Fred Walser, the former Sultan police chief now running as a Democratic candidate for state Senate, paid a $20,000 fine today resulting from his conviction in June of lying to a public official.
“All I want is the receipt that I paid,” he told me before heading to Sultan City Hall to deliver a check to his former employers.
On June 5, Walser pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor and was ordered to pay the fine and complete 240 hours of community service. He is also on probation for a year. Walser, a Monroe resident, said he’s done 178 hours of community service so far, all as a volunteer at the Sky Valley Food Bank.
He is still running hard against incumbent Republican state Sen. Val Stevens of Arlington – with the backing of the state Democratic Party.
And his conviction is fodder for Republicans who enjoy bringing it up.
Walser’s trouble stemmed from the conduct of one of his staff as detailed in an 800-page investigation by Everett police. The case was handled in Whatcom County.
Prosecutors in Whatcom County determined Walser lied to city officials when he failed to produce a computer record from the Washington State Patrol as part of a public records request. This report indicated his employee may have misused a police computer database to investigate her neighbor. Walser initially said he did not have it then later produced it and turned it in. “I had a sheriff’s report in my file that I absolutely forgot about,” he said at the time.
> Give us your news tips. > Send us a letter to the editor. > More Herald contact information.Talk to us
