6th person pleads guilty to corruption charges

HAVRE, Mont. (AP) – A sixth person implicated in investigation on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation has pleaded guilty to corruption charges.

The Havre Daily News reports Tammy Leischner of Laurel entered her plea Thursday in U.S. District Court to aiding and abetting embezzlement from an Indian tribal government receiving federal funds.

Prosecutors say Leischner, her brother and her father participated in a scheme to divert hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal aid meant for a water pipeline.

Prosecutors say money was kicked back to former state Rep. Tony Belcourt, who led the tribe’s construction company and awarded the contracts.

Belcourt; his wife, Hailey; Leischner’s father, James Eastlick Sr.; and her brother, James Eastlick Jr. previously pleaded guilty to corruption charges. A Box Elder businessman, Hunter Burns, also pleaded guilty.

–––

Information from: Havre Daily News, http://www.havredailynews.com