State: Billie says he okayed gambling project

Billie says he okayed gambling project

James E. Billie, former Seminole tribal chairman, testifies that he allowed the withdrawal and funneling of tribe funds.

By JEFF TESTERMAN, Times Staff Writer

FORT LAUDERDALE -- Striking at the heart of a federal conspiracy and embezzlement case, former Seminole Tribal Chairman James E. Billie testified Monday that he authorized every step of a secret project to set up an Internet gambling site in South America.

In five hours of testimony, Billie acknowledged quietly okaying the withdrawal of $2.77-million from the tribe's investment account, the funneling of the cash to a dummy corporation in Belize and Nicaragua and the creation of phony computer services invoices to account for the missing cash.

But under cross-examination by a federal prosecutor, Billie also acknowledged he had close financial ties with the former tribal employees on trial.

Wearing his trademark multicolored Seminole jacket and offering sometimes folksy accounts, the one-time alligator wrestler explained under questioning from defense attorneys that he had the legal authority to order the investment of money for any purpose from a $10-million budgetary allocation given the chairman. He kept the Internet gaming plan under wraps, he said, because some tribal officials feared it might be illegal.

Billie said he pressed ahead with the secret project because a study suggested the 2,800-member tribe could reap a $706-million windfall in just three years of operation.

"It was for the benefit of the tribe," said Billie.

Billie's testimony came on the ninth day of the federal trial of former Seminole operations manager Timmy Cox, former tribal computer consultant Dan Wisher and one-time tribal contractor Michael Crumpton. In indictments unsealed in June, the U.S. government alleged the channeling of tribal funds to a company called Virtual Data in the spring of 2000 constituted conspiracy, embezzlement and money laundering. The three men face potential prison terms of 90 to 115 years if convicted on all charges.

The tribe has also filed a civil suit against the defendants, seeking to recover the cash wired to Belize City and later transferred to Managua in Nicaragua, where Cox and Wisher were renovating the Legends Hotel to be a Hard Rock Live cafe.

Billie, 58, served as tribal chairman from 1979 until last year, when he was ousted by the tribal council amid questions of misspending and sexual misbehavior. The target of a federal task force, Billie was never charged in the grand jury probe. Instead, he emerged Monday as the government's nemesis, testifying that he legally authorized every act prosecutors claim are crimes.

Billie, who flunked out of forestry school and served two terms in Vietnam before being elected chairman, painted himself during testimony as a tribal servant who single-mindedly pursued Indian gambling to guide the Seminoles to new prosperity. Casinos replaced cattle farming as the prime source of income during his tenure, Billie said, and the dividend paid to each tribal member rose from $25 a year to $3,000 a month.

The casino pioneering was often against the cautionary advice of Jim Shore, the Seminole general counsel, who Billie called "too slow, too conservative." Shore issued one warning when Billie wanted to add video gambling machines to the high-stakes bingo at the tribe's casinos. Billie testified Monday he went ahead and spent $20-million for the machines without obtaining the necessary council approval.

"I said I want to keep it as quiet as possible in case it fails," Billie said.

Federal prosecutors still claim the machines are illegal in Florida because the state has no gambling compact with the Seminoles. But gamblers continue to pump greenbacks into the machines, and the tribe's revenue has zoomed from $40-million a year to $300-million annually.

Similarly, Billie said, he used Cox and Wisher to put together a secret pilot project for Internet gambling -- even after Shore warned it might jeopardize the tribe's gaming licenses.

But under cross-examination from federal prosecutor Edward N. Stamm, Billie admitted to a series of transactions that suggested Cox and Wisher were confederates, or at least cronies, whom he might want to protect:

-- After the tribe fired Cox and Wisher and suspended Billie, the council embarked on a legal fight to take control of the Legends Hotel in Managua. Monday, Billie acknowledged writing two checks to Wisher totaling $80,000 to pay for the court fight against the tribe.

-- From the $2.77-million allocated for the Internet gambling project, Billie acknowledged using $500,000 to help Cox and Wisher complete renovations of the Legends Hotel and another $80,000 for a personal loan to Cox that has never been repaid.

-- After the tribe fired Cox, Billie quickly gave him a job as operations manager at a tax-free tobacco shop he owns. Billie also said he borrowed money from Wisher to buy a condominium and accepted the gift of a bass boat he valued at $40,000 from Wisher.

What does the tribe have to show for the secret $2.77-million investment in the Internet gambling plan? Billie calculated "a couple thousand, maybe $20,000" is all that was returned before the project was shut down. But he pledged to pursue the idea again if he returns to power. He was adamant that no crime had been committed in the initial project.

-- Jeff Testerman can be reached at 226-3422 or by e-mail at testerman@sptimes.com .