MIAMI, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Colley Billie, who ousted the longtime leader of South Florida's Miccosukee tribe four years ago, has won another term as tribal chairman.
The vote in the Nov. 10 election was 151-128, The Miami Herald reported Friday. Billie defeated Billy Cypress, who served as chairman for two decades.
Billie begins his second term Tuesday.
"As we have done over the last four years, my administration will continue to protect and preserve for future generations the Miccosukee way of life, our tribe's sovereignty, economic prosperity and the Everglades," Billie said Wednesday.
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In the wake of the election, the tribe filed a state lawsuit accusing Cypress of embezzling millions of dollars with help from lawyers Dexter Lehtinen and Guy Lewis, who represented the Miccosukee in litigation with the Internal Revenue Service. The lawsuit charges Cypress traveled to Las Vegas and Rome on what were essentially pleasure trips.
Lewis along with his wife and daughter accompanied Cypress to Rome in 2008, a trip in a chartered plane that cost the tribe almost $60,000. Lewis said Cypress wanted to study the Vatican's relationship to Italy as a sovereign state embedded in another country for guidance on the Miccosukees' relationship with the United States.
The Miccosukee operate a profitable casino with each member receiving $120,000 a year in dividends. But the income has also led to a fight with the IRS and possibly to millions of dollars in tax liabilities.
The state filing is essentially the same as a federal action brought under racketeering law that was dismissed last month. U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke ruled only on the venue, not on the merits of the tribe's case.
