Former Navajo Chairman Peter MacDonald, his son and a Phoenix businessman have been ordered to pay $41 million to the tribe in a racketeering case.

Judge Stanley Goodfarb of Maricopa County Superior Court last week ordered the elder MacDonald and businessman Byron "Bud" Brown to pay a total of $30 million. Goodfarb also ordered MacDonald's son, Rocky, to pay $11 million to the tribe.The award stems from a lawsuit filed by the tribe under the Arizona racketeering statute and includes triple damages as allowed by the law.

Goodfarb, who heard the case without jury, said in his decision he believed Brown served as the broker in the purchase of the Big Boquillas Ranch near the Grand Canyon for $26.25 million by Scottsdale oilman Tom Tracy. Tracy then sold it to the tribe for $33.4 million, keeping one-third of the profits for himself while giving the rest to Brown.

Peter MacDonald, then tribal chairman, persuaded the tribal council to approve the sale and received a BMW automobile, trips to Hawaii and Las Vegas and cash payments totaling up to $100,000, Goodfarb said.

Rocky MacDonald helped his father cover up the elder MacDonald's role and served as a middleman for small-amount bribes from Brown and Tracy to his father.

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The MacDonalds told Goodfarb they couldn't offer a defense because of pending criminal charges against them. Brown, who acted as his own counsel, said his role as a broker was legitimate.

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