Ex-Omaha Tribal Council member gets 5 years of probation

A former Omaha Tribal Council member has been sentenced to five years of probation and told to pay more than $13,000 in restitution for misusing federal funds.

Court records say Forrest Aldrich was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Omaha. He'd pleaded guilty in June to misapplication of health care benefit program funds. Other federal charges were dropped in exchange for his plea. The records show he's already repaid more than $4,000.

Aldrich was one of nine tribal officials accused of misusing federal funds by awarding themselves nearly $389,000 in bonuses. Officials say the bonuses were paid from Indian Health Service funds meant to provide health care to members of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska who reside on the Omaha Reservation in Macy in northeastern Nebraska and in western Iowa.