More criminal charges filed against three former Kickapoo Tribal leaders

More criminal charges have been filed against three former Kickapoo Tribal leaders accused of misusing federal dollars, the tribe announced in a news release Thursday.

Kickapoo Tribal Prosecutor Tom Lemon filed the complaint containing additional charges against Steve Cadue, Adolph Cadue Jr. and Bobbi Darnell, the tribe said.

Steve Cadue is a former chairman of the tribe, which maintains a 30-square-mile reservation located a few miles west of Horton in Brown County. Darnell was the treasurer and Adolph Cadue Jr. was secretary of the tribal council.

Lemon charged the three in March with fraudulent handling of recordable instruments and tampering with records. He alleged the three used federal burial funds to subsidize payroll and other tribal expenses in violation of tribal law, and covered up the misspent money by modifying tribal resolutions and producing fraudulent documents to allow improper payments of the burial funds.

Thursday’s news release said six additional counts each had been filed against Steve and Adolph Cadue, and three against Darnell.

It indicated those allege additional tampering with records, inducement of improper payments of tribal burial funds, misuse of public money and the fraudulent handling of recordable instruments.

Tribal Chairman Lester Randall said in the release that “after the original complaints were discovered and charges filed, the Tribe initiated an extensive review of past actions by these leaders and uncovered a number of questionable actions, which led to the additional charges being filed today against all three defendants.”

Randall added: “The Kickapoo Tribe was not served well by these former tribal leaders who were entrusted by our members to faithfully carry out their duties in an honest and lawful manner. The Tribe will continue to pursue all legal remedies available before the Kickapoo Tribal Court to hold these individuals accountable for their actions.”

Each of the new charges are punishable by six months imprisonment and banishment from the Kickapoo Reservation.

Among the charges filed earlier, the offense of creating fraudulent documents carries a maximum sentence of 96 months in prison, a fine of $500 or banishment from the reservation.

The tribe is also suing Steve Cadue and Darnell while accusing them of violating tribal law. The suit alleges that through fraudulent meeting minutes they misled the Kickapoo Tribal Council into passing an unbalanced budget.