Local briefly: Ferry worker taken off run, put on paid leave
Published 9:26 pm Friday, June 13, 2008
MUKILTEO — A Washington State Ferries employee was taken off the Mukilteo-Clinton run Friday.
The employee was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation, said Marta Coursey, a ferry spokeswoman.
Coursey declined to provide additional details about the personnel matter.
Washington State Patrol Sgt. Trent Cain said no one was arrested.
Monroe: Identity theft suspect arrested
The absence of a front license plate on a car led to the arrest of a suspected identity thief Friday.
A Washington State Patrol trooper made the traffic stop about 10:20 a.m., said Keith Leary, a state patrol spokesman.
Inside the car, troopers found illegal prescription narcotics, drug paraphernalia, brass knuckles and lots of apparently stolen property, Leary said.
The man, 20, of Everett is suspected of breaking into an off-duty trooper’s car and stealing his State Patrol identification, Leary said.
The man was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of drug charges, weapon possession and an outstanding warrant.
Lake Stevens: Wreck sends man to hospital
A man who apparently didn’t properly stow an air compressor after changing a flat tire Tuesday afternoon allegedly caused a four car pile-up and sent a Lake Stevens man to the hospital, officials said.
Around 1:30 p.m., the man was driving off after fixing the flat when the air compressor he’d used apparently slipped under his truck’s brake pedal, preventing him from stopping, said Washington State Patrol trooper Keith Leary.
The man was cited for driving too fast for conditions, Leary said.
The resulting crash set off a chain-reaction crash involving four vehicles on Highway 9 just north of 20th Street SE.
One man, 43, of Lake Stevens was taken to Providence Everett Medical Center with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. He was trapped inside his vehicle and had to be extricated by fire crews.
Everett: Woman faces felony theft charges
EVERETT — A former bookkeeper at an Everett recreational vehicle dealership is accused of embezzling more than $800,000.
The Mukilteo woman, 47, was charged Friday with first-degree theft and first-degree identity theft, both felonies. The woman also is named in a civil lawsuit filed by the owner of RV USA.
Prosecutors allege the woman wrote herself checks out the company’s account.
The woman admitted in court during the civil case that she stole about $250,000. She denied stealing any more, saying the owner inflated the amount she stole to hide fraudulent business practices, court records show.
The women was arrested in May and is being held on $100,000 bail.
@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no:Company fined for dumping on wetlands
Pacific Topsoils Inc. must pay an $88,000 fine for dumping an estimated 15,000 truck loads of dirt on Smith Island without permits.
Some of the land is considered wetlands, and the pile measures up to 15 feet deep in places and covers 10 to 15 acres. It includes an estimated 75,000 to 150,000 cubic yards. The company had been ordered by the county to remove the dirt but has not done so.
The seriousness of the violation warranted the fine, the state Pollution Control Hearings Board ruled Thursday.
The company can appeal the decision in Superior Court.
Mountlake Terrace: Tax evasion guilty plea
A restaurant owner pleaded guilty to tax evasion in federal court.
William Robertson, 68, formerly of Everett, owned the Hot Rod Cafe, with locations in Mountlake Terrace and Mukilteo. He is accused of withholding nearly $40,000 from employees’ paychecks for Social Security, Medicare and income taxes but failing to pay the money to the government.
The IRS imposed penalties totaling more than $491,000. Robertson is accused of trying to evade paying the fines by allegedly hiding his ownership of two corporations and filing false income tax returns, according to the indictment.
IRS agents arrested Robertson in Las Cruces, N.M.
Robertson is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court in September. He faces up to five years in prison.
From Herald staff reports
