PORTLAND, Ore. – A fired state prison food manager has fled from federal investigators before he could be charged with taking more than $1 million in bribes, but his wife was arrested Wednesday, authorities said.
Farhad “Fred” Monem flew to Buffalo, N.Y., on July 1 but did not make the return trip scheduled July 11, according to an affidavit filed Wednesday by Robert Salisbury, an Internal Revenue Service supervisory agent.
Arrest warrants for Monem, 48, and his wife, Karen Monem, 44, were issued at the request of Salisbury.
Karen Monem was arrested Wednesday in Salem on a federal charge of conspiracy to solicit and take bribes. She was scheduled to be arraigned in U.S. District Court in Eugene on Wednesday .
Fred Monem was charged in a similar complaint.
The Monems had been considering a plea offer from federal prosecutors to settle the criminal case and were expected to deliver their response this week.
Federal officials said the Monems had agreed not to sell any assets before the criminal case was resolved.
The affidavit said the couple sold a boat for $25,000 in June and subsequently took nearly $30,000 in cash from their bank accounts.
Fred Monem, a native of Iran, came to the United States in 1979 to avoid military service. Relatives in Iran include his father, according to court papers.
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