July 30, 2010 in City

Judges ask bar to probe donations connected to Rasmussen

Lawyers gave funds to prosecutor’s pet charity

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Stevens County’s two Superior Court judges have asked the state bar association to investigate Prosecutor Tim Rasmussen.

Judges Rebecca Baker and Al Nielson said in a Sept. 30 complaint that they were concerned about Rasmussen’s practice of encouraging defense attorneys to contribute to a Guatemalan orphanage he supports.

They submitted a copy of a February 2009 telephone message that a former deputy prosecutor found on a secretary’s desk. The message, from Spokane attorney David Miller, says: “He had a good month. Does your charity need anything?”

Miller said this week that he was “really offended” by the complaint. He said he and Rasmussen, like other lawyers, have a personal friendship that doesn’t interfere with their jobs.

Miller said he gives money to the Public Broadcasting Service and the American Federation for the Blind as well as the International Children’s Care orphanage. “That doesn’t mean I do it for any particular favors.”

Although Rasmussen knew he was under scrutiny by the bar, he didn’t learn until this week that Nielson and Baker instigated the investigation. The bar won’t comment publicly about unresolved cases, but The Spokesman-Review obtained copies of the complaint.

Baker and Nielson said in the document that they were concerned that donations to Rasmussen’s pet charity would be “favorably remembered” when the donor “might wish to achieve a more favorable result in a criminal case.”

“I just think it has a bad appearance of impropriety,” Baker said in an interview this week.

Nielson was unavailable for comment.

Even the perception of under-the-table dealing has a “corrupting influence” throughout the judicial system, Baker said.

The bar association treated the judges’ complaint as if it were from a confidential source, but Baker said she and Nielson sent a letter this week saying that wasn’t their intention.

Bar rules say confidential accusers can’t be told how a complaint is resolved unless there is public discipline, but Baker and Nielson want a full report.

“We need to know that this practice isn’t going to continue,” Baker said. Rasmussen said in his written response to the bar association that he has never solicited donations from Stevens County defense attorneys, “nor from any criminal defense attorney with whom I have regular contact regarding criminal cases.”

But Baker said some of the 10 Spokane defense attorneys Rasmussen identified to the bar practice regularly in Stevens County.

In addition to Miller, they include John C. Cooney, a former district court judge who retired from his law practice three years ago; his nephew Dallas Cooney; Christian Phelps, Ronnie Rae, Frank Cikutovich, Paul Mack, Frank Bartoletta, John Clark and Rob Cossey.

Bartoletta declined to comment and Rae couldn’t be reached. All the others praised Rasmussen’s professional ethics and devotion to helping Guatemalan children.

Most said they offered to help after hearing about Rasmussen’s work.

Cossey said he referred Rasmussen to his philanthropic wife, Stacy Cossey, after inquiring about photographs he saw on Rasmussen’s wall.

Cikutovich said he also was drawn to Rasmussen’s photos. He said he couldn’t expect any special consideration from Rasmussen because his law partner, Pat Stiley, isn’t on speaking terms with Rasmussen.

“Tim is a very conservative guy, and Pat couldn’t be farther from it,” Cikutovich said. “They’re oil and water.”

Cossey and other defense attorneys who contributed to the orphanage told The Spokesman-Review they met Rasmussen when he was a Spokane County deputy prosecutor. Most said they were inspired by the fact that Rasmussen spends his vacations in Guatemala, doing physical labor for children.

“It’s a sacrifice,” said Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Brian O’Brien, who supervises the district court unit where Rasmussen used to work.

O’Brien said he contributed $700 and helped Rasmussen acquire firefighting equipment for the orphanage.

“He couldn’t pressure me because I was his boss at the time,” O’Brien said.

He said Deputy Prosecutor Larry Steinmetz gave $300.

Deputy Prosecutors Tony Hazel and Jared Cordts, who worked with Rasmussen in the district court unit, said they also contributed.

“I think all of us did,” Hazel said.

Rasmussen and all of the donor defense attorneys who commented for this story say there has been no quid pro quo.

Several of the donors said they still haven’t been contacted by a Washington State Bar Association investigator.

Nielson and Baker, who also serve Pend Oreille and Ferry counties, told the bar association their concerns sprang from information “relayed to us by reliable individuals.”

One of them was John Troberg, who was Rasmussen’s chief criminal deputy prosecutor until Rasmussen fired him in June 2009. Troberg is now a deputy prosecutor in Clallam County.

The other, Baker said in an interview this week, was Colville-area defense attorney and former Ferry County Prosecutor Steve Graham.

The judges told the bar association that Graham heard from a Spokane defense attorney at a conference that the way to get a good deal in Stevens County was to contribute to Rasmussen’s charity.

Baker said Graham confirmed what he described as a casual conversation with a Spokane attorney, but Graham declined to identify the attorney.

Graham declined to comment to The Spokesman-Review.

The judges also said in their bar complaint that they had noticed “a number” of cases in which Rasmussen intervened to offer defendants “substantially” better deals.

“It is our sense that these dramatic compromises are rarely afforded to local counsel … but instead seem to involve Spokane counsel,” the judges wrote.

Troberg cited a case in which Rasmussen directed him to offer a better deal in an assault case in which Cossey represented a defendant who punched someone and later fired several shots to intimidate people.

Troberg said he was “flabbergasted” when Rasmussen offered the defendant a continuance for dismissal on an assault with a deadly weapon charge that carried a possible four-year prison term.

Rasmussen said the man had a nearly clean record, served nine months in jail on another count and provided valuable information about a cellmate’s motive in an unrelated murder case.

Colville defense attorney Robert Simeone said he’s seen no preferential treatment of out-of-town lawyers. On the contrary, he said, Rasmussen dropped a 2007 sexual assault charge against one of his clients and pushed for a maximum 10-year sentence for a co-defendant represented by orphanage donor Chris Phelps.Several of the attorneys who contributed to the Guatemalan orphanage point out that state law and their professional conduct code allow law them to contribute to a prosecutor’s election campaign – or even a judge’s.

“The guy can ask me for money for his campaign, but he can’t mention a charity to me. That just blows me away,” donor Paul Mack said.

Both Rasmussen and his opponent, Chewelah attorney Pat Monasmith, have received campaign contributions from defense attorneys.

Baker said in an interview this week that she and Nielson have no interest in the ongoing election battle between Rasmussen and Monasmith. “It is not a political issue to us although perhaps the voters might think otherwise,” Baker said.

Similarly, retired Superior Court Judge Larry Kristianson said his support for Monasmith is not a factor in his criticism of Rasmussen in a statement to a bar investigator and a guest editorial in a Suncrest newsletter.

“Rasmussen does not seem to understand that any financial favors given by defense lawyers to a prosecutor’s special charity appear improper regardless of the motivation,” Kristianson wrote.

Seven comments on this story so far. Add yours!

• 

  km on July 30 at 12:43 p.m.

  Well, looks like Miller has the prosecutor on a retainer. Pretty good for a defense lawyer. If I get popped for something up there I’ll know who to hire.

  Ok, so it’s a good charity, but Rassmussen is forgetting that he’s on the taxpayer’s dime when he is asking the defense lawyers for a check. He is also forgetting that he is doing taxpayer business when he does plea bargaining. To me, not that I am anit-government, but this is the kind of behavior by tax-payer paid public servants that smells to high heaven. It makes me furious. You know, “donate to my charity” and then let’s talk about your cleint.

  Follow the money, you know. Let Rassmussen tell us how much money he was taking in for his charity and then we’ll see. If were a campiagn donation he would have to say. No different here.

• 

  smarikis on July 30 at 8:57 p.m.

  Politics as usual… this time it’s ex-Ferry County democrat cronies railing on a republican.

  Come on Baker and Nielson, you can certainly come up with better uses of your taxpayer-paid time than pushing this drivel. Let’s try exercising some professionalism here ok?

• 

  yogibare on August 01 at 12:24 a.m.

  I would hope that Baker and Nielson are reclusing themselves from any case that is brought by the Stevens county prosecutors office. They are political hacks and personal friends of Mr Monasmith and should not be serving as judges. They breeched ethical standards with their letter to the public.

  Perhaps Baker and Nielson also used their influence to help Monasmith when he was arrested for DUI?

• 

  familyman47 on September 30 at 4:59 p.m.

  KM: Rasmussen doesn’t make a dime on this charity. He gives his time and gives his own money to help others less fortunate than him. What about you? Do you give to any worthy causes? Do you bring any good thing into this world or do you just spout this poisonous garbage to help your buddy try to get elected.

  Shame on you for trying to smear the reputation of a good and honest man. Seriously YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED for trying to paint a good thing as something bad !

• 

  FeelFree on April 19 at 12:12 a.m.

  First off Mr Rasmussen’s “Charity” is not registered with the Wa. State’s Secretary’s office, nor is it listed with the IRS. I would think a PROSECUTOR would know the procedures of doing business in the state of Washington. There is however one listed in Spokane, with the IRS but not with the Secretary of state. I’m no one’s friend here or buddy, I don’t even live over there but I am very interested in improprieties, at any state level. Now all I have to do is find out who is the president & on the board

  http://h2oforlife.org/stories/
  His contact form clearly states it is in Deer Park:
  Contact Us Contact Information
  Send email to: Info@H2oForLife.org
  Water For Life International
  P.O. Box 2330 Deer Park WA 99006
  Phone 509-842-3952
  SITE: http://h2oforlife.org/about/
  IRS: Water for Life International Spokane WA USA

• 

  dogeatdogworld on July 06 at 2:28 p.m.

  “Tim is a very conservative guy” - that usually means black or white, no shades of gray. Well, here is the black and white of it in my opinion. . .

  I respectfully suggest to attorneys in the public or private sector who believe it is okay to contribute to the prosecutor’s personal 501(c)(3) non profit charity, where the prosecutor sits as CEO and Chairman of the Board (see “Water for Life International”, Washington State Corporations Division) and is an elected official in the district where you practice:

  Please re-read the Rules for Professional Conduct. Pay particular attention to your ethical obligations as a member of the state bar, and the prosecutor’s role and obligation to remain free of having financial interests in, or engaging in, any activity that interferes or may appear to interfere with the proper discharge of official duties, and using his/her official position to secure special privileges for himself/herself. “The trend is distinctly toward tighter interpretation of what is ethically acceptable, so when in doubt, don’t do it! Personal reputation and the public’s perception that their instruments of government are not subject to improper influence are far more valuable and important than any temporary and (by almost any measure) minor personal advantages that may accrue from crossing or skirting the lines.”

  I suggest a full review of the “Public Law Ethics Primer For Government Lawyers”… .
  
  “Chapter 4: Statutory Conflicts of Interest for In-House Government Counsel (Excluding Attorneys)
  Although it is commonly and correctly perceived that ethics standards for governmental officials and employees, including in-house counsel, have become stricter in recent years, there is a long history in American jurisprudence of viewing with repugnance the taking of things of value by governmental officials in return for governmental favors. Indeed, the United States Constitution, Article II, Section 4, specifically lists only two crimes - bribery and treason - as grounds for impeachment of the President, Vice President, or other civil officers of the United States.
  I. PURPOSE OF CHAPTER
  This chapter reviews Washington statutes dealing with conflicts of interest of governmental employees and officials and considers their application to in-house government counsel (i.e., attorney-employees of cities and towns, counties, school districts, ports and other special districts, and the State, but excluding Attorneys General).
  II. GENERAL DEFINITION
  Statutory conflicts of interest, generally speaking, are prohibited situations in which government officials or employees receive (or sometimes, seek to receive) things of value in exchange for (or sometimes, in apparent exchange for, or in possible exchange for) governmental benefit of some sort to the givers of the things of value…”

  Review of the complete document is advised.

• 

  FeelFree on August 03 at 11:41 p.m.

  I would like to retract what I said, Mr Rasmussen’s charity is in fact registered with the state, my mistake. I have sent this letter out to Judge Monasmith, Judge Baker KREM, KOMO, KING, & here to the Spokesman Review this evening.
  *******************************************************************************************************************
  I have tried on several occasions to get SOMEONE to do something about this whole situation. I have emailed some of you several times now & heard nothing so I did some more digging. I hope it is not true that some of you were only interested in this case as an election catalyst, that would be truly sad.

  The thing that disturbs me is this How is that I found all this info & none of you who were investigating it didn’t?

  Short version:
  1) Mr Rasmussen owns a charity called Water for Life International or H2o for Life, it is a registered charity, I found the listing finally.
  2) Various lawyers donated to another charity called “International Children’s Care”
  3) International Children’s care’s parent company is Versa Care
  4) Versa Care DONATED 13,000.00 to Water for Life International

  The whole story is here:
  http://finallyhomerescue.wordpress.com/2011/07/22/back-to-stevens-county-prosecutors-charity/

  I am hard pressed to understand why no one has done anything or responded to outright trickery, treachery & deceit in public office. I understand why the bar did nothing even though he out & out lied & said he in no way profited by the contributions when 13K is clearly a profit, because if they have to investigate all of the cases that Mr Rasmussen & these 10 attorneys were involved in it could destroy Stevens County in having to re-examine every single case, & face many lawsuits, plus the bar has only ONCE in the history of this state EVER reprimanded any Prosecuting Attorney, it is not in their best interest to truly “police” themselves” & as long as they continue to ignore it all prosecutors will be above the law. I already have the answer but “How much money do you think was donated to ICC?” Take a wild guess!

  Now let’s see if anything gets done…