Attorneys Snared In Coke Bust

FOR THE RECORD (Aug. 20, 1994): Judy Foster is executive director of the Spokane County Bar Association. Her title was listed incorrectly Thursday.

Two veteran Spokane attorneys were caught in the net Wednesday when police arrested 19 people suspected of cocaine trafficking.

News of the arrests of Howard M. Nichols and Ronald D. Kappelman spread through the city’s law offices. Friends of the two men were saddened, not surprised.

Both had been behaving erratically in recent months, friends and associates said.

Some said they had urged Kappelman, a 37-year-old personal injury lawyer, to check himself into a drugtreatment program.

The Washington State Bar Association recently became involved and was attempting to convince Kappelman to deal with a reputed drug problem, informed sources said.

Nichols, 37, was struggling to maintain a solo law practice in the wake of a bitter divorce.

He went into private practice after starting his career as a Spokane County deputy prosecutor in the late 1970s.

Both men graduated from Gonzaga Law School and have no record of disciplinary action against them by the state bar.

Of the two, Kappelman is best-known in Spokane legal circles.

In June, he and Spokane attorney Richard Eymann won $3.7 million in damages for a Medical Lake man who was injured in a car crash.

“If these allegations are true, it’s a very sad situation because the legal profession is losing someone who has been a fine attorney,” Eymann said.

Kappelman is charged with one count of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver. Nichols faces a more serious charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

They join a growing number of Inland Northwest attorneys who have been arrested in recent years. In 1993, an unprecedented 13 attorneys faced criminal charges, according to court records and law enforcement officials.

Nichols is a solo practitioner with an East Mission office who handles a variety of cases, including criminal defense. He has been a lawyer for 15 years.

His only previous brush with the law was a drunken driving arrest several years ago, authorities said.

Nichols kept a low profile in the legal community, according to Judy Foster, Spokane County Bar Association president.

“He’s not anyone I’ve heard any good or bad news about,” she said.

Nichols and Kappelman did not return phone calls Wednesday. Each was released from jail pending trial.