Former Soboba Chairman Robert Salgado has pleaded guilty to two felonies in the bribery and tax evasion case brought against him by the U.S. Justice Department.

The 68-year-old Salgado pleaded guilty to bribery and subscribing to a false tax return shortly after the start of his trial before U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson.

The prosecution had delivered an opening statement earlier in the day.

After the news broke, the tribe issued a statement through information officer Mike Hiles distancing the tribe from Salgado’s actions.

“This case represents the actions of an individual and not those of the tribe nor any other member of the tribal council,” said the statement. “Immediately upon learning of the charges, the tribal council took action to remove the accused from its government and address any and all possible concerns as they may relate to the tribe’s responsibilities to its membership and any outside agency.”

The plea agreement calls for a federal prison sentence of 87 to 108 months, but Pregerson will not pass sentence until Feb. 7.

The longest possible sentence is 13 years.

In the plea agreement, Salgado admitted to accepting $874,995 in bribes from five companies that did business with the Soboba Band.

The payments were made in hopes of getting or maintaining contracts with the tribe.

They were made in the form of cash, payments made to his creditors, and checks payable to an company controlled by Salgado.

Salgado’s guilty plea includes receiving $486,152 from a vendor involved in the $12.5 million purchase of a golf course now called The Country Club at Soboba Springs and other real estate purchases; taking about $184,000 from a vendor with food and other contracts at the Soboba Casino; accepting $89,000 from a vendor who received a series of construction contracts from the Soboba Bank; taking $65,843 in bribes, plus “substantial cash payments which cannot be quantified” as described in the plea agreement from another vendor who received a series of construction contracts; and accepting $50,000 in bribes from Abbas Shilleh, the owner of California Parking Services, Inc., which provides valet parking at the Soboba Casino.

Salgado also pleaded guilty to filing a tax return that claimed he and his wife earned $146,114 when, in reality, they earned “substantially in excess of that amount” in 2001.

“In the plea agreement, Salgado also admits he “did not report his income accurately” for tax years 2002 through 2006 and that he owes the IRS $226,187 in back taxes.

Shilleh, 47, of Diamond Bar, was indicted along with Salgado last year and is scheduled to go on trial before Judge Pregerson on Feb. 1.

He pleaded not guilty.

The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS.

Salgado was arrested on 26 bribery counts, six counts of filing false income tax returns, and single count of conspiracy.

They carried a combined maximum sentence of 363 years.

Salgado was accused in the original federal indictment with either demanding bribes or accepting offers of bribes from four companies that provided services to the tribe over a period of nearly a decade.

Shilleh is accused of paying Salgado about $107,000 in cash and checks ranging from $2,500 to $35,000.