SEATTLE – Five employees of Seattle Municipal Court have been fired after being accused of fixing tickets. A sixth employee has been indicted on a charge of conspiracy to commit identity theft.
The five workers were accused of using their positions with the court to fix their parking tickets. The activity was uncovered during an audit of a recent amnesty program offered to those with outstanding tickets, The Seattle Times reported Thursday.
Court officials said the five were fired last Thursday.
The firings came a day after Cassandra Kay Daniels was arrested on a federal grand jury indictment. Daniels, a 19-year employee, is an administrative specialist with the Seattle Municipal Court.
According to court papers, Daniels contacted an employee within the state Department of Licensing and offered to pay $1,500 for each false Washington driver’s license the employee could provide. The employee had provided false driver’s licenses in the past and Daniels knew this, court papers said.
The DOL employee balked, and five months passed. During that time, the employee came to the attention of law enforcement and began cooperating, Assistant U.S. Attorney Vince Lombardi said.
Daniels was arrested after the FBI taped a number of conversations between her and the Department of Licensing employee, Lombardi said.
Daniels and the Department of Licensing employee are on leave from their jobs, state officials said. Daniels could not be reached for comment.
Lombardi said agents are investigating to see if the cases are connected.
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