Indian Group Denies Its Casino Intentions

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO —  Members of the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians who had proposed bringing a Las Vegas-style casino to the city told the City Council on Tuesday night that they have changed their minds.

“We do not have the intent of putting a casino in San Juan,” said Jean Frietze, leader of the faction of Juanenos that had proposed the casino.

Mayor David M. Swerdlin had invited residents and the Juanenos to the meeting in hopes of having a discussion about the controversial plan.

Although Frietze did not explain the change of heart, the leader of another Juaneno faction, which opposes the idea, was skeptical.

“These people are in denial” when they say they never intended to bring a casino to the city, said faction leader David Belardes.

Last month, the council approved a resolution calling the proposed casino “a public health and safety threat.”

In a scathing statement, the council blasted the Juanenos for signing an agreement with outside investors in 1995 to build the casino, saying it could do “irreparable damage” and that “their greed is despicable.”

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On Tuesday, Councilman John Greiner told Frietze and others: “We don’t want a casino here. If the Juanenos don’t want [one], then we don’t have a problem.”

Meanwhile, Frietze’s group and a third Juaneno faction, led by Sonia Johnston, are bidding to become Orange County’s first federally recognized tribe. Both groups are finalists for federal recognition, which is currently under review by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Federal recognition would give the Juanenos the right to own and operate a casino.

According to documents obtained by The Times, Frietze’s group has received at least $400,000 from a group of investors that includes a Las Vegas-based corporation named Brandcor.

The documents outline the faction’s efforts to win recognition and then acquire 20 acres of land in San Juan Capistrano, the ancestral home of the Acjachemen Nation, the original name of the Juanenos.

Even with federal recognition, the Juanenos would need approval from state and local authorities to operate a casino, which the City Council has vowed to fight.

Frietze told the council Tuesday night that her group’s efforts have focused solely on getting federal recognition, not on building a casino. And she demanded an apology for the council’s critical resolution.

“We’re trying to get federal recognition . . ,” she said. “I think the City Council owes the Acjachemen Nation a public apology.”