The seven-member enrollment committee, he said, maintains that Manuela Miranda, who was half Pechanga, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, moved off the reservation and cut her ties to the tribe.
Being held to a stricter membership standard than called for under the Pechanga Constitution, he said, means his clients "stand to lose in excess of $10,000 a month after taxes, as well their homes on the reservation, healthcare benefits, elderly care benefits, educational funds, tribal jobs and their very identities."
Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro and tribal attorneys declined to comment.
Generally, casino gambling profits are intended for tribal government operations and various health, social, education and housing programs. But at the tribal council's discretion, some of the money can also be paid to individual tribal members as profit-sharing income.
With a lavishly enlarged and refurbished casino, the Pechanga Band has expanded to the limit allowed under its compact with the state -- 2,000 slot machines. The tribe nets an estimated $184 million annually, plus profits from its card games, according to various analyses.
No sooner had the Pechangas opened their first casino in 1995 than the tribe was inundated with applications for membership.
So many came in that the tribe temporarily suspended accepting new members. Even Chairman Macarro's first cousin had to wait a year to seek renewed membership in the tribe.
Before it had a casino, the Pechanga tribe received about 15 to 30 applications a year from people seeking enrollment, tribal leaders said.
After 1995, 60 people applied for membership. The following year there were 160 applicants. In 1997, the tribe was overwhelmed with 430 applications for membership.
Among those now fighting to regain membership is John Gomez, who was fired Thursday from his position as an analyst in the tribe's legal offices.
"We are under a tremendous amount of pressure, all because of someone else's greed and hunger for power," he said in an interview. "To have someone suddenly tell you, 'You are not Pechanga and you never were,' is very hard to deal with."
Facing a Jan. 15 deadline for submitting additional documentation of proof of membership to the enrollment committee, Velie originally sought a temporary restraining order in Riverside County Superior Court.
