Clarification: The following story has been modified from its original version to better reflect circumstances and information that recently became available to the Native American Times. The original version states the Bureau of Indian Affairs had given Quapaw’s Business Committee Chairman John Berrey until April 19 to gather information to exonerate himself and two other members of the tribe’s Downstream Development Authority of charges brought against them by the Quapaw Grievance Committee. The Native American Times was told that April 19 was the deadline for Berrey to call a meeting of the Quapaw General Council to hear the QGC report. The April 19 deadline was not issued by the BIA. The agency will not become involved unless Berrey does not call the meeting 30 days after formally requested to do so by the QGC. The QGC may then request the assistance of the agency.

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Quapaw committee ready to bring BIA into investigation


QUAPAW, Okla. – A member of the Quapaw Grievance Committee says a fellow committee member spoke with a Bureau of Indian Affairs official on March 24 to request assistance, if necessary, in conducting a formal tribal council hearing regarding charges the committee has brought against three tribal officials.

Jim Greenfeather, a QGC member, said a fellow member spoke with a BIA official about Quapaw Business Committee Chairman John Berrey calling a meeting of the Quapaw Indian Council. Greenfeather said that if Berrey did not call a meeting within 30 days of a request to do so, the QGC would turn to the BIA for help in calling a council meeting. The Quapaw Indian Council is comprised of all Quapaw citizens age 18 or older.

The QGC presented a 13-page resolution alleging misconduct by Berry, in his role as chairman of the tribe’s Downstream Development Authority, and two other DDA members at the tribe’s March 20 general council meeting.

Berrey, along with DDA Vice Chairman J.R. Matthews and Treasurer George “Ranny” McWatters, are accused by the QGC of personally and unjustifiably profiting from operations of the DDA, which runs the tribe’s Downstream Casino Resort.

All three men serve not only in the top positions of the DDA, but also on the tribe’s Business Committee, the tribe’s seven-member governmental branch. Berrey is the chairman; Matthews is the vice chairman, and McWatters is a committee member.

The QGC began investigating the three men in 2009, requesting aid from the tribe’s gaming agency at an Oct. 17 meeting. According to the report, the agency was instructed by the Business Committee to limit its cooperation with the QGC.

Greenfeather said that initially Berrey denied access to financial records for review. Greenfeather said Berrey told them that the QGC did not have the authority to investigate members of the Business Committee’s conduct as it might relate to the DDA and its operations. QGC members were allowed to look at records but not make copies or remove them, Greenfeather said. He added that they did take notes of what they saw.

“They wouldn’t allow us to make copies or remove any of the documents, but we took tablets in and wrote everything down we could,” he said.

According to the report, charges state that the three DDA officers set their salaries, benefits and bonuses without oversight. According to the QGC report, Berrey was awarded a salary of $150,000 per year by the DDA, while the other DDA members received $125,000 per year. Berrey later received a $30,000 raise and increased the salaries of Matthews and McWatters by $12,500, the report states. In addition, the QGC report states that since the opening of Downstream Casino, Berrey, Matthews and McWatters have awarded themselves $262,000 in bonuses for their DDA work. This money is in addition to the stipend the men receive for being on the tribe’s Business Committee, according to the QGC report.

The report also cites misuse of DDA credit cards.

According to the report, Berrey and Matthews are accused of using their cards for purchases at the 2009 Super Bowl. The report also states Berrey used his card to pay for a family vacation in England, while Matthews used his for a trip to the 2009 Kentucky Derby. Both men were also accused of using company cards to pay for entertainment expenses, such as a $1,688.30 tab for dinner in Las Vegas that included two bottles of wine for $730, according to the report.

Berrey said in a March 26 statement the report is “an attack on Tribal Governance and the Quapaw Tribe’s Governing Resolution by a small number of disgruntled tribal members … in a reckless pursuit of political malfeasance.”

He added that the allegations were a political stunt to destroy his, Matthews and McWatters’ reputations.

“This is a political stunt, and this absurd notion that we would be involved in activity that would be damaging to the Quapaw Tribe and Downstream Casino reflects attempt at destroying our reputation without any basis of fact,” he said. “Any non-business transactions related to our expenses have been promptly reimbursed, and this is a non-issue. We have internal and external audits that take place on a daily basis and there have never been any negative findings.”

Berrey said none of the information in the report is based on fact.

“It’s a political witch hunt. The report is filled with false accusations, and as time goes by, I’ll prove my innocence, as well as that of Matthews and McWatters.”

The tribe has a policy restricting use of credit cards for personal purposes and requiring documentation of charges. According to the report, Berrey and Matthews admitted that some of charges were personal and not business related, but not all have been reimbursed.

The QGC report also questions funds expended in the promotion of Downstream Casino, alleging that the DDA donated at least $250,000 to the University of Arkansas Razorback Foundation, a sports booster club. According to the report, the DDA also authorized leasing and renovating a luxury skybox at the university’s football stadium at a cost of more than $50,000. The QGC report states there is no proof that these purchases were used to promote the casino.

Berrey graduated from Arkansas in 1991 with a journalism degree.

As of press time, the Razorback Foundation has neither confirmed nor denied the contributions.

According to the report, other expenditures in the name of promoting the casino include nearly $60,000 toward season tickets for the Kansas City Chiefs and more than $14,000 on luxury box seats at the BOK Center in Tulsa.

Greenfeather said the DDA has retained at least three law firms for its defense, but the Business Committee restricted funds for the QGC to retain counsel or independent accountants for an audit. The Business Committee required that any contract for legal services be limited to $20,000 and that the QGC would be forbidden to seek additional funds regardless of need, Greenfeather said. The QGC attorney, Louis Bullock, has agreed to stay on the case.