By Joe Hadsall
jhadsall@joplinglobe.com
JAY, Okla. — An attorney for the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe said a lawsuit against a former casino employee has been dropped, because it never should have been filed in the first place.
Attorneys representing the Grand Lake Casino on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit against Pat Mae Culver in Delaware County District Court. The casino had alleged that Culver, a member of the casino’s counting team, stole more than $420,000 from slot machines between September 2007 and February 2008.
The casino is owned and operated by the tribe.
Attorney Jesse Green said the tribe has not lost interest in the case. He said the tribe has contacted the U.S. attorney’s office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs about filing criminal charges against Culver.
“We didn’t want to file a civil case for the theft of thousands of dollars,” Green said. “We turn them over to the U.S. attorney on criminal charges. We’ve asked them to pursue this, and we do not anticipate this going unresolved.”
An attorney representing Culver said that though he appreciated the suit’s dismissal, he expects further action against his client.
“We’re cautiously optimistic,” said Culver’s attorney, Josh Lee. “But I don’t think we’ve heard the last from them.”
Charges have not yet been filed against Culver, said Randy Edgemon, spokesman for the Northern District of Oklahoma branch of the U.S. attorney’s office.
Special agent Bo Leach, of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said the case has been reported, but that he could not give further comment.
According to court paperwork, Culver handled large amounts of cash, and counted money in various slot machines and game-table boxes at the casino.
Chief Paul Spicer said Fraud and Forensics Investigations was hired to do other work related to security. The firm discovered Culver’s alleged activities while acting in that capacity.
But the firm did more than it was supposed to, Spicer said. The firm retained Crowe & Dunlevy, an Oklahoma City-based law firm, to file the lawsuit in Delaware County.
Spicer said the tribe hired two other firms to “straighten out the mess the other guys made” and dismiss the civil case against Culver.
“The firm was a little aggressive,” Spicer said. “It thought it was acting in the tribe’s best interest, but we wanted to go in a different direction.”
Lee, Culver’s attorney, said he filed a motion in February to dismiss the case, because it was improperly filed.
Representatives of Fraud and Forensics and of Crowe & Dunlevy did not return calls to the Globe seeking comment.
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