Everett firefighter accused again of improper dealings

EVERETT — A Florida couple who say an Everett firefighter scammed them out of $1,100 when he bought their motor home last month have been calling City Hall in an effort to get the money.

City officials say they plan to ask the firefighter about it when he returns from vacation.

It’s the second time in two years that firefighter Eric Watson, 44, has been accused of improper behavior and untruthfulness. He has been an Everett firefighter since 1994.

Prosecutors in 2013 considered criminal charges after Watson was found in possession of antiques taken from the burned-out McCrossen Building downtown.

At the time, prosecutors declined to file charges, saying that Watson showed poor judgment and gave police conflicting statements, but they couldn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew the antiques were stolen. That’s a requirement under state law to convict someone of possessing stolen property.

Meanwhile, police in Florida say the motor home dispute is a civil matter, but they have not been able to reach Watson to collect a statement.

Watson has not responded to six phone calls and two voicemails from a deputy, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

The couple making the accusations, Dino Palmisano, 56, and his wife, Julia Recupero, 54, started calling the Everett Fire Department and the mayor’s office when their communication with Watson faltered after the sale, Recupero said.

The couple live in a retirement community in Delray Beach, Florida, between Miami and Palm Beach.

Recupero had posted an advertisement on a free classified website for their 21-foot 1985 Ford motorhome. It had 53,000 miles.

The price was “$6,000 or best offer.”

Before putting the RV up for sale, the couple had it checked over by a mechanic, Recupero said.

“We have never had a problem with the RV and even if you looked underneath where it was stored, nothing drips, we have no oil leaks, we’ve never had a problem with it,” she said.

After posting the ad, the couple got a call from Watson, who identified himself as a Seattle-area firefighter who was visiting family in Florida, Recupero said.

Watson bought the RV without taking it for a test-drive or to a mechanic for inspection. Watson told them he and his family were low on cash and the family was cramped vacationing in a rental car, she said.

He offered them $4,500, and they agreed to the price.

Watson reportedly gave them about $3,400 in cash and money orders, and made a PayPal payment of $1,100.

The couple signed over the title, and the Watsons drove away. That was July 27.

PayPal often takes a couple of days to process a transaction, Recupero said.

After a few days, though, the $1,100 the couple was owed was still on hold. Recupero called PayPal and was told her payment had been deemed an unauthorized transaction. PayPal told her that Watson called the company and said his account had been hacked, and the $1,100 charge was bogus, she said.

Watson and the couple spoke on the phone and exchanged text messages. Watson told them the RV broke down and needed expensive repairs, Recupero said.

The couple say they made the sale in good faith and are owed the amount they were promised.

They sent documents from the sale to the city of Everett over the weekend. Copies also were taken by police in Florida.

Watson is scheduled to return from vacation next week, Everett city spokeswoman Meghan Pembroke said.

“We are compiling the alleged information from the Florida couple and will review with Watson on his return,” she said.

In the McCrossen case, Watson reportedly bought antiques from someone selling the wares out of a pickup parked in the same block as the burned-out building. Police and prosecutors had difficulty in that case because some of the folks who had accused Watson were themselves involved in trespassing and other potentially illegal behavior at the fire site.

There also was a demolition contract and landlord-tenant disputes that made for cloudy ownership of salvaged items.

A fatal fire gutted the historic McCrossen Building at 1814 Hewitt Ave. in November 2012. The building has since been demolished.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Alex Hanson looks over sections of the Herald and sets the ink on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Black Press, publisher of Everett’s Daily Herald, is sold

The new owners include two Canadian private investment firms and a media company based in the southern United States.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.