Tribe says Step-N-Strut claims are false

Step-N-Strut Trail Ride promoters claim Tunica-Biloxi Tribal Police Chief Harold Pierite Sr. and others demanded payoffs to ensure the three-day trail ride/music festival would be held on tribal land between Marksville and Mansura.

Pierite and Tribe Vice Chairman Marshall Sampson Sr. deny the claims and say an online news article on the issue is “incorrect and misleading.”

The controversy revolves around the cost of extra security for the large event. There were about 300 horses and approximately 3,000 visitors per day for the Friday and Saturday events. There were fewer than 2,000 on Sunday due to the “confusion” over the event’s early closure.

Step-N-Strut hired 30 officers, six State Police troopers and four dispatchers during the event.

Step-N-Strut organizers Dave and Torry Lemelle told the online Louisiana Voice that Pierite initially asked for $35,000 and then reduced that demand to $10,000. Both were rejected, which they claim led Pierite to announce activities for the third day of the event had been cancelled.

The event was able to continue Nov. 5, “but the damage had already been done,” Dave Lemelle said.

“(Police) Chief Pierite extorted money from us throughout the whole process, using his authority, threatening to cancel this event if we did not pay him,” Ms. Lemelle told Louisiana Voice. “When he realized that he was not getting any more money, he cancelled our event on Sunday morning, causing us to lose not only money but a large amount of our supporters.”

When contacted by this newspaper for additional comments, Ms. Lemelle said her comments to Louisiana Voice were quoted accurately and to use those.

“All I can say about that is, it isn’t true,” Pierite told this newspaper. He then referred all additional questions to the tribe’s public relations firm, The Ehrhardt Group, who later released the official response to the allegations.

The released statement by the tribe officials contends there was no demand for money and none was given to any tribal official.

It said the event was shut down on the night of Nov. 4 for security concerns due to a “gunshot” at the outdoor concert and was delayed Nov. 5 because Tribal Police were told that Step-N-Strut would not be paying for security officers that day.

Lemelle said the loud noise at the concert is believed to have been a sound system issue, and not a gunshot. The Sampson-Pierite statement says a police officer saw the shot being fired “and took reasonable action for the safety of the entire crowd.”

There were no arrests in the incident.

“The confusion over the late start on Sunday was due to a representative of Step-N-Strut, who told the officer-in-charge that they would not pay for security,” the statement said. “The event was delayed until this matter was resolved. (Police) Chief Pierite engaged Mr. Lemelle and was assured that officers would be paid.

“In fact, the event was opened at 10:30 a.m. Mr. Pierite wanted assurance that they would be paid for the time they worked on Sunday,” the statement said.

The Lemelles said they eventually paid $4,000 on Sunday and the event was allowed to continue.

SECURITY COSTS

The primary issue involved in the controversy revolves around security costs for the event. Step-N-Strut had agreed to pay $30 per hour for Tribal Police officers and $40/hour for any State Trooper assigned to the event.

The Lemelles allege Pierite tried to inflate the security cost by claiming more officers would be required for traffic control on La. Hwy 1 due to the amount of vehicles going to the event. They said the estimate also included 24-hour security, which they said is not necessary.

In their statement, Sampson and Pierite said Tribal Police researched past Step-N-Struts to determine the security requirements for the event.

It was determined there should be one police officer for every 75 visitors. That came to 50 officers and four State Police troopers covering the event in shifts for three days, for an estimated cost of $112,000.

“When the Step-N-Strut leadership balked at the amount, a revised estimate was developed reflecting fewer officers and a reduction in their hourly rates,” the statement noted. “This estimate was initialed by all principals.”

That estimate was for $59,000.

“The Tunica-Biloxi Police Department made every effort to operate within the financial constraints of Step-N-Strut, which led to the revised estimate,” the statement continued. “In the final analysis, because fewer than 30 officers were available, the total charges were considerably less than the revised estimate. We believe the total charges for security were less than $30,000 -- even less than the amount the organization says it was charged by other entities.”

The total cost for security for the three days was $32,000, Torry Lemelle said. The average cost in previous years has been about $35,000.

Step-N-Strut paid each security officer at the end of the day for the hours they worked. The officers also filled out income tax forms for their payment.

‘UNTRACEABLE CASH'

Perhaps the most serious allegation leveled by the Lemelles in the Louisiana Voice article is that a relative of Pierite’s approached them days prior to the event and said they needed to pay an additional $35,000 in “untraceable cash” to ensure the event could go on.

“I asked what the additional money was for and he said, ‘To take care of some people,’” Lemelle said. “When I pressed him on who those ‘people’ were, he said it was for members of the Tribal Council.”

No payment was made.

Pierite and Sampson said Tribal Council members never asked for or received any money from Step-N-Strut. The statement noted that Step-N-Strut did write a $4,500 check to the tribe’s Economic Development Committee for event-related costs.

Lemelle said Pierite showed up at the campground on Sunday morning, saying he was shutting down the event.

Promoters worked for five hours to have Pierite’s action overturned by the Tribal Council.

“In the meantime, news of the threatened cancellation spread like wildfire and people started packing up and leaving,” Lemelle said. “There were some who heard about it on the way in and just turned around and left before they even got to the event.”

According to the Lemelles, Pierite came back after five hours and demanded $10,000. He also told Lemelle the State Police and the FBI wanted the trail ride shut down. It was later determined that was not the case.

Pierite was then given the $4,000 payment and the event was allowed to proceed.

The tribe says attendance at the event was higher than the 2,500 to 3,000 per day expected. Lemelle said attendance was lower than the anticipated 3,000 daily visitors for the three-day festival, primarily due to the “cancellation” announcement for the Nov. 5 activities.

In addition to serving as Tribal Police chief, Pierite was appointed to the Louisiana State Police Commission earlier this year and has served on the Tribal Council for over 15 years. He has been the tribe’s police chief for more than 20 years.

Despite the harsh words exchanged between the tribe and Step-N-Strut promoters, the tribe was “thrilled to be a part of the Step-N-Strut event this year and hope that Step-N-Strut leaders will consider coming back in the near future,” the tribe’s release said.