Santa Ynez, Ca. Apr 22, 2010 Grass roots citizen groups file brief citing Supreme Court decisions ("Carcieri v. Salazar" and Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs), arguing that the Santa Ynez casino tribe is not eligible to take 6.9 acres into federal "trust," and that the federal government cannot take land ceded to the state into "trust." ( POLO and POSY v. the United States Department of the Interior, latest filing 4/6/10, http://www.santaynezvalleyjournal.com/archive/8/16/6 278/

Land that is taken into federal trust and called a "reservation," on behalf of a tribal government is outside local and state taxation and regulatory authority. Any development on land in trust can take place regardless of zoning or local regulations. Businesses that are on land in trust do not pay taxes unlike all other business on fee (non-trust) land.

"Five years ago Santa Ynez casino tribe chairman Vincent Armenta started his aggressive plan to turn the Santa Ynez Valley into a casino town by applying for 6.9 acres across from the casino to go into federal trust," stated Kathy Cleary, POLO Board President." "Later he made the plan very clear in testimony to the House Committee on Natural Resources when he requested that the Secretary of the Interior work with him to re-acquire aboriginal territory. The territory he claims is 7000 square miles and includes five counties."

(http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/images/Document s/20080227/testimony_armenta.pdf)

Cleary continued, "POLO and POSY filed a lawsuit against the federal government to stop the 6.9 acres from going into trust because we knew this was just the beginning of Mr. Armenta's plan to use their gambling windfall and buy thousands of acres of acres of farm land to place into trust in order to avoid local zoning regulations and to avoid taxation that is needed to support the local schools, sheriff, fire and transportation infrastructure."

"Since attempting to take the 6.9 acres into trust the tribal casino interest has purchased a number of commercial properties and last month under Mr. Armenta's lead the tribe paid about 42 million dollars to purchase 1400 acres in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley," said Cleary.

"The community was shocked when the tribe closed escrow on Fess Parker's 1400 acres and the realization sunk in that this casino funded tribe could apply to put the 1400 acres into trust so they can develop whatever they want and to expand the unregulated and untaxed gambling enterprise or build pretty much anything they want," Cleary explained. "The carefully crafted community plan, designed to protect agriculture and guide thoughtful development becomes meaningless if casino tribes are allowed unmitigated, unregulated and untaxed development."

"People need to realize that land in trust is not under the same laws the rest of us have to follow. For example, POLO has been told on numerous occasions that it is well known by high school kids and others that if you want to buy drugs, you go to the reservation," Cleary stated. "The tribal members themselves are sending letters to the local paper saying it is dangerous in the casino and the reservation is a main source of drugs here in this community. If this is such common knowledge, law enforcement must be aware. So why does it continue?"

"If it weren't so serious it would be comical. Chairman Armenta, many of his immediate relatives, and other tribal members have only tiny fractional Indian heritage that may or may not be Chumash, or no Indian heritage at all, and Armenta is saying he has the right to re-claim aboriginal territory. He will buy it back by using their hundreds of millions of dollars from people addicted to gambling and drugs- and contributing to politicians who tell their constituents there is nothing they can do yet they happily take campaign contributions - how much more ridiculous can it get?" Cleary asked.

"Stay tuned. With hundreds of millions of dollars involved and elected officials taking contributions yet hiding behind every excuse they can think of ... there is no telling what is going to happen with our latest filing," Cleary finished.

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