Operator of sober housing in Everett sold meth, heroin

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, October 4, 2016

EVERETT — An Everett man who claimed to be operating clean-and-sober group homes has admitted to selling heroin and methamphetamine out of those same locations.

Timothy Rehberg pleaded guilty last month to drug trafficking and gun charges in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Rehberg faces more than a decade in federal prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced in December.

Rehberg now is banned from operating a charity or soliciting donations for charitable organizations. He agreed to those terms to settle an injunction filed by the state Attorney General’s Office against his nonprofit, I.C. Clean People Recovery Housing. The injunction alleged that Rehberg violated the Charitable Solicitations Act and the Consumer Protection Act.

Rehberg also agreed to forfeit nearly $15,000, the balance of his bank accounts, to the state. Nearly $9,500 will be donated to a charity that provides housing to people recovering from alcohol and drug addictions, according to the settlement. The remaining balance will be used to pay court costs.

Rehberg incorporated I.C. Clean People in 2006, stating that it was “organized for the charitable purpose of providing transitional housing for poor, disadvantaged, or persons seeking relief from destructive lifestyles.” Rehberg started soliciting donations online by 2011.

Rehberg didn’t register his organization with the Secretary of State’s Charities Program before asking for donations. The state sent him a letter in 2013 advising him of the requirement. He submitted a registration application a couple of months later.

He didn’t renew the registration in 2014 despite written reminders. The state closed his registration in April 2015, but Rehberg continued to ask for donations.

He represented I.C. Clean People as an organization that provided drug-free housing. “In fact, at least one of the homes run by the Defendant was a hub for (his) ongoing drug distribution, and there was drug and alcohol use and drug sales occurring at the houses,” Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Roesch wrote in court papers.

Rehberg, 50, also claimed that he provided other services, such as assistance with job applications and resumes and help repairing tenants’ bad credit. None of those services were actually offered, Roesch wrote.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Seattle Police Department opened an investigation into Rehberg and his homes after receiving a tip in December that he was selling heroin, meth and marijuana.

A police informant bought drugs from Rehberg on four occasions between January and February. The deals were done outside a “clean-and-sober” house on Everett Avenue and at a barn on Larimer Road, according to court papers.

Federal agents arrested Rehberg in February and raided his house, one of his group homes and the barn. Police found heroin, prescription painkillers, meth and marijuana. They also seized a loaded .38-caliber revolver in a safe. Rehberg is a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing firearms.

At the time of his arrest, Rehberg was under house arrest for a recent domestic-violence incident and was wearing a court-ordered electronic monitoring bracelet on his ankle. He also was carrying $6,000 in cash and two cellphones.

Investigators found paperwork indicating that Rehberg was receiving funding from numerous state agencies for tenants.

The city of Everett doesn’t issue permits for clean-and-sober houses. The current codes allow for up to four unrelated adults to live together. If the adults are disabled, the home can house up to eight people. Under federal housing rules, recovering addicts are considered disabled. Any more tenants in one home requires a city review.

Everett is considering new rules that would reduce the number of unrelated people allowed under one roof before triggering more scrutiny by the city.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.