Attorney pleads guilty to forgery

A Spokane attorney pleaded guilty to forgery Monday in exchange for dismissal of a bigamy charge.

The conviction could cost attorney Virginia Sue Lauver, 33, her law license as well as the 60 days of home confinement Superior Court Judge Linda Tompkins ordered her to serve.

The sentence was the maximum standard under sentencing guidelines, and twice what was called for in Lauver’s plea bargain.

Lauver will serve her sentence in jail if Geiger Corrections Center officials unexpectedly determine she isn’t qualified for electronic home monitoring. She is to remain free until the sentence begins on Sept. 7.

Defense attorney Gordon Stoa and Deputy Prosecutor Stefanie Collins recommended 30 days of home confinement, but Tompkins objected that the deal already had produced “a minimum sanction for something of this magnitude.”

In addition to eliminating the bigamy charge, punishable by up to a year in jail, the deal folded four separate forgery counts into one. If Lauver had been convicted as originally charged, she would have faced up to eight months in jail.

Lauver’s former law partner, Gabrielle Roth, whose signature Lauver forged on a notary stamp and on three checks totaling $43,800, called the proposed 30-day sentence “inadequate.”

“This is not a situation where Ms. Lauver has learned her lesson,” Roth said. “This is definitely not that.”

Just last week, Roth said, Lauver was still telling people that Roth was responsible for the bad checks.

Stoa had tried to prevent Roth from speaking at the sentencing on grounds that she wasn’t a victim. Lauver had reimbursed the only victim, Sterling Savings Bank, Stoa argued.

Collins successfully argued that Roth was entitled to speak as a victim because her professional reputation was damaged. Collins contended Lauver recruited Roth as her law partner shortly before the forgeries so that Roth could be the “fall guy” for the crimes.

“Ms. Lauver actively worked to destroy Ms. Roth’s reputation in the legal community,” Collins said.

Stoa noted that, although Lauver declined to address Tompkins, her plea acknowledged she forged Roth’s signature on three law-office checks and on a notary stamp on a quit-claim deed.

The falsified deed gave Lauver ownership of 160 acres in Ada County, Idaho, that had belonged to her former husband, Boise-area resident Michael Stukel.

She has admitted forging Stukel’s name on the deed, although she has not been convicted of that in Spokane. She faces trial Sept. 6 in Boise for that alleged forgery, which could result in a stiffer penalty if she is convicted.

Kimberlee Bratcher, a deputy prosecutor in Ada County, said she has offered Lauver a plea bargain. Declining to elaborate on the proposal, Bratcher said Idaho has no sentencing guidelines and forgery carries a maximum penalty of 14 years. A typical sentence for a first offender might be up to six months in jail and probation, Bratcher said.

Stoa described Lauver’s proposed 30-day sentence in Spokane County as “considerable” for a first offender. But he said Lauver faces other consequences as well, including the possible loss of her law license. Also, Stoa said Lauver was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which may be aggravated by stress from the prosecution.

Lauver wore a knee brace to court and had difficulty controlling her fingers when she was fingerprinted.

Stoa said publicity about the crimes cost Lauver’s husband, Ron Gleason, his job as a certified public accountant with LeMasters & Daniels. Nevertheless, Collins said, Gleason apparently continues to work as an accountant for other businesses.

Gleason and Lauver were married Dec. 22, 2002, in Spokane County, about six months before Lauver’s divorce from Stukel was granted in Ada County, Idaho.

Court documents say Stukel was unaware of the divorce action, filed 11 days before Lauver married Gleason. Stukel reportedly questioned whether his signature on a court document was a forgery, but he apparently didn’t challenge the divorce.

Lauver moved to Spokane in February 2002 without Stukel, and took a job with a law firm, but opened her own firm at 12015 E. Main after her marriage to Gleason. She specializes in corporate medical law.

A spokeswoman for the Idaho State Bar said Lauver’s Idaho law license became inactive this year when she failed to pay her bar dues.

Lauver remains licensed to practice in Washington, but that may change soon.

Washington State Bar Association spokeswoman Judy Berrett said state Supreme Court rules require lawyers to be suspended temporarily when a felony conviction is confirmed. That took only six days last month when two Western Washington lawyers were convicted.

After such an automatic suspension, the Bar Association is required to conduct an investigation and recommend discipline for the Supreme Court to impose.

Bar guidelines say additional suspension or disbarment ordinarily are appropriate for lawyers who commit felonies.