U.S. v. Crossland
| Decision Date | 01 June 1981 |
| Docket Number | No. 80-1017,80-1017 |
| Citation | 642 F.2d 1113 |
| Parties | 8 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 682 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Thomas Mack CROSSLAND, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
Bruce Green, Muskogee, Okl., for defendant-appellant.
John R. Osgood, Asst. U. S. Atty., Oklahoma City, Okl. (Julian K. Fite, U. S. Atty Muskogee, Okl., with him on brief), for plaintiff-appellee.
Before SETH, Chief Judge, DOYLE and McKAY, Circuit Judges.
Thomas Mack Crossland was convicted after a jury trial on four counts of embezzlement and theft from an Indian tribal organization, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1163, and on one count of conspiracy, contrary to 18 U.S.C. § 371. He contends that the district court erred in its determinations that he acted as an agent of an Indian tribal organization and that the Cherokee Housing Authority was an Indian tribal organization within the meaning of section 1163. He also asserts as error the court's submission to the jury of the indictment containing the name of a coconspirator who was not tried with appellant.
Thomas Crossland served as Executive Director of the Cherokee Housing Authority. During his tenure he arranged with a coconspirator, Joseph Radeker, to award Authority fencing contracts to him on a noncompetitive basis. Appellant owned an interest in Joseph Radeker's fencing business and received one-half of the profits from the firm's endeavors. The contracts so awarded were at prices substantially higher than those that would have been charged by other firms in the community. Appellant does not dispute the sufficiency of the evidence, but rather alleges primarily that his convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 1163 are invalid because the Authority is not an Indian tribal organization.
The Cherokee Housing Authority was organized under the laws of Oklahoma for the purpose of providing housing for the tribal members. Appellant argues that the Authority, being a creature of state law, cannot be considered an Indian tribal organization under section 1163. That statute defines an Indian tribal organization as:
"any tribe, band, or community of Indians which is subject to the laws of the United States relating to Indian affairs or any corporation, association, or group which is organized under any of such laws." (Emphasis added.)
The Authority was organized pursuant to the Housing Act of 1937. The statute empowers the Department of Housing and Urban Development to create and manage a program designed to provide and maintain housing for the needy. 42 U.S.C. § 1437.
Pursuant to the Housing Act, HUD promulgated regulations directly affecting the creation and administration of Indian housing authorities. 24 C.F.R. §§ 805.101-805.430. These regulations provide that an Indian housing authority may be established pursuant to state law, and this was done in this instance. The relevant statute subjects Indian housing authorities to those laws applicable to municipal housing authorities and vests the Chief of the tribe with the same powers a mayor has in a non-Indian housing authority.
In Ware v. Richardson, 347 F.Supp. 344 (W.D.Okla), the court held that it lacked jurisdiction to hear a suit brought by members of the Kiowa Tribe against the Kiowa Housing Authority. The court reasoned that the controversy was an intratribal dispute and it thus was without federal question jurisdiction. The court said in part of the Authority:
Thus although the...
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Housing Authority of Kaw Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma v. City of Ponca City
...802, 819 n. 13, 94 S.Ct. 2191, 2202 n. 13, 40 L.Ed.2d 566 (1974). The Authority focuses on this court's decision in United States v. Crossland, 642 F.2d 1113 (10th Cir.1981), where we quoted with approval the following assessment of the Kiowa Housing Authority, organized under the same stat......
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