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July 8, 2008

Watonga man pleads guilty to embezzlement from tribal casinos

Staff and wire reports



A Watonga man has pleaded guilty in federal court to em-bezzling money from two casinos owned by the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.

Eugene Blackbear Jr. was a tribal liaison to operators of its Lucky Star Casinos in Concho and Clinton. Authorities said he pocketed almost $13,000.

Blackbear, 55, said he kept more than $2,600 meant to pay for a trip to a conference in California in 2005. He faces to 10 years in prison. He will be sentenced in a few months.

A former Cheyenne-Arapa-ho tribal treasurer was senten-ced last week in another em-bezzlement case involving ca-sino funds. Edward Dunn Whiteskunk, 51, of Hammon, earned a year and a day in pris-on and three years of supervis-ed release and pay restitution of $98,865.97 to the tribes and $100 special assessment fee.

He pleaded guilty in Feb-ruary in federal court to embezzlement of $5,919 from tribal casinos in July 2003. He had served on Cheyenne-Arapaho Business Committee and was treasurer for about two years.

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