How do I know about the Russia Mafia being in Cherokee and Asheville? Remember I had a pretty prominent position in Asheville and still have friends there, who are in the know. Actually, I was a highly respected professional until the year 2000 when a certain political change took place! LOL The last time I was in Asheville (last November) a close friend point blank told me that the Russians are taking over Asheville and already run Cherokee from behind the scenes. Most of his appraisals recently were for Russian Nationals moving to Western North Carolina. Many moons ago, before I even moved to Asheville, I was a consultant to the Cherokee Housing Authority and through the years have made friends on the Qualla Boundary. Last summer I decided to go hiking on my birthday, and then stop by afterward to visit with old Cherokee friends, who made the best barbecue around. Their old restaurant had been torn down and replaced with a fancy new one in a shopping center. Before eating, I walked around the strip shopping area, looking for a birthday gift for my sister - who was born in late August. Every single store I visited was staffed and managed by Slavic personnel. I finally stopped a Cherokee lady on the street, and told her I was Creek. Where are the Cherokees? She said that they don't work in town anymore. A few worked at the casino, but there were getting to be less and less. Of course, the Qualla Arts Gallery was staffed by Cherokees, but that was it. I bought a gift for my sister there, since there stuff were the only "real" looking things in town. I then drove back the barbecue restaurant, I walked in and didn't see a Native American in the place - either eating or working. Two Scandinavian looking gals (college age) were the hostesses. I asked them in English, if they were Swedish (Jag taler svenska) They said they were college students from "Southern" Russia. I thought that was strange since the southern Russians tend to look Middle Eastern. My waitress was from Brazil. I asked her what had happened to all my Cherokee friends that had worked there for two decades. She said that when the Russians bought the restaurant three years ago, all the Cherokees had been fired. In fact, she was only person they kept. The manager was from Poland. All the other employees were from Russia, Ukraine or Poland. She said that was pretty much the situation in all the stores and restaurants. She also was on a student visa, but had never attended college. The Russian owner got her card renewed each year. A little later, I glanced back into the kitchen and did see a Cherokee teenager working! He was washing dishes. The barbecue was as great as ever. A free ice cream came with the meal. It was served by the blond girls from "Southern Russia." As I was walking up to the ice cream counter, I heard them speaking a dialect of Finnish. I said about the only words I remembered in Finish from my days of working in Sweden - for "hello." That is absolutely all I said, other than I would like two scoops of butter pecan ice cream in English. They freaked out. One raced back to the kitchen while the other nervously scooped my ice cream order. Within a minute or so, a big, black limousine roared up to the front door of the restaurant. A big, puffy-faced, evil-looking Russian got out. He peeked in the door and said something to the Russian girls or wherever they were really from. Moments later, three Cherokee Tribal Police cruisers and a SWAT squad SUV flew into the parking lot, lights flashing. The four police officers chatted briefly with Russian, looked at me through the windows and went in. They all sat at the table next to me. None of the officers looked Indian. This was a big change. Always before, Cherokee police were the best of the best Cherokee warriors - and were highly respected. In fact, I would swear that one of the officers was from the Baltic countries himself. He spoke proper English, but didn't have a Southern Mountain accent. In a menacing tone, the SWAT officer asked me what I was doing in Cherokee? "Duh-h-h-h-h, eating barbecue and ice cream." They grilled me for several more minutes about my purposes on the rez, where I lived, my drivers licence, did I have criminal record, etc. until I got fed up and flashed them my Creek tribal membership card. They immediately became more polite. They then told me to leave the reservation as soon as I finished my meal. They never said one word about what I had done wrong. After telling with a friend in federal law enforcement about the incident, we both decided that everybody thought I was an INS undercover agent, because I was alone and look very athletic - wear my hair very short in the summer. I didn't leave immediately. I went straight to the home of an old Cherokee friend, who had managed the Penny's store in Asheville, before retiring back on the rez. I told him how I was treated. He wept as he explained how the Russian Mafia had taken over at Qualla. A few Cherokees were getting rich, politicians were getting paid off, and the rest of the people were basically welfare Injuns, getting by with checks from the casino profits paid to the tribe. Very few of the young people wanted to make crafts anymore, and the educated ones were being forced to leave Qualla to get a job, unless they were teachers. Not going back to Cherokee any time soon. Richard T. **************Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your budget? Read reviews on AOL Autos. (http://autos.aol.com/cars-Volkswagen-Jetta-2009/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00030000000007 )