Spokane7
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May 8, 2010 in City
Officer accused of using divorce to hide assets
Prosecutor in Zehm case wants jury to know about ‘fraudulent transfer’ to ex-wife
A court filing says Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. lives rent- free in this Hayden house. As part of a September 2009 divorce filing, Thompson gave his wife all interest in the log home, which for a time was for sale for $675,000.
(Full-size photo)
Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. divorced his wife to shield his assets and force taxpayers to foot the bill for his criminal defense, the federal prosecutor in the Otto Zehm case alleged in court documents filed this week.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Durkin filed a motion asking U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle to allow the government to tell the jury in Thompson’s upcoming trial about the divorce agreement, which Durkin called a “fraudulent transfer” under Idaho law.
Thompson’s attorney, Carl Oreskovich, called the fraud allegation “unsubstantiated.”
What’s more, he said, federal agents are pressuring other Spokane police officers to testify against Thompson by continuing to investigate their roles in the 2006 confrontation that resulted in Zehm’s death.
“I think they are trying to put incredible pressure on this defendant to not exercise his right to go to trial,” Oreskovich said. “I think the government is putting pressure on any witness who is potentially exculpatory for Karl Thompson.”
Zehm, a mentally ill janitor, was confronted by Thompson and other police officers in a North Division Zip Trip on March 18, 2006. He was beaten with a baton, shocked with a Taser and hogtied for 17 minutes before he stopped breathing; he never regained consciousness and died two days later.
Durkin could not be reached for comment; he has repeatedly refused to comment about any aspect of the case.
But he wrote in the motion filed this week that “there is evidence to raise the presumption that (Thompson’s) unopposed divorce was a fraudulent transfer of assets made to protect (Thompson) from a judgment in the civil case … and made for the purpose of fabricating non-existent faux divorce financial obligations that would make defendant eligible for appointment of counsel at public expense.”
Thompson, who faces federal felony charges of using excessive force and lying to investigators, filed for divorce on Sept. 3, 2009, after a $2.9 million civil rights lawsuit had been filed on behalf of the estate of Otto Zehm by the public interest law firm Center for Justice.
As part of the divorce, Thompson gave his wife of 38 years, Diana, all interest in the couple’s log home on two acres in Hayden, which was listed for sale last year for $675,000.
The agreement also calls for the ex-wife to receive half of Thompson’s retirement plan through the city of Spokane and all of his money in a deferred compensation plan. The agreement also requires Thompson to pay for all community debts and give his ex-wife $1,500 a month in spousal support for life.
The house is no longer for sale and Thompson continues to live there rent-free with his ex-wife, Durkin said in the court filing.
He argued that under Idaho law Thompson’s transfer is fraudulent because it was made to an insider; it was made after Thompson had been sued; it included substantially all his assets and Thompson became “insolvent.”
Durkin wrote, “If Thompson puts his character at issue, then the jury is entitled to hear the facts of Thompson’s divorce and fraudulent transfer because they directly implicate his character for truthfulness.”
But Oreskovich, who has filed a motion seeking to exclude any mention of the divorce, denied his client engaged in a fraudulent transfer to his ex-wife.
“I’m not going to get into the circumstances of Karl Thompson’s divorce, but I will say there is no evidence whatsoever that supports Mr. Durkin’s unsubstantiated allegations,” Oreskovich said.
Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh reviewed Durkin’s allegations, which he said are part of civil law.
“Based on what I read in the (Durkin) briefing, I don’t see anything that rises to the level to request an investigation as a criminal matter,” McHugh said Friday.
The dispute over the admissibility of the divorce details is just one of many motions brought by both sides, which the judge must decide in a hearing on May 17.
Another hotly contested issue is Durkin’s request to be allowed to show the jury a three-dimensional, computer-animated re-creation of the Zip Trip store and the confrontation between Zehm and Thompson, which was captured by four surveillance cameras.
The animation was created in two stages, according to court records. In the first stage, the Special Projects Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made detailed measurements of the convenience store and the locations of the four surveillance cameras. Based on those measurements, technicians created a virtual model of the store that was built to scale, Durkin said in court records.
For the second phase, Chris Villa of Vital Distractions inserted individual frames from the security videos and layered digital versions of Thompson, Zehm and Officer Steve Braun Jr. Villa then went frame by frame and created “for each of the four camera angles a version of the animation that superimposes the actual video footage over the animation,” Durkin wrote.
Oreskovich has sought to exclude the animation partly because it purports to show a three-dimensional image based on two-dimensional camera footage.
“I think the government has taken great liberties in terms of filling in the blanks of what’s not shown on the video,” Oreskovich said. “It’s … a re-creation that is not supported by evidence. It’s inflammatory and in my view designed to prejudice the jury and prevent Karl Thompson from getting a fair trial.”
Closing Geiger: Wise or worrisome? 
garygm on May 08 at 7:31 a.m.
Just goes to show, when you know the system you can get away with pretty much anything. Spokane is a great place to be a cop!
liarsinnews on May 08 at 8:26 a.m.
Criminal mind.
misjustice on May 08 at 9:10 a.m.
Mens rea…the guilty mind…
Liberty_Bell on May 08 at 9:15 a.m.
Isn’t it great, when you bring in your wife to the Crime Scene?
Just keep bringing in more criminal’s to the jury, and then keep wondering why your local prison camp’s overcrowded.
TITLE 18, U.S.C., SECTION 241
If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same;…
They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, they shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.
No_Forked_Tongues on May 08 at 9:29 a.m.
Lets think about this for a moment. You have a corrupt pig busting the law all over the place..and he thinks he can get away with it. But WHY? because as a corrupt pig he knows that the rest of the force is just as corrupt so he does this stupid stuff anyway thinking he isnt going to get busted for it.
But then the Feds step in and his blue line buddies in the Feds isn’t buying his crimes, lies and coverup
So is the Feds the only LEO’s in town that are not on the take, in the bake and on the make?
Liberty_Bell on May 08 at 9:31 a.m.
The fraudlent transfer, the Act and Suit, for 2.9 million?
This Act of April 20, 1871, sometimes called “the third force bill,’” was passed by a Congress that had the Klan “particularly in mind.” [Footnote 12] The debates are replete with references to the lawless conditions existing in the South in 1871. There was available to the Congress during these debates a report, nearly 600 pages in length, dealing with the activities of the Klan and the inability of the state governments to cope with it. [Footnote 13] This report was drawn on by many of the speakers. [Footnote 14] It was not the unavailability of state remedies, but the failure of certain States to enforce the laws with an equal hand…
Page 365 U. S. 175
Hayden Headquarters, for the SPD!
SugarShane on May 08 at 10:28 a.m.
I think pretty much everyone is of the mind that Thompson will walk for this. Its no coincidence that he quickly transferred his house to avoid losing it, but what really sucks is he gets free representation out of it. Its really sad for the rest of the SPD that might actually be decent cops to be reflected in this manner. Everyone is aware of the undeniable “good ol boys club” but ALL cops will deny this vehemently. Its disgusting, and if the world was in any way fair, Thompson would have his very own Jack Ruby, or a least a friggan lynch mob. Scumbag.
liarsinnews on May 08 at 10:48 a.m.
Seems to me, misjustice might be a cop. Viewing the tapes of Thompson beating poor OTTO, the lies bout the crime from the SPD, and other documents I`ve read, yes, I believe Thompson is guilty. With out a doubt.
Liberty_Bell on May 08 at 11:21 a.m.
It’s actually a Statewide Problem, taught at the Academy for the Konfused Klansmen Krying on tape!
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911/archives/205113.asp
misjustice on May 08 at 11:41 a.m.
What???? Me a cop??? Dick, Dick. Dick…go back and read my posts on the Zehm case. In no way have I condoned or supported Thompson act’s; and the latest ones are as reprehensible as the beat down murder of Mr. Zehm.
Thompson abuses his authority under the color of the law, and now expects us taxpayers to foot the bill because he can not ‘afford’ an attorney; absurd and disgusting.
He has demonstrated Mens rea, the guilty mind; in the cover up of Mr. Zehm’s murder (and the lies), and in the attempt to hide his assets.
I fully support Durkin’s motion and hope that the judge in the case grants it…
Ron_the_Cop on May 08 at 1:07 p.m.
Folks might wish to read the other comment thread in the earlier post of this article:
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/may/07/prosecutor-alleges-police-officers-divorce-was-fra/
mikeln on May 08 at 3:32 p.m.
What about all the other people that showed up? I do not believe Otto was dead when they showed up. I would think with all of these people there, someone would have done something to save this non-violent human being, there is a lot of blame to go around.
hammer1969 on May 08 at 4:36 p.m.
Durkin’s only motive is revenge…remember he’s the one that got arrested for DUI by Spokane Police back in the mid 90’s.
Ed Byrnes on May 10 at 10:55 p.m.
Let’s not fight each other here….It is clear that the SPD as a whole, based on the actions of a few, have lost substantial credibility in the eyes of us, the citizens of Spokane. It is time for us to focus on healing our community by realizing that all SPD officers are not Karl Thompson or Bradley Thoma, and create a climate in which the legitimate law abiding officers can come forward and distance themselves from their lesser members.
mrthick21 on May 11 at 1:16 a.m.
Yes Hammer 1969—that’s exactly what Durkin did. Your conclusion (and that of your buddy cops who put that out there) that Durkin did this as a payback for a 1993 DUI charge must have taken seconds to formulate. In 1993, when he plead guilty to a negligent driving offense, he must have been so mad that he decided to wait 12 years to get hired by the Feds and wait another five years so he can have a Civil Rights Attorney from Main Justice appoint him to prosecute the case, and by that way Durkin will get his justice. This isn’t about Durkin getting even. This is about Durkin standing up for what’s right even though it may have cost him friends, Thompson knows what he did was wrong, and if he had a concsience, he would say so. But his police buddies keep telling him that he’s a good guy and he was right for what he did. And because Thompson is such a coward, he doesn’t want to disaapoint any of his buds. Who’s the better man?
hammer1969 on May 15 at 4:50 p.m.
Mrthick,
If Durkin is such an upstanding man wanting to do the “right” thing, why exactly did he ditch his car when the Police followed him, run away from his car, and then lie and argue with the Police when they found him back in 1994? Maybe you should ask the passenger. Durkin’s a weasel attorney just trying to make a name for himself. He is the antipathy of honorable justice.