For folks that don’t recall I submitted a PRR on December 25^th, 2015 (It was prepared long before Christmas that was just the day I pushed the button). That PRR was submitted to obtain information regarding a City Prosecutor, Lynden Smithson, from Nancy Isserlis’s Office whose name came up in this investigation causing him to be placed on “Administrative Leave” for five weeks.

https://www.fbi.gov/seattle/press-releases/2014/spokane-violent-crime-and-gang-enforcement-team-and-partners-take-down-drug-trafficking-criminal-enterprise

 

Why is this important? Well, for a number of reasons including some of those I mentioned here.

 

https://examplepro.me/2016/01/05/paid-administative-leave-seems-to-be-the-thing-these-days/

 

Also because it will be interesting to compare the circumstances surrounding Arleth’s “Paid Administrative Leave” and Smithson’s “Administrative Leave”. To be perfectly clear the Spokesman Review had the same information I did regarding Smithson at the same time I did months ago but has never reported on it even though the placing of a City Prosecutor on Administrative Leave as the result of a large Federal Drug Case is certainly newsworthy, regardless of any off-the-record discussions they had regarding Smithson. The Furniture-Gate story involving Arleth has rightfully been covered to an extent, but we still don’t know all of the story and it will be the usual teeth pulling exercise to get to some understanding of the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, and WHEN.

 

One of the aspects of my Smithson PRR I appreciated as far as Nancy Isserlis is concerned was the fact that she did respond with a comment regarding Smithson, which I feel was a good idea. As you know from my previous stories some people at City Hall, including the City Council have refused to comment on issues of importance to their constituents. That of course is their choice, but history demonstrates that lack of transparency ends up biting folks.

 

So here is where we stand on Smithson, and MAYBE we will know more next week.

 

 

 

 

 

I REPORT YOU DECIDE! (Or, laugh, gag, cry, etc.)

 

That this story would likely be published in the SR today or tomorrow so I kind of got ready.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/feb/04/letter-expressed-concern-about-new-precinct-before/ 

 

Rule number one for any investigative reporter is don’t ever believe what politicians, bureaucrates, or law enforcement tell you, know the answers before you ask the questions and do your homework. Hell yes the cops had a concern about the safety at the Intermodel Center, but that concern wasn’t just for their safety it was also for the people coming there to contact them. Sould they have had a concern…damn rights they should have. This image shows the change orders to the precinct construction at the Intermodal Center. In the lower left hand corner you will see a notation of a minus (32,801,05) Changes per Chief. So the question is… did a Chief decide that Alum Ballistic Doors and Windows weren’t needed? Well if that is the case D. R. Scott Construction would know. They would also know who approved the change orders.

 

 

 

You may find in reading the links below that Furniture-Gate may end up costing us more than the Intermodal did in the beginning.

 

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/b3ad9c7e-2f33-46ea-bb7a-e3d78a3899a5

 
https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/34ab3e4d-944b-452e-839b-a6ce8b6f40e3

 

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/c46a2d6b-9201-427c-88b8-697eb256fa0a

 

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/b4130061-523e-493e-bb17-e66b63e2beaf

 

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/9fde0869-0546-43a4-a774-79c75db8a50b

 

 

 

On January 26^th, 2016 Rachael Alexander ran this story not as a news story but for some reason buried in the Sirens and Gavels Blog of the SR. I will note that I had reported what was going on with Schwering long before her Blog post was published. Sending Schwering to the Basic Law Enforcement Academy to obtain State Law Enforcement Officer Certification will very likely become quite news worthy as more facts surface regarding Furniture-gate, The Golden Goose Fund, and SPD culture. Needless to say many members of the SPD are not happy with this situation and anticipate that Mayor Condon is setting the stage for more ruin by getting Schwering state certified.

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/sirens/2016/jan/26/police-accountability-director-goes-through-law-enforcement-academy/

 

The key statement in Alexander’s Blog Post is this:

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“Schwering said he completed a civil service exam, background investigation, polygraph examination and all other required tests to enter the academy with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office last year, when he was considering switching agencies. He made the decision to remain with the police department and transferred his paperwork over.”

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The reason that is important is because sources close to SPD have provided me information that Schwering also took the SPD Civil Service exam and failed. Other local media have confirmed that information via their own sources. In following up on this story I have requested comment from Interim Chief Dobrow, Director Tim Schwering, and the City Council no one has responded to emails or voice messages. Images of my emails requesting comment are provided in the images below.

Rachael Alexander links this August 16, 2013 story written by Nick Deshais when Straub and Condon were in the process of hiring cronies after they were able to convince the City Council to divide SPD into separate Departments in order to bypass the City Charter and State Law. I have heard from sources inside City Hall that the Council is considering dumping the Ordinance they passed which actually helped to create the mess SPD is now in.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/aug/16/spokane-police-force-hires-fraud-investigator/

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“A fraud investigator from the federal public defender’s office has joined the Spokane Police Department to focus on improving the city’s seizures of drug assets, implementing new laws legalizing marijuana and updating records management.”

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Some of the comments on the 2013 story are interesting, Here is one to help establish Zelda’s timeline.

For those of you that are not aware, after I retired from the SPD I worked as an Investigator for law firms including locally. During that time, I did work closely with the Federal Defenders Office where Tim Schwering was employed and I am very aware of many of the things that happened during his time there including the facts surrounding the termination of some employees including investigators.

Most people probably aren’t aware of Tim Schwering’s involvement in the high profile Edgar J Steele case in Idaho, but he was involved while he was with the Federal Defenders Office.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/sep/05/north-idaho-attorney-edgar-steele-convicted-plotti/

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/edgar-steele

 

For those of you that are not aware I supported Breean Beggs in the Prosecutors Race against Larry Haskell. I even gave him some money for his campaign. I also feel he is the best candidate for the open City Council position…don’t construe that to mean I’m a Liberal I’m not…nor am I a Conservative. I simply feel his background and experience is most suited to correct the SPD, which to me is the most important issue facing the City Council, and it will be an uphill battle.

Breean and I agree on some things and disagree on other things, here is a statement he made for Rachael Alexander’s Blog Post.

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“It will give him in the long run more credibility in the long run if he’s a commissioned officer,” Beggs said. “He wants to go that way in his career so if we didn’t do it here in City of Spokane, he would probably go someplace else.”

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Breean my friend no it won’t, anyone with law enforcement experience will tell you that spending the money to send someone to a law enforcement academy does nothing to add credibility. Your credibility and understanding, or lack thereof, comes from the street not from behind a desk. Your question should be “What motivated this move? “Is there an agenda afoot?”

 

Here is my email exchange I mentioned above:

You might ask how all this information I have provided relates to “The Golden Goose Fund”, “Furniture-Gate”, and “The Culture Continues” the answer is simple…as far as “The Golden Goose Fund” is concerned Schwering is one of the individuals who had/has control over the “Confidential Fund” as a trustee. That fund is where the money from the “Forfeiture and Contributions Fund” is sent to SPD to spend…even for furniture.

 

Okay so what does the Schwering issue have to do with “The Culture Continues”? That is also an easy one and represents only a small portion of the Culture Problem.

 

To put things in perspective first read this story:

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/oct/06/spokane-police-evidence-garage-full-a-year-after-f/

You might notice if you go to the comments section the SR deleted my comments, as they were factual and didn’t make them look very good.

 

Now scroll back up and look at the phony reason given for the original hiring of Schwering.

 

Now read Joe Walker’s Whistleblower Complaint about the operation of Schwering and Straub’s CEU (Civil Enforcement Unit) which was created by Straub and Schwering when the Feds cutoff the Federal Forfeiture Gravy Train. Walker is among some SPD Cops (including some that may be on paid administrative leave) that believed the focus on forfeiture was a detriment to the protection mission and responsibility of the Spokane Police Department, and he is correct.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/7d4b74e2-4086-4585-8903-dda6e662b3b0

 

Now read these documents from the most recent PRR response received by me and the Spokesman Review. When you read these links try and set aside the alleged criminal conduct and review the forfeiture letters served on the owners by SPD. They are quite telling.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/7d4b74e2-4086-4585-8903-dda6e662b3b0

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/0ca744a9-2eab-4236-9a88-a58f4bab3c8b

 

I REPORT YOU DECIDE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again the public isn’t getting the full story from articles in the Spokesman Review so I’ve taken on the responsibility. A friend of mine, who is an investigative reporter and not from around here, likened what I’m doing to the non-local media “muckraker” who exposed the lead poisoning and cover-up regarding the people in Flint Michigan. I only hope I can do half as well, it ends up being a time consuming and costly task, but if it will improve the Spokane Police Department and City Hall I’ll stay on task.

 

This article written by Nick Deshais appeared on 1/29/16 in the Spokesman Review.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/jan/29/notes-from-police-chief-frank-straubs-top-staff-sh/

 

The article leaves out some important facts regarding the Condon Administration and SPD’s handling of Public Records Requests which is one aspect of the City Council’s “Independent Investigation”, and should have been reported by Spokane’s largest media outlet, but wasn’t, so again the question is WHY?

 

City Clerk Terri Pfister, who has been burning the candle at both ends as a result of the Cotton/Straub case yesterday provided me with more documents in response to my September 5^th, 2015 PRR, the same documents in possession of Nick Deshais and the SR. I will continue to study them and report items of interest, and there are many, but today I’ll deal with some of those that relate to the Deshais story.

 

The image below of the email from Terri Pfister shows some significant problems with transparency by the Condon Administration and SPD, it also raises many questions.

 

 

Note that Ms. Pfister states that as a result of a December 3, 2015 PRR submitted by Deshais (I haven’t received a copy yet) “three sets of notes were located by members of the Spokane Police Department.”.

Ms. Pfister then goes on to state that those notes (the cops just found) should have been provided to both Deshais and me in response to his August 18^th, 2015 PRR and my September 5^th, 2015 PRR. So why weren’t they? This is pretty typical when one does a PRR, things start to show up when the heat is turned on. Keep this in mind as you read on!

 

In the story written by Deshais he does not provide a link to the “notes” he received. Providing the public access to the original used to be standard practice at the SR, however that has changed since some dastardly, “confused Jeremiah”, muckraker started to point out the discrepancies between the actual documents and the news stories. So I will provide them to you, but in doing so I want to be clear these are NOT NOTES, by anyone’s stretch of imagination, and Mary Schultz’s statements to Deshais in his story are dead on. The actual notes, if they exist, are subject to the Public Records Act, and subject to disclosure in the Straub lawsuit, as are “Angie’s meeting minutes” and other stuff. I will also provide images of the document properties which any good investigative reporter knows are important for getting to the truth and you can draw your own conclusions.

 

 

“Walker Log Notes Summary”:

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/67241cf6-2238-4bff-8845-e898fb5f9e1c

 

 

 

“President’s log”:

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/e656cd67-bbf2-4750-a63e-0ad923e13f4a

 

 

 

 

Torok:

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/e656cd67-bbf2-4750-a63e-0ad923e13f4a

 

 

 

I find the addition of the Carly Cortright complaint in the Deshais story both funny and ironic since I have been harping on the importance of her information since she was transferred from SPD to City Hall, in emails to other media including SR reporters, the City Council, my Twitter account, this Blog, and more. I will share one with you from Cowles owned KHQ the others are hold backs.

I have had the pleasure of being involved in the past with Carly Cortright and her transfer from SPD was ridiculous as she was one of the best civilian employees they had. I share her concern regarding the “Independent Investigation” being conducted by Kris Cappel, from what I know of the investigation so far I’m not impressed. It is important to note that Cortright’s complaint supports Cotton’s complaint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Needless to say once I asked Erickson for interaction via email so I would have a record, I never heard back from him again. Take note of the dates on the emails.

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Also included in the documents from Ms. Pfister was another Nissen Affidavit this time from Leroy Eadie, who uses his private cell phone for public business. Again the reason these are important is IF the “Independent Investigation” subpoenas the cellphone records of the players which is standard investigative operating procedure and those records were not provided in response to PRRs someone is in trouble, and that could explain why the Nissen Affidavits are very, very, slow in being produced.

 

Nissen Affidavit of Leroy Eadie:

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/acf55a53-73bd-4813-9f24-f59fbb4ec9ed

 

I have more coming later this week regarding Tim Schwering being sent to the Basic Law Enforcement Academy even though he failed the SPD exam. Other media have picked up on this story and confirmed the information I have through their independent sources however I want to give the City Council one more day to respond to my requests for comment. They have not responded nor provided a reason for not responding. The Tim Schwering issue has nothing to do with the Cotton/Straub investigation or the lawsuits so there are no reasons for them not to respond.

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Personal Note to Zelda:

 

 

 

Started in 2012 and have mountians of documents to prove it! 🙂 🙂

 

 

 

I REPORT YOU DECIDE!