Navajo Leader Gets Jail Term in Bribery Case

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. —  Navajo Chairman Peter MacDonald was sentenced Monday to nearly six years in a tribal jail and fined $11,000 for bribery, ethics violations and conspiracy.

His son, Peter (Rocky) MacDonald Jr., was given a 1 1/2-year sentence and fined $2,500.

MacDonald, 61, who was suspended as tribal chairman last year, was convicted in tribal court of 41 counts of bribery, conspiracy and ethics violations for taking cash, loans, plane rides and use of a car from businessmen trying to curry favor with him.

His son, 36, was convicted on 23 counts of bribery, theft by extortion, ethics violations and conspiracy.

Judge Robert Yazzie sentenced MacDonald to five years and 335 days in a tribal jail in Window Rock, the Navajo reservation’s capital. MacDonald must also do four years and 340 days of labor, similar to community service, after his jail term, and his son must serve one year of labor, Yazzie said.

MacDonald is seeking the new office of president of the nation’s largest Indian tribe. The tribal council voted Friday to authorize the election board to postpone the vote, originally scheduled for Nov. 6, for 60 days.

He will remain in jail for at least a week until Yazzie rules on whether he can be released on bail or his own recognizance pending an appeal, defense attorney Val Jolley said.

MacDonald, a former aerospace engineer, showed no emotion as he stood before the court.

MacDonald’s opponent in the election is Peterson Zah, a former tribal chairman.