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. to secure a $50-million corporate jet that Billie coveted.

Finally, the council found that Billie conspired with Cox to falsify documents to give $100,000 in phony sick time to former tribal administrator Christine O'Donnell. According to a suit filed by O'Donnell, the payoff came after Billie got O'Donnell pregnant, forced her to get an abortion, then fired her.

The suit, since settled, and questions about Billie's activities in Nicaragua, led to his suspension by the council in May 2001.

On Tuesday, council member Max Osceola felt the pain of Billie's removal more than most. Osceola's family took in Billie after Billie was orphaned as a teenager, and the two lived for several years as brothers.

"This has never happened before, and the council did not take it lightly," said Osceola. "But the tribe is like family, and when someone attacks your family, you stand shoulder to shoulder."

Tribal officials doubt they've heard the last of Billie.

Shore said the tribe received a letter from a California lawyer last week saying the council violated Billie's civil rights by refusing to allow his attorney or a court reporter to accompany Billie into a hearing to answer the council's charges.

Billie has also said he intends to run for chairman again in an election in May. But Billie's testimony at the federal trial presents a problem.

To qualify for office, a candidate must maintain nearly continuous residency on Seminole reservation property. Billie, who is estranged from his second wife, said on the witness stand that he had been living with his girlfriend, whose address is off reservation.

-- Jeff Testerman can be reached at (813) 226-3422 or by e-mail at testerman@sptimes.com.

James E. Billie and the Seminole Tribe

MARCH 20, 1944: James E. Billie born outside chimpanzee tourist attraction in Broward County.

JANUARY 1968: Billie, a staff sergeant, honorably discharged from the U.S. Army after two tours in Vietnam.

1971: Howard Tommie is elected Seminole chairman, introduces tax-free tobacco shops and comes up with idea of high-stakes bingo.

1979: Billie elected chairman. Seminoles' first bingo hall opens in Hollywood.

1981: Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta upholds Seminole Tribe's right to operate high-stakes bingo.

1982: Tampa bingo hall opens.

1996: Seminole Tribe takes the state of Florida to the U.S. Supreme Court over the right to sue to win expanding gambling rights. The court says the tribe cannot sue the state.

1997: The U.S. Justice Department says the Seminoles' video slot machines are illegal and asks a judge to order them unplugged. The case is pending.

APRIL 1999: The Florida Attorney General sues the U.S. Interior Department over its proposed rules allowing the Seminoles to offer full Las Vegas-style gambling.

1999: Billie elected to sixth-straight term as chairman. His newspaper, the Seminole Tribune, says among world leaders in the western hemisphere, only Fidel Castro has served longer.

2000: The National Indian Gaming Commission fines the tribe $3-million for failure to gain approval for a gambling contract at its Immokalee casino.

APRIL 2001: A federal appeals court upholds a record $3.4-million NIGC fine against the company that had an illegal contract to operate the Seminoles' Hollywood casino.

MAY 2001: With FBI agents in attendance, the tribal council suspends Billie, citing a sexual harassment suit against him and the pending results of a special audit of tribal finances. The council also takes control of the Seminole Tribune and fires Billie's lawyer and his top administrator.

2002: Tribe breaks ground on $300-million Hard Rock hotel-casinos in Hollywood and Tampa.

JANUARY 2002: Seminole General Counsel Jim Shore, perhaps Billie's leading adversary, survives an assassination attempt after being shot three times. The case remains unsolved.

JUNE 2002: A federal grand jury indicts three former tribal officials on charges of embezzling $2.7-million and funneling the cash to an offshore corporation.

DECEMBER 2002: A federal judge throws out all charges against the three defendants after Billie testifies they were following his orders to set up a secret Internet gambling site in Nicaragua.

MARCH 18, 2003: The tribal council removes Billie from tribal chairman's position, saying he lied to the tribe and "acted as if the tribal government were his kingdom or his dictatorship."