issue.”
Ella sat up, sensing there was more to the story.“What do you mean?”
“About ten days ago, Kevin was assaulted outside our D.C. office late one evening. He believed that his assailants were people hired by casino management to get him to back off, because he wasn’t robbed, just roughed up. Of course that made Kevin even more determined to see the case through.”
Ella glanced at Blalock and saw him nod imperceptibly at her. He’d follow up onthe crime report later.
She focused back on Buck. “I’m going to need to know more about the lawsuit. What kind of evidence did Kevin have that the company was stealing from the tribe?”
Buck took a deep breath and expelled it in a hiss. “I was hoping you wouldn’t ask. Your chief of police called the tribal president earlier and he asked me to give you all the details. For the record, I don’tagree with that decision, but I’ll go along with it.”
Ella waited, knowing, eventually, he’d continue.
“The tribe ordered an audit, and every dollar we’d paid Casino Enterprises was accounted for, but when Kevin took a closer look, new details came to light. Their charges for administrative services, equipment, and supplies were often way out line compared to established rates, and some transactionslooked like duplicates of earlier orders with just the dates and invoice numbers changed. Then he discovered that Casino Enterprises had been hired to run the casino through a series of smaller, concurrent contracts. That allowed them to avoid the single, larger contract amount that would have required competitive bids.”
“What put Kevin onto the scam?” Blalock asked.
“An informant sent him ane-mail with copies of the invoices. When management was asked to account for discrepancies, we got accusations of harassment, then a stall, asking for time to conduct an internal audit. That’s when the coverupbegan. Kevin learned that the manager had been allowed to use his own people to conduct the initial audit, so we decided to get informants to fill in the gaps and take the company to courtonce we had a case.”
“So Kevin’s been trying to find additional informants so he can gather more evidence?” Ella asked.
“Exactly. What works in our favor is that Casino Enterprises Management can’t afford the unfavorable publicity. They’re trying to close a deal with another tribe in Oklahoma. Mind you, CEM is still capable of playing hardball, but we’re not sure to what extent.”
“So it’s possible,maybe even likely, that Kevin
was
the target and Adam got caught in the crossfire because the gunmen had to make sure they got the right guy. Both victims were dressed alike and share similar physical characteristics,” Ella said. “But that still doesn’t explain the money Adam was carrying.”
“Adam was—is—a lobbyist, and his job is to represent tribal interests. That includes promoting the passageof favorable legislation and bringing investments and industry to the Navajo Nation. I suppose the cash could have been a payoff for one of the companies he contacted, but who funded it? Had it been a legitimate money transfer, it would have gone through the banking systems,” Buck said.
“My thoughts exactly,” Blalock agreed.
“I’ll try to get more information for you about the government officialsand business concerns he was supposed to be in contact with,” Buck said, “but tread carefully. We can’t risk embarrassing the wrong people.”
A few minutes later, Buck saw them to the door. “Keep me updated,” he added just before going back inside.
Ella remained quiet as they got back on the main highway, heading north on Highway 491.
Finally Blalock glanced over at her. “Something aboutRobertBuck annoyed you big time,” he said. “Don’t bother to deny it. What’s the problem?”
“His first priority wasn’t the injured men. It was protecting the case one of his trial attorneys was working on and making sure no blame could be
Ella sat up, sensing there was more to the story.“What do you mean?”
“About ten days ago, Kevin was assaulted outside our D.C. office late one evening. He believed that his assailants were people hired by casino management to get him to back off, because he wasn’t robbed, just roughed up. Of course that made Kevin even more determined to see the case through.”
Ella glanced at Blalock and saw him nod imperceptibly at her. He’d follow up onthe crime report later.
She focused back on Buck. “I’m going to need to know more about the lawsuit. What kind of evidence did Kevin have that the company was stealing from the tribe?”
Buck took a deep breath and expelled it in a hiss. “I was hoping you wouldn’t ask. Your chief of police called the tribal president earlier and he asked me to give you all the details. For the record, I don’tagree with that decision, but I’ll go along with it.”
Ella waited, knowing, eventually, he’d continue.
“The tribe ordered an audit, and every dollar we’d paid Casino Enterprises was accounted for, but when Kevin took a closer look, new details came to light. Their charges for administrative services, equipment, and supplies were often way out line compared to established rates, and some transactionslooked like duplicates of earlier orders with just the dates and invoice numbers changed. Then he discovered that Casino Enterprises had been hired to run the casino through a series of smaller, concurrent contracts. That allowed them to avoid the single, larger contract amount that would have required competitive bids.”
“What put Kevin onto the scam?” Blalock asked.
“An informant sent him ane-mail with copies of the invoices. When management was asked to account for discrepancies, we got accusations of harassment, then a stall, asking for time to conduct an internal audit. That’s when the coverupbegan. Kevin learned that the manager had been allowed to use his own people to conduct the initial audit, so we decided to get informants to fill in the gaps and take the company to courtonce we had a case.”
“So Kevin’s been trying to find additional informants so he can gather more evidence?” Ella asked.
“Exactly. What works in our favor is that Casino Enterprises Management can’t afford the unfavorable publicity. They’re trying to close a deal with another tribe in Oklahoma. Mind you, CEM is still capable of playing hardball, but we’re not sure to what extent.”
“So it’s possible,maybe even likely, that Kevin
was
the target and Adam got caught in the crossfire because the gunmen had to make sure they got the right guy. Both victims were dressed alike and share similar physical characteristics,” Ella said. “But that still doesn’t explain the money Adam was carrying.”
“Adam was—is—a lobbyist, and his job is to represent tribal interests. That includes promoting the passageof favorable legislation and bringing investments and industry to the Navajo Nation. I suppose the cash could have been a payoff for one of the companies he contacted, but who funded it? Had it been a legitimate money transfer, it would have gone through the banking systems,” Buck said.
“My thoughts exactly,” Blalock agreed.
“I’ll try to get more information for you about the government officialsand business concerns he was supposed to be in contact with,” Buck said, “but tread carefully. We can’t risk embarrassing the wrong people.”
A few minutes later, Buck saw them to the door. “Keep me updated,” he added just before going back inside.
Ella remained quiet as they got back on the main highway, heading north on Highway 491.
Finally Blalock glanced over at her. “Something aboutRobertBuck annoyed you big time,” he said. “Don’t bother to deny it. What’s the problem?”
“His first priority wasn’t the injured men. It was protecting the case one of his trial attorneys was working on and making sure no blame could be
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