Chairman of Indian Gaming Commission leaving his post
BY TRACEY A. REEVES
 
Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 01:55:34 -0500
 

Knight-Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON -- The nation's top regulator of Indian gambling, criticized recently
 for acting more like a cheerleader for tribal casinos than a federal 
administrator, has resigned.

The regulator, Harold A. Monteau, the first Indian to head a U.S. federal 
regulatory commission, said he was leaving because he can be more useful to 
Native Americans outside government.

A spokeswoman for Monteau, 43, chairman of the National Indian Gaming 
Commission, denied that he was being pushed out the door.

``Nobody's making him leave,'' said spokeswoman Charlotte Hrncir. ``It was his 
decision.'' Monteau declined to be interviewed.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., would like to think otherwise.

Reid, an outspoken critic of the $4.5-billion-a-year Indian gambling trade, 
recently demanded Monteau's resignation after accusing him of being lazy and 
inept, incapable of guiding tribes through the government's main tribal gambling
 law -- the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).

``Successful gaming is contingent upon good management,'' said Reid, after 
learning of Monteau's resignation. ``Chairman Monteau demonstrated complete 
inability to carry out his responsibilities.''

Monteau, an attorney and a Chippewa Cree Indian from Montana, was appointed by 
President Clinton in 1994. He said through his spokeswoman that he would leave 
by the end of January and had not yet decided what he would do next.

The three-member gaming commission, established by Congress, oversees 274 
gambling operations on 182 reservations. The commission also reviews tribal 
casino contracts and checks the backgrounds of high-ranking casino employees for
 criminal activity.

The commission has an annual budget of $2.5 million. Monteau is paid $115,700.

The two other commissioners are Phil Hogan, an Oglala Sioux from the Pine Ridge 
Reservation in South Dakota, and Tom Foley, a former county prosecutor from 
Minnesota.

As chairman, Monteau has sole power to approve casino contracts. The two other 
commissioners, appointed by the interior secretary, generally serve as advisers 
to the chairman.

Monteau's supporters say he's performed his duties well enough to keep Indian 
gambling from becoming corrupt, despite critics who suggest tribal casinos are 
ripe for criminal activity, such as skimming and money laundering.

``It's bad news he's leaving, because he's basically kept Indian gaming clean,''
 said Rick Hill, an Oneida Indian from Wisconsin and chairman of the National 
Indian Gaming Association, a lobby group for tribes with casinos.

Melanie Benjamin, spokeswoman for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in Onamia, 
Minn., which operates a successful casino, said, ``If he's having a hard time, 
it's because the position is inherently difficult and would be for anyone. When 
you're Native American working in the high ranks in Washington, you're 
constantly under scrutiny. When you're a native overseeing Indian interests 
you're under even more scrutiny.''