SAN JACINTO: Soboba Leader Salgado Leaves Legacy of Service
Robert “Bobby” Salgado Sr. led the Soboba tribe off-and-on for more than three decades through good times and bad.
By CRAIG SHULTZ / STAFF WRITER
Published: March 7, 2016 Updated: 8:43 p.m.
A previous version of this story had the incorrect ammount of money Salgado accepted in kickbacks. The amount is $875,000.
Robert “Bobby” Salgado Sr., who led the Soboba tribe off and on for more than three decades, is being remembered for helping others – from his people to his athletes – and for being a role model since his teenage years.
“He was a guy all the younger guys looked up to,” said Lawrence Cutting, who was three years behind Salgado at San Jacinto High School. “He was a hero to many of us growing up. One will never forget his smile and the ‘bigger than life’ presence about him.”
Salgado died Sunday, March 6, at age 73 after years of suffering from diabetes and other illnesses. He oversaw good times on the reservation – such as winning a battle over water rights and the opening and expansion of the Soboba Casino – and bad, including disputes with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and a bribery indictment that led to time in prison.
In October 2010, Salgado pleaded guilty to one count each of bribery and filing a false tax return in connection with accepting almost $875,000 in kickbacks from vendors in exchange for giving them contracts on the San Jacinto-area reservation and its Soboba Casino.
In return for the guilty pleas, prosecutors dropped 34 of the 36 felony counts against him. Five months later, he was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison. He was released in July 2014.
With a barrel chest and gruff voice, Salgado was a presence most everywhere he went. He could often be found sitting on a chair holding a cane. People would approach him with awe and respect.
In a statement released Monday, March 7, his family said: “Robert improved the quality of life for all those around him. We are a stronger and better family and community because of his vision and love. He lives in our hearts and spirit and will forever guide us through his example of kindness, strength and generosity.”
Funeral details had not been released by late Monday afternoon.
Among the many people Salgado influenced was future state legislator Dennis Hollingsworth, who played football under Salgado while he coached at San Jacinto High in the early 1980s.
“Bobby was a leader alright,” Hollingsworth wrote on Facebook. “Bobby loomed large over everything he was involved in. But he was always ‘coach’ to me ... He left an indelible imprint on my character as a coach, part of who I am today.
“If the mark of a leader is their work carrying on in others, there are many carrying that on, including a squad of linemen from San Jacinto High School who ran and crawled and sweated for Coach Bobby.”
‘IMMEASURABLE’ CONTRIBUTIONS
Salgado, who graduated from San Jacinto High in 1961, was an outstanding athlete at the school and at Mt. San Jacinto College. He was asked to try out for the Los Angeles Rams, Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers as a placekicker.
Salgado continued to support athletics at both schools as a coach and later a donor.