One of two Los Angeles-area men who prosecutors say illegally sold or bought police badges from a southeastern San Diego County tribe was sentenced in federal court in Los Angeles Monday to one year of probation and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.
Colin Gilbert, 80, of Marina del Rey, pleaded guilty in January in downtown Los Angeles to one count of making false statements, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Gilbert and others recruited wealthy people beginning in 2016 to join the Manzanita Tribal Police Department, even though Gilbert lived about 177 miles from the Manzanita Reservation in San Diego County, was not a member of and had no affiliation with the Tribe, whose reservation is located near Boulevard, court papers state.
The wealthy individuals were asked to make a payment ranging from $5,000 to $100,000 and sometimes described as a “donation,” in exchange for membership in the tribal police. Prosecutors said the buyers wanted to secure law enforcement benefits they believed would come with the affiliation.
In one instance, Gilbert in 2019 arranged for a person with no law enforcement experience to pay $5,000 to become a member of the tribal police department, with the buyer saying he wanted to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, prosecutors said.
Gilbert lied to FBI investigators in November 2019, in part by saying “everybody that I had brought on had proper credentials, had the proper training, had everything done correctly,” according to his plea agreement.
He also falsely claimed to the FBI that everyone, including the newest recruit, had taken a specific law enforcement training class before receiving credentials. After his interview with the FBI, Gilbert called the new recruit and asked him to return the credentials and, if ever asked, deny having received them, prosecutors say.
In October 2021, Anthony Vazquez, 51, of Oxnard, pleaded guilty to stealing more than $300,000 while serving as the head of the Manzanita Tribal Police from 2012 to 2018, prosecutors said. Court papers state he sold the fake badges to buyers.
Vazquez is scheduled for sentencing in August in San Diego federal court.
