Ripoffs and Rotters - Adele Ferguson

For years I have clipped stories out of the newspapers concerning untrustworthy sorts I classified as Ripoffs or Rotters and here’s a first batch from 2012.

Jan. 16—A former human resources manager for Trident Seafoods in Anacortes is charged with several counts of theft on reports he funneled paychecks of former employees into his own bank account. Oak Harbor resident Don Kenney, 44, is alleged to have deposited nearly $200,000 for personal use from the accounts of temporary employees, reporting them as still working so he could collect their pay.

Feb. 14—Lakewood police officer Skeeter Timothy Manos, 34, was charged with 10 counts of wire fraud for stealing more than $150,000 from a fund created for the families of four slain officers. He spent about $120,000 on a trip to Las Vegas, a shopping spree and a stainless steel refrigerator among other items. The four officers were shot in a coffee shop and their killer shot later by a policeman.

March 14—A King County Superior Court judge granted the city of Seattle a temporary restraining order to immediately freeze the assets, including the city pension, of a former project engineer accused of stealing $1.1 million from Seattle Public Utilities. Joseph Phan and his wife, Tra My Thi Le, were barred from accessing their bank accounts except for reasonable living expenses. In what prosecutors said was the largest embezzlement of public funds in modern King County history, Phan collected payments for water main extension projects from developers and other utility customers and put them in a private bank account.

March 20—State Auditor Brian Sonntag released a report saying the Belfair Water District manager’s contract puts the district at “potential financial risk.” The report details the contract which would pay district manager Dave Tipton up to $256,767 within five days if he were fired. If he quit, he would get $157,059 and $183,687 if his position was outsourced because of a merger. The district only has $68,165 in cash, said Sonntag.

March 22—The NFL ruled that the New Orleans Saints were sinners when it comes to gratuitous violence. Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended head coach Sean Payton for the coming season without pay (his salary was $7.5 million) and suspended defensive coordinator Gregg Williams for hatching a pay-for-performance scheme involving payment of bounties for injuring opposing players to improve the Sinners chances of winning. General manager Mickey Loomis was suspended for the first eight regular games of the next season, the assistant head coach received a six game penalty and the franchise was fined $500,000.

April 4—A Costco supervisor has been charged with first degree theft, accused of stealing nearly $13,000 in cash from a store in Tukwila. David Norman Hansen, Jr., 36, would allegedly credit customers with coupon rebates, then pocket the cash rebates without the customers’ knowledge, charging papers say.

April 8—The state Attorney General’s office says a former professor at The Evergreen State College, facing a fine of nearly $120,000, has vanished. The Olympian newspaper reports that in 2011, Jorge Gilbert was slapped with a $119,578 penalty for ethical violations. A college auditor reported Gilbert had not accounted for at least $50,000 in student payments he had accepted between 2003 and 2008 for a study abroad program in Chile. The AG’s office ordered him to pay up but the state and college have no idea where he is.

(Adele Ferguson can be reached at P.O. Box 69, Hansville, Wa., 98340.)