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California State Athletic Commission appointee, mother of pitcher Kyle Lohse, caught up in huge tribal $ dispute w/ armed guards
By Zach Arnold | June 20, 2014
One year ago, Governor Jerry Brown’s office appointed Leslie Lohse, the mother of baseball pitcher Kyle Lohse, to the California State Athletic Commission board. Here was our reaction & background information on the political appointment. Lohse, who was the treasurer of the Paskenta Band of Nomiaki Indians in Tehama County (a couple of hours north of Sacramento), was someone who might have been viewed as an asset to help the Athletic Commission negotiate with tribes running combat sports events without CSAC regulation. In other words, there was an internal belief in some Sacramento circles that she could have helped out with venues like Lemoore (Tachi Palace) in getting CSAC oversight of events back on track.
Lohse also was involved in the debate over online gambling, politicking against New Jersey’s online gambling efforts. Here is a glowing online profile of Lohse.
BOOM! Powerful Cali tribal group vows to "strongly oppose any legislation which allows PokerStars to participate." http://t.co/huT96qoXbl
— Marco Valerio (@AgentMarco) March 22, 2014
Instead of being an active player at CSAC meetings, Lohse vanished in a hurry and mysteriously never was brought into the Athletic Commission fold. And now we know why. The reasons are explosive.
The Sacramento Bee reported on Friday that a judge has issued a temporary restraining order against rival, armed factions at the Rolling Hills Casino that Lohse was heavily involved in making a success. Lohse was reportedly suspended as treasurer after being accused by tribal Chairman Andy Freeman of embezzling a lot of money & misusing the Paskenta tribe’s jet. The judge issuing the TRO is apparently on the side of new management. The superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Central California continues to recognize Lohse as the tribe’s treasurer while the mediation process between the two rival factions takes place.
The story of the armed stand-off between the two tribal factions has been heavily covered in the Red Bluff, Redding, I-5 area of Northern California. The situation is disastrous and comes on the heels of the violence in Modoc County, the state’s sparsely-populated Northeastern county. Here’s Courthouse News:
The General Council also removed four of the five members of the Tribal Council – Leslie Lohse, David Swearinger, Geraldine Freeman and Allen Swearinger – leaving only Chairman Andy Freeman.
The General Council elected four new members to replace those who left. The Tribal Council is now led by Andy Freeman, who secured the casino with hired, armed security, according to the Observer.
The four ousted members maintain that they are the duly elected Tribal Council of the Paskenta Band and have established their own Tribal Court and Tribal Police Department.
Paskenta Band's Chair Andy Freeman and tribe's former Treasu. Leslie Lohse in front of Rolling Hills Casino 6 hrs ago pic.twitter.com/8RPu7aKfDL
— Brian Johnson Khsl (@brianjohnson006) June 12, 2014
Andy Freeman also made hacking allegations against suspended tribal members. The suspended tribal members have allegedly attempted to shut down Rolling Hills Casino. In the RB Daily News article, a former sheriff is quoted as saying that the suspended tribal members wanted to shut the casino down to stop the flow of money to the new tribal leaders.
It’s no wonder that Lohse never showed up for the Athletic Commission. And it’s a demonstration of the kind of politicking in Sacramento that has created a chaotic regulatory climate in the state for combat sports. Nobody knows what the hell is going on.
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