Witness Tampering Becoming an Issue in Tribal Lawsuit
The Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians may have their hands full with the latest development in their ongoing feud with a former employee. The latest accusation is that the tribe tampered with a witness.
The tribe has been suing former employee Arlen Opper for allegedly cutting himself in on deals and not letting the tribe in on his deals. The lawsuit is being challenged by Opper.
On Monday, the case took another interesting turn. Opper's attorney's filed papers in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento. The papers alleged that the tribe knew of the dealings that were going on. They also claim in a letter that a former employee was fired for coming to Opper's defense.
"Fundamentally, this suit should never have been brought, but certainly cannot be allowed to continue in light of Plaintiffs' blatant witness tampering," wrote Attorney William Warne, from Sacramento.
The allegations were denied by lawyers for the tribe, and they believe that Opper's attorney's are grasping at straws to help fight the legal battle.
"Absolutely false. We will be preparing our opposition, and we will demonstrate that they are misleading this court," said Paula Yost, an attorney for the tribe.
