By Scott North
Herald writer
Marysville City Councilman Tom Grady today resigned from office in the wake of an agreement with Snohomish County prosecutors that could spare him from felony forgery charges.
Grady resigned in a letter submitted to Mayor Dave Weiser, effective at 10 a.m.
“I believe that this is in the best interest of the city and it is the right thing to do given the circumstances,” Grady wrote.
City spokesman Doug Buell confirmed that Grady resigned and said there will be more information soon on how his vacant seat will be filled.
In exchange for Grady’s resignation, prosecutors have agreed to reconsider allowing Grady to be screened as a candidate for a pre-prosecution diversion program, a move that could spare him from facing up to three counts of felony forgery, said Michael Downes, an assistant chief criminal deputy prosecutor.
Grady was previously rejected for the program, but if he qualifies this time, he would be required to repay $38,000 in money diverted from his former job as manager of an Albertson’s store in Marysville. He also would be required to sign a written admission to his misdeeds, Downes said.
Grady still could face felony charges if he fails to be accepted into the program, or fails to abide by diversion requirements.
Grady won his council seat in November in a hotly contested election race with incumbent NormaJean Dierck, whom he beat by 161 votes.
Although there were rumors about his legal troubles, confirmation didn’t surface until late November when prosecutors announced that police in Marysville and Everett had been quietly investigating Grady for months. He is suspected of repeatedly forging armored car deposit slips and other documents to hide missing money at Albertson’s, starting as early as 1991. An audit of lottery inventory at the store, for example, came up $16,000 short, according to police reports obtained by the newspaper.
When confronted by store officials, Grady resigned and submitted a written apology for what he described as a “cover up.”
Downes said prosecutors structured their agreement with Grady to make certain that he did not benefit from his actions at Albertson’s or from keeping his legal troubles hidden from voters.
“It has been the experience of the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office that those persons who complete diversion do not often reoffend,” Prosecuting Attorney Jim Krider said in a prepared statement. “It is our belief that this agreement will serve the ends of justice and protect the public interest.”
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