[
This FBI press release captioned “Former Upland Mayor, Second City Official Indicted in Federal Corruption Case for Demanding $70,000 in Bribes” caught my eye for several reasons. First, it was yet another example of a small-town mayor trying to cash in at the expense of constituents. Upland is just east of Los Angeles in San Bernardino County. Upland has a population of about 75,000. Second, by today’s dollar amounts that usually don’t get our attention unless they’re followed by seven or more zeros, this seemed like a comparatively small amount. And third, it was investigated by the San Bernardino Joint Corruption Task Force made up of the San Berdo Prosecuting Attorney’s Office , the US Attorney’s Office, and the FBI.
The big attention-getter for me, though, was that in the Upland case the feds were all over it in cooperation with the San Berdo County Prosecuting Attorney.
In contrast, Kootenai County Clerk Cliff Hayes made a request to the FBI for technical assistance (one Special Agent forensic accountant) to help identify additional financial irregularities suggested by the arrest of Sandra Kay Martinson who allegedly embezzled over $100,000 in county funds. Hayes request was denied. Turned down flat. Told that it was being adequately investigated by the Coeur d’Alene Police Department.
Sources tell OpenCdA that both the Coeur d’Alene FBI office and its parent field office in Salt Lake City were eager and willing to approve Hayes’ request. They recognize the complexity of investigating financial crimes; that’s why the FBI has Special Agent/forensic accountants. And yet, someone told the FBI to not get involved.
Why? Just as important, who? Did that instruction come from the US Attorney in Boise? Main Justice? FBI Headquarters? Who told the FBI to decline Hayes’ request?
These are questions we taxpayers in Kootenai County are entitled to ask. I intend to.
I’m going to use the age-old technique of simply contacting my Congressman, Raul Labrador, and asking him to determine who made the decision to direct the FBI to turn down Hayes’ request for help, especially when the Salt Lake City FBI Division was eager to help. I’m also going to ask him to try and find out why. I’d like to suggest that OpenCdA readers do the same. Contact Representative Labrador via the House Write Your Representative email system here.
This writer finds it remarkable that the request for technical assistance to the FBI came from the newly-inaugurated County Clerk Cliff Hayes and not from the Kootenai County Prosecutor or the Coeur d’Alene Police Department. Of course, Hayes is the former police chief in Post Falls, and he fully understands and appreciates the scope and intensity of financial crimes investigations. They often lead beyond the initial suspects and into areas requiring more resources and investigative skills.
Hopefully Representative Labrador’s inquiry will be productive.
While the focus of your comments are directed at questions regarding no FBI investigation, I noticed that your link also reported that the county prosecutor is handling the investigation of this crime that was committed in his own county. So I am wondering, as many others I talk with wonder, why did our prosecutor hand the Martinson case off to Bonner County?
Comment by Gary Ingram — March 5, 2011 @ 9:29 pm
Uh, So he could plea the Fifth?
Comment by concerned citizen — March 6, 2011 @ 6:41 am
Gary,
As I recall, McHugh said it was because there would be a conflict or the appearance of a conflict if his office made a charging decision involving a county employee. I believe the Martinson investigation was done by the Coeur d’Alene Police Department. Since McHugh and you are both precinct committeemen on the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee, why don’t you ask him that question in an open meeting, then report his answer back here.
Long before the allegations against Martinson came to light, our county prosecutor and county commissioners had been informed of several account irregularities among other county agencies. Those were reported, in detail, in Frank Davis’ October 2009 115-page sworn affidavit and complaint to the prosecutor and commissioners. I’ve seen no indication that either the prosecutor or commissioners acted on Davis’ well-documented information prior to Cliff Hayes taking office as the new Kootenai County Clerk and Jai Nelson and Dan Green assuming office as County Commissioners.
I suspect that since being inaugurated as Kootenai County Clerk, Cliff Hayes has begun to uncover more irregularities that require investigation and resolution. Not all of them are likely criminal, but it is almost certain that they point back to administrative failures of duty (e.g., off-budget accounts that, according to former Commissioner Currie, “just popped up”) in several county offices including the county sheriff’s office.
(Note to former commissioner Currie: Weeds just “pop up.” Off-budget accounts are created for convenience at best, but too often as repositories of easily accessible but difficult-to-trace cash.)
Given the potential for uncovering actions that will end up in court (as clearly shown in the Martinson case), it was very appropriate for Cliff Hayes to ask the FBI to provide technical assistance, a Special Agent/forensic accountant, in a potentially complex financial crimes investigation. It would have been important for any investigation involving multiple county agencies to be done by an agency less likely to be easily manipulated by local economic, social, and political influences. Of course, if the objective was to contain and control the investigation and limit the “damage” (meaning, exposure and prosecution), you would want the least capable and most manipulable agency doing it.
The request for FBI technical assistance should have come from the Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney and the Coeur d’Alene Police Department. That it appears not to have come from them first is alarming.
Comment by Bill — March 6, 2011 @ 6:48 am
Thanks for the info, Bill, and the updated explanation. It is nice to know that at least locally and in Utah it appears the FBI was willing to do their job. This whole event has simply dropped out of the sky and is now buried in the bottom of a sea floor of muck. I plan to follow up with your suggestion and do the same and refer to your post. Of course when we find out who dropped the ball, he/she will be full of flowery B.S. that we are supposed to swallow.
I wonder since there was no arrest – is there nothing to investigate?
Comment by Stebbijo — March 6, 2011 @ 8:35 am
Stebbijo,
If you’re talking about Martinson, here is a link to the ISTARS register of actions in her case.
As near as I can tell, she’s been bound over for trial on one count of grand theft, but there has been no trial date set.
Comment by Bill — March 6, 2011 @ 9:19 am
When linking to ISTARS any particular case will not come up – you have to log in the name and county. For some reason I must have the wrong name or spelling, I have never been able to locate the case on ISTARS and since it is home to Bonner, I assume that is the county it’s filed with. Anyway, one more reason I am in the dark because I haven’t read any updates in the papers.
Comment by Stebbijo — March 6, 2011 @ 10:48 am