Ex-tribal police chief, officer sentenced

PHOENIX (AP) — The former chief of police for the White Mountain Apache tribe and another ex-tribal police officer were sentenced Friday to three years probation for conspiring to falsify records with the intent to influence a federal investigation.

Former police chief Lincoln Perry and Tim Goode, a former criminal investigator with the White Mountain police department, both were ordered by a federal judge to serve up to 80 days of home confinement as part of their probation and also perform 100 hours of community service.

Perry, 52, and Goode, 54, each were charged with one count of conspiracy to falsify records and 17 counts of falsifying records in October 2006.

Both men pleaded guilty in the case last October, prosecutors said.

The FBI began looking into the use of White Mountain police department funds at casinos in early 2006 and federal prosecutors alleged Perry and Goode embezzled between $10,000 and $20,000 over a five-year period.

According to authorities, the two men were the only ones allowed to sign on a bank account maintained by the tribal police investigations unit.

The account is used for undercover purchases and payment to informants.

FBI investigators became aware of the account in February 2006 and a review of records gave rise to a probe into possible embezzlement and theft.

In April 2006, a federal grand jury subpoena was issued for bank records dating back to January 2001.

Perry and Goode submitted fake receipts to tribal police in response to FBI agents looking into the bank account, authorities said.

The records showed multiple withdrawals from the account from casinos in Las Vegas, Scottsdale, Hon-Dah, Camp Verde and San Carlos.