Former Seneca Nation tribal councilor guilty of lying to FBI

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – A former Seneca Nation tribal councilor has pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents about money he received from a land deal.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Buffalo says 41-year-old Bergal Mitchell III of Gowanda lied in 2008 to try to cover up his illegal receipt of $338,000 from the tribe’s 2006 purchase of land for its Seneca Hickory Stick Golf Course in Lewiston, north of Buffalo.

Mitchell was vice chairman of the board of the Seneca Gaming Corp. at the time.

Prosecutors say Mitchell told agents he had no knowledge of a wire transfer to an account belonging to his late half-brother or a cashier’s check he used to buy a home for his parents.

Mitchell faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 7.