I was mining a unique deposit of sand and gravel under the terms of the 1872 mining laws, after years of research, I had filed mining claims covering approximately 1,000 acres and had complied fully with the law with all the correct paperwork and filing of documents. Bob Coats, owner of Deschutes Ready-mix was buying this material and mining it on my claims under a royalty arrangement. The local Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved my plan of operations and issued a letter stating the terms under which this sand could be mined (11/8/91)..
On June 23, 1993, the BLM had decided to shut down my operation by serving me with a phony cease and desist, notice of non-compliance order by having a ranger hand me a document stating that we were mining outside the approved area in the plan. Since I had chosen this particular area I knew there had to be some kind of a mistake and Coats and I met with the BLM three days later and explained their mistakes to them.
We were told that the Solicitor (govt lawyer) had to rescind the order and told to wait, as the local office did not have the authority. After getting the run-a-round for several weeks, there was no respone from the BLM other than the fact that James Kenna who had issued the order was suddenly gone on a 2 week vacation and there was no one left who knew anything of the situation. This forced us into an appeal situation because the 30 day appeals time limit was about to expire. So Coats had his lawyer write an appeal to the Oregon State Director as required, which pointed out their errors as stated previously in our meeting. The State Director was absent of leave and the Solicitor (the same person who illegally shut us down) was there in his absence to write an opinion for the State Director which reaffirmed her own initial conclusions, after stalling us the maximum time (over 100 days) and issued this opinion denying our appeal. CERTAINLY A CONFLICT OF INTEREST HERE.....
I appealed this decision to the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) and nearly three and one half years later they stated that I was illegally shut down because the BLM lacked the authority and required a court order which they had not secured (12/17/96). The decision also stated that the BLM was correct in issuing the notice of noncompliance order however, despite the clear proof that we were mining within the approved area, and there is evidence that the state knows we were not mining outside the approved area.
The mining laws state that a mining claimant may be required to prove that his mining minerals complies with the regulations, which is done through a process called a "contest". I was served documents stating that a contest was to be held in which the gov't would supply evidence that the materials I was mining was a "common variety", meaning it was widely abundent throughout the area and therefor not locatable. I was informed that the mineral examiner, Jerry Capps had won a trip and the BLM asked me if I would be willing to postpone the hearing to a later date. I was willing to accomodate their needs and the hearing was postponed. In the meantime, the Solicitor Maryanne King told me that the BLM would drop the contest proceedings if I could demonstrate to them the legality of my operation under the mining laws. I readilly agreed and after 25 hours of good faith talks in which I proved the validity of my actions, they still refused to give in without giving me any reason, just saying they believed it was a common variety material.
In the words of Patrick Henry, "I smell a rat" I knew at this point just how corrupt this system was and I wrote King's superior stating that I had acted in good faith and revealed my case and they still refused to give in and that I was bound to find "smoke and mirrors" as their defense, and on June 27, 1994 (one year after the illegal shutdown) the hearing was held. I had previously found an attorney who was willing to take my case on a contingency, however, he was not prepared for the hearing and asked for a postponement which King and the BLM rudely denied our request forcing me to go to the hearing myself without any representation. I complained to the Judge, John Rampton but he basically said I was lying about having an attorney despite having my lawyer's request for postponement was already made part of the record.
When commencing a contest exam, the mineral examiner (Capps) is required to perform tests on the materials and evaluate the entire marketplace and the other products that are available and compare them. The only comparable pit was the Horse Ridge one and Capps admitted he had not bothered to even go there. I had spent over 25 hours in talks with Capps and others from the BLM in which i proved my case, however the BLM refused to admit to the truth. Instead they chose to lie and deceive and the day of the hearing they introduced fabricated evidence in an attempt to obfuscate the facts. By changing a table of prices in the marketplace with phony evidence, they were able to steal my case by taking advantage of the good faith talks we had, and committing perjury under oath in discussing these false facts. Representing myself, I was able to impeach Capps well over 100 times, however, Judge Rampton was just another advocate for the gov't and refused to give my motions for dismissal any credibility despite the fact the gov't had not presented a prima facie case, once this false evidence was revealed. When I impeached Capps and the Solicitor with a price list from one of the companies showing they overstated the price of sand by nearly twice the accurate amount, neither one had anything to say, nor did the judge when i asked for a dismissal...some justice ! more like JUST US !!
Needless to say Judge Rampton ruled against me and ignored my whole case as if i weren't in the room. I had the most competent witness in the county in Bob Coats (who had been in the business 30 years) and the BLM did not even have an expert witness. I promptly appealed my case to the IBLA and waited three and a half years for their denial of my appeal, completely ignoring the errors and evidence that my briefs revealed. The IBLA finally denied my appeal despite their own ruling that I was illegally shut down and my right to a fair hearing didn't seem to matter to the board. Unjust enrichment is a legal term that applies when one commits a crime they cannot benefit from it but this does not seem to be the case with the Bureau of Land Management.
I am presently looking for a civil rights attorney who will represent me in federal district court.....for a listing of the civil rights violations against me CLICK HERE
email rayrothbard@yahoo.com
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