News you can use
News you can use
Bruce Harold Sunchild’s change of plea hearing has been reset for Oct. 30.
Sunchild was chair of the Chippewa Cree Tribe’s Business Committee in 2011 and was later charged with theft from an Indian tribal organization and accepting bribes. He was originally scheduled to plead guilty Monday.
He took the chair after his predecessor, Raymond “Jake” Parker, resigned the day before he pleaded guilty to embezzling from the tribe.
Sunchild was indicted with former Havre Public School Board Chair Chad Huston, who received more indictments. Huston pleaded guilty to the charges Aug. 25. He is set for sentencing Nov. 24.
Sunchild and Huston are part of a string of indictments against Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation officials and off-reservaton cohorts after the U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana’s Guardians Project launched an investigation at the reservation.
Sunchild and Tony Belcourt, former CEO and contracting officer of the Chippewa Cree Construction Corp., allegedly approved a $300,000 check to business owned by Huston, who gave money back to Belcourt and Sunchild. Sunchild received $24,997 from Huston and used it to buy a vehicle, which he put in his daughter’s name.
Belcourt was sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison with three years probation and was ordered to pay $667,183 restitution.
Reader Comments(1)
rbcitizen writes:
Wow... Our cultural leader is in deep trouble, and they still give him a job at the tribal office, these corrupt people are well taken care of by the finance office, even our other felon Jake is hired as a director. These people have no fear of the Feds.... As the corruption goes on.
10/24/2014, 11:28 am