Soboba Indian chairman arrested in California on charges of bribery, false tax returns

Soboba Indian leader arrested on bribery charges

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The chairman of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians was arrested Friday for allegedly taking more than $250,000 in bribes from tribal vendors and misreporting his income to the federal government.

Robert Salgado Sr., 67, surrendered voluntarily to FBI agents at the U.S. District Court in Riverside after being informed he had been charged with conspiracy, bribery and filing a false tax return in a 36-count indictment returned last week.

He made a first appearance Friday afternoon on 29 counts of bribery, one count of conspiracy and six tax-related counts and was freed on $150,000 bond. He did not enter a plea.

Salgado’s attorney, Robert A. Davis Jr., did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Prosecutors allege that Salgado accepted bribes from vendors who had business contracts with the tribe. Bribes allegedly included cash, payment of personal bills for himself and his wife and checks written to a front business he had established called R. J. Woods Service.

In one instance in 2004, a vendor wrote seven checks totaling $40,400 to pay Salgado’s personal bills, the indictment alleges. Other payments included $2,500 in cash, $39,843 in checks and $5,000 for tickets to a boxing match.

One of the tribal vendors, Abbas Shilleh, also was charged with bribery in the indictment. Shilleh owns California Parking Services, Inc., which provides valet parking at the Soboba Casino near San Jacinto, a rural area of Riverside County about 85 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Shilleh’s attorney, Nicholas Nassif, also did not return a message seeking comment.

In May 2008, three Soboba tribal members were killed in two separate shootouts with Riverside County sheriff’s deputies on the reservation over a five-day period.

Tension mounted between the tribe and local law enforcement when Salgado said the deputies considered the reservation their “practice range,” said they did not treat the tribe as a sovereign nation and withheld information from Sobobas before and after the shootings.

Salgado also criticized a deputy-enforced lockdown of the reservation after the shootings.

The tribe’s Web site says it has about 900 members, but many live in communities neighboring the reservation. The Soboba Casino has operated since 1995.

Salgado, whose next court date is Nov. 2, faces 10 years in prison for each bribery charge, five years in prison for the conspiracy charge and three years for each tax filing charge if convicted.