Troubling silence
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe is not required to inform the public as to how it is handling the arrest on very serious charges of a top executive, Chief of Staff Antonio Beltran, but it should. The failure to act with any transparency in the matter reflects badly on tribal leadership at the very time it is seeking to work with the legislature to respond to the increased competition confronting its Foxwoods Resort Casino.
There has been no comment from the tribe concerning Beltran’s April 18 arrest. Police in Santa Monica, Calif., charged Beltran with drunken driving in a crash with a commuter train that left his two teenage sons injured, one critically.
Beltran, 54, of Waterford, was charged with driving under the influence with injury resulting, child endangerment with serious injury, and furnishing alcohol to a minor. The teens, both of whom are under 18, had been drinking, police said. Police report that in the early morning hours, the car Beltran was driving ran a red light and collided with the train.
At the very least, the arrest should result in Beltran’s immediate suspension. And if the allegations prove true — which appears highly likely — his firing. But what, if any, actions the tribe has taken remain unknown.
No less than the integrity of law enforcement on tribal land and at Foxwoods is in question.
As chief of staff, Beltran has oversight of tribal police, fire and emergency services, public affairs, utilities, the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, nongaming regulatory affairs, public works and tribal member services.
Beltran was a highly questionable choice for the position from the time of his appointment in 2013. At age 17, he was sentenced to four years at San Quentin prison for stabbing another youth. In 1991, he was charged with aggravated assault. In 2000 he was arrested for speeding and drunken driving in Norwich.
Perhaps Beltran had addressed his problems and overcome his demons by the time he was appointed chief of staff (though giving someone with that record oversight of police made no sense). But given his latest alleged actions, it is clear Beltran should not be in that position.
Some accountability on the part of the tribe is in order.