SCROLL FOR UPDATES:
BREAKING – Dave Stevens a candidate for Spokane County Prosecutor who was eliminated in the primary is not supporting Tucker as has been reported by the S-R. In fact Stevens cast his vote for Frank Malone. See the information below.
To All:
Regular readers here know my opinion of Steve Tucker. As you mark your ballot in this important election you should take the time to scan through these S-R article discussion threads on Tucker. If you have concerns regarding police misconduct and questionable police shootings/deaths in Spokane then DON”T VOTE for Steve Tucker.
You have the power to change the status quo in Spokane.
Here are some of my posts in these S-R threads as to why I’m NOT VOTING for Tucker. I challenged both Dave Stevens and Chris Bugbee why they are supporting Tucker:
I for one will not vote for Tucker. [Note: Slight editing to correct a couple of typos}
I know both Dave and Chris are supporting Tucker. Gee guys Tucker is toxic for the local LE community. How many more of these police shootings do we need. While some may be marginally justified the investigations both criminally/administratively have sucked. The County Prosecutor could take the lead in demanding transparency and competent investigations but Tucker’s been MIA. Gee he’s even announced he can’t make a decision before the election on the Creach case and won’t give a decent explanation why.
Why you continue to support him is beyond me. This transcends party affiliation. Is it the water that makes you all brain dead? Sorry I’m venting but Tucker in my opinion covered up a good manslaughter case. Either because he’s incompetent, inept, there was money changing hands, he did what was expected of the ongoing criminal enterprise in this company town and or he simply did not want to rock the boat of the power elite.
Dave Stevens replied with this email:
On Sun, Oct 17, 2010 at 4:06 PM, David Stevens <david_stevens@davidstevens.org> wrote:
I am not supporting Tucker. Don’t know where the paper got that.
Dave posted this on his FaceBook page:
David Stevens Just filled out my ballot and voted for Frank. Voting for a “D” never felt so good.
Larry Shook commented (larryshook.com ) re this development:
Thanks, Ron. I look forward to the clarification, too. Based on Mr. Stevens’s statement, it would seem that the S-R needs to issue a correction and to report accurately on Mr. Stevens’s position. Best, Larry
I’m anxiously waiting on the S-R’s clarification/correction of Stevens’ support BEFORE THE ELECTION. The ballots have been dropped. The S-R’s readers need to be informed.
*****
[Note: I’m cut/pasting the actual comments. Some of the embedded links won’t work because the S-R truncates the full URLs. If it’s a tiny URL it will probably work. If the link has been truncated click on the S-R’s server time/date stamp to go to the original post or just click on the article titles and scroll down to the comments. The embedded links will work from the original. So far the S-R has not scrubbed my comments. If they do I will post the originals with links that will work]
My RICO report I cite in these comments is online here:
The accompany Table of Evidence can be found here:
Here are the two recent S-R articles on Tucker that you should read:
Tucker faces toughest challenge
[By Tom Clouse]
Decision on Creach shooting charges unlikely before election
[By Tom Clouse]
*****
My selected comments
UPDATE I:
S-R runs story in S-R’s political blog Spin Control:
GOP vice chairman voted for Democrat Malone for prosecutor
Ok the headline is a little bit of slam against Dave’s vote but read my comments in this thread. This race transcends normal party politics.
Perhaps Larry Shook’s challenge to S-R City Editor Addy Hatch was taken to heart:
Ms. Hatch:
You have been provided evidence that your newspaper made a reporting error concerning an endorsement of Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker. As you know, this is a serious matter, because Mr. Tucker has been accused of covering up a crime involving your employers. (Please see “America’s Most Dangerous Cop” at www.larryshook.com and “Deathtrap” at www.girlfromhotsprings.com.)
The professional thing for you to do is take action in order to determine whether a correction is in order. I’m afraid I don’t understand your indifference to this concern. Your lack of due diligence in this matter could be construed as adding weight to the concern of both retired Det. Ron Wright and former Sheriff Tony Bamonte that The Spokesman-Review serves as an instrument of Cowles family criminal activities. Let me note that if you, or any of your colleagues, document that any of my reporting is in error I will take prompt action to correct the mistake and thank you for bringing it to my attention.
Sincerely,
Larry Shook
UPDATE II:
S-R runs story of Stevens voting for Malone for Co Prosecutor [Print version]
S-R runs the story of Stevens voting for Malone on Page A6 in the “In Brief” column. OK I thought this story was worthy of better positioning perhaps the local page above the fold because of the importance of this election to the voters of Spokane. Those who voted for Stevens, Bugbee and or possibly Reierson split the vote allowing Tucker to survive the primary. These voters were essentially voting NO on Tucker.
It will be those voters who voted for Stevens and Bugbee who will decide this race. If a substantial number cast their votes for Malone, Malone will win. Hence the significance/importance of Stevens casting his vote for Malone becoming known to potential voters. Bugbee’s still riding the fence. Stevens did what was right for the people of Spokane.
Oh well as I’m told this is typical MO of the S-R from a person who has studied the S-R for many years:
Bomb disposal. It’s the S-R equivalent of sending out the EOD (explosive ordnance demolition) guys.
I’ll take what I can get.I thought this was a fascinating study in the power of the new/alternative media to scoop a story, publish it online before the subsequent print version appeared, nudge the MSM to objectively report on a factual error in a previously published article and once it hit the MSM’s blogs and print edition to post in it’s comment threads the real context of the story.
Bottom line the new/alternative media has the power to force a better news product of the MSM that has become lazy and paternalistic in what goes for the news of the day. This is a key aspect of why the MSM’s business paradigm is going in the tank.
Stevens says he voted for Malone
The Spokesman-Review
Tags: 2010 election 2010 Spokane County prosecutor Dave Stevens Frank Malone steve tucker
Dave Stevens, a Republican who lost his bid this summer for Spokane County prosecutor to incumbent Republican Steve Tucker and Democrat Frank Malone, said Wednesday that he cast his vote for Malone in the Nov. 2 election.
The vote is a reversal from where Stevens stood after the primary, when he said he supported Tucker because he didn’t think Malone had the necessary experience for the job. Stevens, who worked under Tucker until Tucker fired him after he announced his candidacy, said he changed his mind after talking to Malone on the phone.
He said Malone assured him that he wouldn’t shake up the staff of deputy prosecuting attorneys.
Stevens is the vice chairman of the Spokane County Republican Party. Stevens said he did not consider his openness about how he voted as an endorsement.
“I get to vote for anyone I want, just like anybody else,” he said.
Ron_the_Cop on October 21 at 8:30 a.m.
Thanks S-R for finally reporting this story albeit the placement could have been better considering the importance of this race to the citizens of Spokane.
For those interested in reading more re the discussion thread at S-R’s Spin Control where this article first appeared yesterday.
Here’s an excerpt from my comment:
Thanks Mr. Brunt and Mr. Camden for correcting the record in this important and tight political race.
This race transcends normal partisan politics. Dave is very courageous in his vote for Malone. Dave’s vote is very telling. No Republican should fault or take issue with Dave over his vote. This isn’t about sour grapes on Dave’s part either. There are real reasons that are nonpartisan why Tucker should not be returned to office. Read my blog post below.
I have a very dyed in the wool conservative LE colleague too that confessed he did not vote for Tucker. Even the County Republican Party hasn’t endorse Tucker! Why do you suppose?
Also Tucker’s radio/printed ads claiming support of Sheriff Knezovich are false. All should read the previous S-R articles on Knezovich’s statement of “support” for the candidates in this race. Here’s my post on an email that Sheriff Knezovich sent to me clarifying his support:
“I have not endorsed anyone for any office” [Emphasis added].
Ron_the_Cop on October 16 at 10:33 a.m.
Chicken Little here,
Look folks I’m a retired 35-year law enforcement professional from that unmentionable state to the south. I came here for this region’s many fine attributes and amenities. The local political environment was not one of them. I’ve worked 1000s of criminal cases from investigation, criminal filing, and deposition in court. I worked very closely with our district attorney’s office (prosecutor here) in doing so. I’m currently an adjunct instructor at a local institution and have taught forensics and crime scene investigation, community oriented policing, and controversial issues in law enforcement.
If folks want real change in the law enforcement community in Spokane then we need a real prosecutor that will take a leadership role in the LE community. If you like the status quo then return Tucker to office.
In my professional opinion Tucker should have been criminally prosecuted for rendering criminal assistance to an ongoing criminal enterprise (As defined in the federal RICO Act) that freely operates here in Spokane. This enterprise operates like a river leech that sucks the life’s blood out of Spokane. Perhaps it takes an outsider to recognize this. You know the old saying about a frog in a pot of water brought slowly to a boil.
I will stand by my professional opinion that the homicide death of Jo Ellen Savage in the RPS Parking Garage owned by the leaders of Spokane’s power elite was a First-Degree Manslaughter under WA criminal law. What was lacking is that NO LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY whether it be city, county, state or federal was willing to do was a complete and thorough criminal investigation.
Such a criminal investigation would have followed the evidence uncovered in the Savage civil wrongful death case wherever it would have led to its logical conclusion. No federal grand jury ever reviewed or heard testimony regarding the details of Savage case as it relates to violating negligent homicide under WA criminal law. The only involvement of a grand jury was the issuance of several subpoenas to get the Savage civil case information/materials. Don’t be misled by published reports, press releases and statements of public officials to the contrary.
Once the US Attorney’s Office gave it’s information/evidence in the Savage case to Tucker to review under existing state law, TUCKER DID NOTHING. Tucker did not compel a complete and thorough investigation be done. If you don’t ask the probative questions of those involved and or complicit in the crime OF COURSE YOU WILL HAVE INSUFFICIENT evidence to file. Tucker’s decision not to file criminal charges in this case was a COVER UP whether by his ineptness, incompetence, by design and or by deferring to or not wanting to challenge this criminal enterprise.
Spokane citizens have a real choice in this election. It is quite clear that no one else or any governmental entity is capable or willing to bring that change. It’s only WE THE PEOPLE who can hold our elected/appointed accountable for their actions.
I will not be voting for Steve Tucker.
People may dismiss what I say and call me a chicken little if you wish but I will stand by my convictions and opinions based on my professional experience, education, training and experience as a top flight criminal investigator. Folks are free to view my professional vitae online here. I will match my experience and training with anyone anytime:
http://tinyurl.com/265r62g
More to follow why continuing with why the status quo is detrimental to everyone in Spokane.
Det. Ron Wright (Retired)
Riverside PD, CA
Ron_the_Cop on October 16 at 11:07 a.m.
More from chicken little,
Read quickly because what I’m about to say may vanish in the blink of any eye. Fortunately now with the Internet it can be scrubbed here but it can’t be permanently erased.
Here’s why continuing with the status quo is detrimental to everyone in Spokane with the reelection of Tucker. The operation of this criminal enterprise suppresses the prevailing wage base and the normal economic growth of this community that would otherwise be growing rapidly from its many fine attributes and amenities.
As I detailed in a previous piece and will summarize here the S-R is nothing more than an instrumentality of the Cowles Co’s ongoing criminal enterprise to cover its own criminal activity. This is done by it’s active self-censorship of stories and censorship of comments in S-R blogs where the business interests of the Cowleses are involved. This information would be highly detrimental to the owners that would otherwise inform the public. The public once alerted, educated and informed would hold their elected/appointed officials accountable for their criminal acts who have been systemically co-opted/corrupted by this ongoing criminal conspiracy.
The Cowles Co through intimidation and unfair business practices controls the flow of adverse information in other media it doesn’t own. When this is not successful, it silences reporters or other voices cutting too close to the bone by squelching them through a series of unfair subtle business practices and/or by violating the fundamental regulatory scheme of the Federal Trade Commission and the FCC.
In my opinion a compelling FTC antitrust case can be made regarding a clear pattern and practice of unfair business practices carried out over many years by the Cowles Co et al that has given it an unfair competitive advantage over other businesses both new or established in the Spokane Regional Market. There are high costs associated for those who would choose to challenge the Cowles Co market domination. New businesses are similarly deterred from locating here because of “the company town” nature of Spokane. This is nothing more than organized crime that must not be tolerated and must be eliminated.
I would encourage all to read my findings/conclusion in my RICO report. Especially read my Savage Case findings, Evidence Item RW26 and the addendum including the explosive statement of WA Asst. Attorney General Scott Marlow who reviewed Tucker’s case materials. What Marlow said to David Savage (Prominent attorney and former husband of Jo Savage, was corroborated by in another phone conversation with Spokane County Commissioner Bonnie Mager.
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Ron_the_Cop on October 16 at 11:07 a.m.
[Continued from above]
From my conclusion in my RICO report:
I find it detestable and contemptuous that my colleagues in the law enforcement/prosecutorial community at all levels have failed to perform their sworn duties on behalf have the public especially with regard to the Savage manslaughter case. . .
In conclusion in my 35-year career as a criminal investigator, this is certainly one of the most blatantly criminal enterprises I have ever encountered. It’s hard to find words to adequately describe it.
The people have been repeatedly victimized by this criminal enterprise ⎯ this is organized crime. Organized crime cannot be appeased but must be destroyed because of its corrosive impact on government. The citizens of Spokane and the family of Jo Savage have a fundamental right to ensure that justice is served when their political/ governmental law enforcement bodies and decision makers because of their systemic co-option/ corruption can’t or won’t act to protect them from criminal victimization and from imminent public hazards.
In our legal system the law is of, for and by the People – NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.
I’m not voting for Steve Tucker. Tucker for whatever reason covered up the death of Jo Ellen Savage. It could have been anyone of us or our loved ones that fell to their horrible death that day through no fault of their own. This was a ticking time bomb and the owners knew it for fifteen years running but for economic reasons chose to DO NOTHING and rolled the dice. Our City leaders also refuse to order an immediate inspection of this garage to determine if its safe for continued public occupancy and whether the retrofit, as built, met the City’s engineering standards. Our City leaders are willing to continue to roll the dice.
You decide if you wish to return Tucker to office. You HAVE THE POWER to make a change.
Det. Ron Wright (Retired)
Ron_the_Cop on October 17 at 11:08 a.m.
Please excuse the length of this post as this contains original information that so far the S-R has failed to report even though it’s reporters have had this information.
OK here’s some hard evidence re the complicity of Tucker in the cover up of the Jo Ellen Savage homicide. Tucker makes the point that this case was reviewed by a number of LE entities who all came to the same conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to a criminal filing.
This is a blatant misrepresentation of the facts.
First SPD wrote only an accidental death/traffic accident report which at most was thirty pages. Chief Kirkpatrick ducked the issue when former Sheriff Tony Bamonte filed a formal criminal complaint that Savage’s death was a first-degree manslaughter.
Chief Kirkpatrick handed this case off to the FBI who accepted it even though there is no real federal nexus and or jurisdiction for what is largely a state negligent homicide/manslaughter case.
The FBI took it only because the US Attorney’s Office had undertaken a review of the RPD Bond Fraud cases. I won’t go into detail here but had they pursued this as a criminal RICO case, the manslaughter could have been investigated as an unindicted state offense as one of the predicate offenses required to show the existence of a criminal enterprise.
The FBI and the US Attorney’s Office ran the state statute of limitations clock down for a year. Asst. US Attorney Robert Westinghouse in his press conference said they could not meet their burden in the fraud case because of a number of reasons including the general five-year federal statute of limitations. Had they considered this as a criminal RICO case the statue of limitations would have been ten years from the last act.
US Asst. Attorney Westinghouse did say they had received evidence in the Savage death that needed further review under existing state law involving negligent homicide. He further stated they had no jurisidication and were turning their information over to Steve Tucker for further review. I was at this press conference and chastised Westinghouse at the time for this decision to give this to Tucker as they knew the local political environment. Westinghouse said they had no information that Tucker couldn’t due the investigation and review.
As I said above Tucker DID NOTHING once he received the information from the US Attorney’s Office other than review the boxes of documents. I have personal knowledge that key witnesses that should have been interviewed by criminal investigators and/or a grand jury were never contacted/testified.
All that Tucker did was send his limited information to the WA State Attorney General’s Office for an advisory opinion. Tucker severely limited their review by retaining the final filing decision. The AG’s Office couldn’t initiate it’s own independent investigation. As I said above at this point there was never done a complete and thorough criminal investigation. How you can make a filing decision without such an investigation to review is beyond me.
Asst. AG Scott Marlow in as much said so in his advisory letter to Tucker. Mind you Tucker just cherry picked the last paragraph in of Marlow’s letter and included it in his press release (See Evidence Item RW 20 in the Table of Evidence http://tinyurl.com/ybgkjqe ). Here’s the actual Marlow letter that I received by filing a PDR with the AG’s Office (See RW 17 ). The first page and a half of this letter is chocked full of caveats regarding the AG’s review. If you read between the lines – what Marlow is saying is that Tucker gave them crap at the last minute and tied their hands.
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Ron_the_Cop on October 17 at 11:21 a.m.
[Continued from above]
But more importantly Marlow called David Savage shortly before sending his letter to Tucker. David Savage is a prominent personal injury attorney and former president of the WA State Bar Association. His current wife is a former senior assistant WA AG and currently is the general counsel of WSU. Both are no slouches in the world of criminal law and believe the facts and circumstances of the death of Savage were criminal that necessitated a complete and thorough independent criminal investigation (See my Savage case file RW 26).
Marlow told David Savage the AG’s Office was providing political cover for Tucker. David Savage wrote a memo to his file documenting this phone call. Brunt wrote a story on this memo. It’s apparent that Marlow was put on ice by the AG’s Office and Brunt didn’t try to get a comment from Marlow directly. The AG’s Office has attempted to imply that David Savage misinterpreted what Marlow had said:
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010…
Here are some excerpts from this Marlow/Savage memo:
[Marlow] I am not sure why the system has not worked well here and I appreciate that this adds to this tragedy for you and your family
The AG’s office only received a request to review the materials supplied to us.
We were not given adequate time nor a well-developed file and I am mindful that the statue is about to run against a criminal prosecution for manslaughter.
I am not proud of the position we (the Attorney General’s Office) have been put in.
There is additional information we should have been provided (I [Savage] volunteered to provide him with more information but he decline implying that he charge was limited to the materials provided by Tucker.)
This matter needed a more thorough review and robust development … I do not understand why this matter has not been better handled
He said I regard this as “an effort at political cover.”
Here’s the full memo that David Savage wrote to himself immediately after this phone call with Marlow:
http://tinyurl.com/23rhw2m
AG Rob McKenna [Note: Fitzsimmons’ interview KXLY 03-10-10 this link will work] tried to blow this off too that this simply was a distraught former husband and who misunderstood what Marlow said. No media has followed up with Marlow to confirm firsthand. Why?
OK this could play as a “he said – she said” however Spokane County Commissioner Bonnie Mager had a later phone call with Marlow and Marlow said essentially the same thing to her as he told David Savage. Mager confirmed this in an email to me. The S-R has also had Mager’s email but has not done a follow up story. Why?
From: Bonnie Mager <bonnie@votebonniemager.com>
Date: Mon, Jun 14, 2010 at 11:40 PM
Subject: Re: Demand for immediate correction – Spokane County Press Release April 3, 2009 – Co Prosecutor Tucker’s announcing no criminal filing in RPS Garage Accident
To: Ron Wright <nar9350@gmail.com>
Yes, I know Marlow was not happy about the bind they put the Ag’s office in–he as much as said so to me on the phone when I called.
I posting this for all to see re the decision making and work product of Tucker. If you want positive change in the culture of the local LE community don’t return Tucker to office. Tucker has failed in his sworn oath to WE THE PEOPLE to do the job we empowered him to do.
I will NOT VOTE for Steve Tucker. The choice is yours. You have he POWER to bring real change.
Det. Ron Wright (Retired)