Criminal charges have been dismissed against the wife of a prison inmate accused of bilking the state out of tens of thousands of dollars through a scam operated out of the Monroe Correctional Complex’s laundry.
Deputy prosecutor Halley Hupp said he dismissed a theft charge against Rosemary Berg-Smith, 44, of Lake Stevens, because the state could not prove she was involved in a crime.
Three other people are still charged with theft, including Berg-Smith’s husband, inmate Scott Carl Smith, 47, who is doing three life terms for robbery, murder and assault in King County.
A former laundry supervisor at the prison complex, Diana Carol Harriman, 57, of Monroe, and Debra Ann Paget, 48, of Everett, also are charged with theft for allegedly participating in the scam.
In July, prosecutors alleged the four participated in an elaborate scheme setting up dummy companies to sell the prison new machinery that was never delivered.
The ruse came to the state’s attention in 2002 after an unrelated incident in which an inmate was stabbed. Allegations then were made about irregularities in the laundry.
Among other things, prosecutors alleged that Paget set up a dummy company called ARBED, which is her first name spelled backwards, to buy a new dry-cleaning machine.
The state cut a $73,000 check for the machine in 2000, but it was never delivered.
Officials also at first believed that a sock-knitting machine that was delivered was unusable and part of the scam. In recent weeks, they have learned that it is old but still functioning, Hupp said. Berg-Smith arranged for the purchase of the sock-knitting machine.
According to court papers, inmates had access to prison computers to make invoices and shipping labels, and used the laundry to smuggle illegal drugs and other contraband.
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