The January 7, 2013 WI Tax Appeals Commission Decision and Order in the case of Steven Peters, Ronald Van Den Heuvel and Artley Skenandore vs. WI Dept. of Revenue notes that Nature’s Way Tissue Corp. was (page 21):
…owned 51% by Mr. Skenandore and his Tribe [Oneida Nation WI] and 49% by Mr. Van Den Heuvel.
The ownership of Nature’s Way was divided thusly (page 7):
- 11% owned by Artley Skenandore individually through Swakweko, LLC;
- 20% owned by Oneida Seven Generations Corporations (the document mistakenly refers to it as “Seventh Generation Corporation”);
- 20% owned by Spirit Lake Corporation;
- 49% owned by Custom Tissue, of which Steven Peters was one shareholder and a percentage of which was owned by PCDI, one of Ronald Van Den Heuvel’s companies.
This type of ‘too many c[r]ooks in the kitchen / fingers in the pie’ situation is exactly why the General Tribal Council must insist that Chief Counsel Jo Anne House was right the first time in her February 15, 2011 legal opinion which states that Disclosure Reports “can be viewed” by GTC members (bottom of pg. 5 through top of 6).
The Corporate Report Model included in OSGC’s Corporate Charter requires OSGC to list exactly this type of shareholder and partnership information [Section 3: Disclosure Report, (B) Disclosure Report Content]:
d. Names of any other person, whether it be a business in any legal form or an individual, doing business with the Corporation for purposes of mutual enterprise (i.e. including but not limited to: joint ventures; membership in an LLC together; acquisition as a subsidiary; partnership).
The fact that Chief Counsel House has reversed her legal opinion (though perhaps only verbally and not in writing, which is odd if not downright unethical) and now claims that GTC members should not have access to Disclosure Reports is something that should alarm GTC members.
What are Chief Counsel House and the Business Committee trying to hide from GTC?
Oneida Eye encourages those concerned to contact Chairperson Ed Delgado and ask that answers and documents be provided regarding the Chief Counsel’s strange flip-flop.
The January 7, 2013 Decision and Order also states (page 8, item 4):
Mr. Skenandore had no expertise in the paper industry. Nevertheless, he was made president.
This raises the obvious questions:
- Exactly what “expertise” or even mere experience did OSGC President & Chairman Atty. Bill Cornelius have before OSGC decided to go into the energy business, or before he was made President & Chair of Oneida Energy, Inc.?
- What experience, if any, does anyone at OSGC or Oneida Energy have in the energy business?
Back to Artley Skenandore and Nature’s Way, the January 7, 2013 Decision and Order document states (page 23):
As to Mr. Skenandore, the Department’s evidence was that Mr. Skenandore was the Chief Executive Officer of Nature’s Way [Tissue Corp]. He was listed on the signature card of the checking accounts of Nature’s Way and signed all of the checks. He agreed with Mr. Van Den Heuvel and Mr. Peters to pool all of the funds coming in for use at whatever entity needed it most. He made the recommendations with the controller on what and whom to pay. He admitted that he allowed the monies to be pooled and used for other purposes than paying the withholding taxes.
It goes on to state (page 27):
The evidence showed that Mr. Skenandore is a responsible person as to Nature’s Way for two reasons. First, he was the President of Nature’s Way. We have previously stated that a President necessarily has the requisite authority, and nothing in this case showed otherwise, the contractual arrangement with Mr. Van Den Heuvel notwithstanding. Second, as the quote from the accountant in the previous section shows, Mr. Peters and Mr. Skenandore had numerous meetings where the two decided to pay other obligations, and Mr. Skenandore admitted on the stand to ‘carrying over’ the withholding tax liability.
Mr. Skenandore’s defense was that he relied on the parent company for expertise in the paper business, but that is unconvincing and does not excuse paying other creditors first. The testimony was that Nature’s Way had money coming in from the parent company, just not enough to pay all of the creditors. Clearly, he and Mr. Peters determined which bills to pay out of the money that was coming in.
The final Order states:
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Department’s assessment to…Mr. Skenandore is affirmed.
The question now is who pays for Nature’s Way President & CEO Artley Skenandore’s negligence regarding (page 7)
…withholding tax periods beginning December 1, 2006, and ending March 31, 2009.
That should depend on the articles regarding indemnity in Nature’s Way’s Corporate Charter and By-Laws for that period, copies of which have been requested from Tribal Secretary Patty Hoeft but as of yet not made available.
If the articles in those documents exclude indemnification for acts of negligence it is only fair that Mr. Skenandore should be held personally responsible for paying any penalties assessed (which could include garnishing the salary he now receives as Principal of the Oneida Nation High School).
Given that we now know that Ron Van Den Heuvel is involved with (and apparent ringleader of) OSGC’s intent to try to peddle trash incinerators to tribes using dubious and spurious claims, it behooves GTC to find out the extent to which Ron is personally & financially involved with OSGC’s incinerator endeavors, and what other deceitful & conniving chefs – including individual members of the Oneida Tribe and even members of the Business Committee – might have their fingers in OSGC’s latest cow pie.
This is why GTC members must have access to OSGC’s and all other Tribally-owned corporations’ Corporate Charters, By-Laws and Disclosure Reports.
Ask yourself:
- Who will wind up paying for OSGC’s misconduct and negligence?
- What are Chief Counsel Jo Anne House and the Oneida Business Committee trying to hide from GTC?
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