Humphrey Bogart's character Fred C. Dobbs in "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" has been reincarnated in the form of Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga, by virtue of him and his affluent tribe unceremoniously giving the boot to Lawrence and Sophia Madariaga after their lifetime of dedication to the tribe.

Not only has the tribe succeeded in cutting them out of their share of the gambling mother lode, more importantly it has purged them from their cultural heritage.

Macarro's response to the public that this is a very complex intertribal matter, not about profits, blah, blah, blah, essentially equates to the Mexican bandit's response to Dobbs that "We don't have to show you any stinkin' badges!" Face it, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck …

Here's a challenge: If it's not about money, take that $15,000 per month for each of the 233 "disenrollees" -- that's roughly $3.5 million -- and donate it to charitable organizations in the area. Maybe the Madariagas will be able to get health care through one of these available programs during their remaining time in this life. Sadly, no amount of health care has any hope of mending their dignity.

A recently crafted water deal has opened up the door for future Pechanga expansion plans. This deal was described by Macarro as "a win-win for the Pechanga tribe and the Rancho California Water District." I seem to have missed the part about it also being a win for Temecula.

Additionally, this weekís failure by the Legislature to approve a deal between the Pechanga and Sacramento to make way for casino expansion is only a delay of the inevitable, with Temecula left standing on the sidelines with no control of the outcome.

So, Temecula, while you complain about your lifestyle degradation because Hooters came to town and Granite Construction wants to mine some rock on the other side of the hill, rest assured that the escalating influx of chain-smoking, alcoholic gamblers and other unsavory characters who are drawn to the Pechanga venue will continue to increase crime, traffic, pollution, noise, etc.

When you finally realize that the serenity of Temecula has been completely destroyed by the Pechanga empire, it'll be too late to ask Macarro for his stinkin' badge.

To Mark Macarro, in the slightly modified words of Fred C. Dobbs: "If ya know what's good for ya, ya won't monkey around with Temecula!"

John S. Philipps lives in Temecula.