Are Gulf cleanup jobs awaiting Yakamas?

TOPPENISH -- Late last week a van pulled up to the Toppenish Armory on the Yakama reservation, and its occupants began offering tribal members $40-an-hour jobs cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

They handed out papers promising work and in return asked tribal members for their names, phone numbers and Social Security and tribal enrollment numbers.

Three days later, on Monday, hundreds of tribal members gathered in an auditorium at the Yakama Nation's headquarters to hear the same pitch.

Again, the same information was collected on nearly blank pieces of paper, said Selena Randell, who was among those who signed up.

On the reservation, where poverty is high and opportunity slim, the generous offers struck a chord. A number of Yakamas quit Legends Casino or other tribal jobs in anticipation of high wages and free housing.

Now, tribal leaders and state officials are raising questions.

The state Attorney General's Office says it has been unable to determine whether the jobs are legitimately tied to BP's cleanup efforts but says it's unlikely.

And tribal officials are warning that the collection of private information could lead to identity theft.

"We have a lot of suspicion," said Yakama Tribal Council Chairman Harry Smiskin.

But the man promising the jobs, Christino Rosado, said his efforts to hire tribal members for the cleanup are legitimate.

In a phone interview Thursday, Rosado said he's signed up about 1,800 workers from the Yakama Nation and plans to pay for their travel, lodging and meals. That's nearly one-fifth of the entire roughly 10,000-member tribe.

He said he's hiring people for everything from removing oil from water and beaches to working as cooks and truck drivers.

"They have more jobs than you can think of," he said.

BP spokesman Ray Viator in Louisiana said Friday it's difficult to determine whether Rosado had or was working on obtaining contracts because the four major companies that BP is working with on cleanup operations have hired countless subcontractors.

He said most cleanup wages are for $10 to $20 an hour.

Now some tribal members are worried.

Lewis Underwood planned to close his small auto repair shop and had already rented out his small home. He didn't think he would need it because he planned to work in the Gulf for two years.

"Usually, if it sounds too good to be true, that's the way it turns out, I guess," he said Thursday. "It's like dangling a piece of raw meat in front of a starving man -- that's messed up."

Lahoma Doublerunner, who supervises table games at the tribe's casino, said she knows at least eight workers there who have quit in hopes of Gulf jobs.

"Everybody at the casino was talking about quitting and making this money," she said. "It affected my whole tribe."

Among those who quit is Gina Stevens, a card dealer. She believes a Gulf cleanup job will materialize and pay far more than the near-minimum wage she said she earned at the casino.

"I just wanted a change in life and this is something I'd be interested in doing," she said.

When the Yakima Herald-Republic called a number listed on a flier offering jobs, it was answered by a man who identified himself as Christino Rosado's son, Junior Rosado of Seasonal Fruit, an El Paso, Texas-based company.

According to the Texas Secretary of State's Office, the business was incorporated in 2005 by Rosado, but two years later it was involuntarily dissolved by the state because its registered agent, El Paso attorney Monty Stevens, quit. Under Texas state law, corporations are required to have a registered agent.

But Christino Rosado said Thursday that the business isn't dissolved, and said he'd have Stevens, who he said was his attorney, explain the matter to the Herald-Republic on Friday.

Calls to Stevens were not returned Thursday or Friday.

Last month in Oregon City, Ore., Christino Rosado promised to buy a building and erect a juice and cheese factory to employ 300. But Rosado said his plan failed after efforts to buy the building fell through.

Calls to Oregon City officials weren't returned Thursday or Friday.

On Tuesday, some tribal members say they were told there would be buses leaving for the Gulf at 4 a.m. Thursday. But on Wednesday, people organizing the hiring said the trip would be delayed a week because Rosado was still working to acquire liability insurance to cover workers.

Tribal member Valerie Craig said dozens of family members have signed up for the Gulf jobs and some may have already left for the Gulf.

She said she is not sure what happened to two people who had planned to leave Thursday. One worked with her in the tribe's energy assistance program and the other worked for the Wapato Irrigation Project.

Both had quit their jobs for the high pay being promised, she said.

"I've got a lot of family members who signed up for this and I don't want them getting down there and getting stuck," she said.

Rosado said he plans to starting sending the first 160 Yakamas to the Gulf within a week.

Workers not only have to be insured, but also have to be outfitted with hazardous waste safety equipment and safety glasses, he said.

He said it's going to cost him about $300,000 in all.

"We are paying for everything from our pocket," he said.

He said workers would be paid every other week from his own money, and that he'll be paid by BP once a month.

Rosado said the investment will be worth it.

"I don't care how much money (tribal members) get out of me, I'm still going to make money," he said.

Rosado said his interest in hiring the Yakamas stems from a friendship he made with a tribal fisherman, Ken James Bear, whom he buys salmon from all year long.

"I go up there (to the reservation) and say, "There has got to be something better.' If I choose the Yakama Nation, it's because of a friend of mine."

* Phil Ferolito can be reached at 509-577-7749 or pferolito@yakimaherald.com.

The state Attorney General's Office and the Better Business Bureau of Eastern Washington, North Idaho and Montana are urging those who provided personal information to recruiters to take these steps to protect themselves:

* Check bank and credit statements for unauthorized charges.

* Consider placing a free fraud alert on your credit history. Call the toll-free number at any of the three major bureaus; Equifax -- 1-800-685-1111; Experian -- 1-888-397-3742; TransUnion -- 1-800-916-8800.