King County Corrections Guild board members suspected of theft

KIRO 7 has obtained an email sent throughout King County on Monday detailing allegations of theft by former King County Corrections Guild executive board members.

A source close to the investigation said all five jail employees – a captain, a sergeant and three officers — have all been placed on paid administrative leave.

>On Tuesday, Commander Rick Mitchell confirmed that detectives with the Tukwila Police Department met with current guild leaders on Monday and are now investigating the allegations.

According to the email, written and sent by current Corrections Guild president Darin Mease, recently-obtained guild bank records from 2009-2014 show “the amount of questionable purchases, misappropriated funds, or theft of funds is over $150,000. It appears more than one former board member used their guild credit and/or debit card in an improper manner.”

Mease also alleged:

“It is very clear that this was not an occasional occurrence, but rather a chosen lifestyle for the individuals involved. This includes, among other things, cash withdraws in Las Vegas and the Emerald Queen Casino, a personal vacation to Arizona, multiple weekly trips to common stores like Walmart, Best Buy and Costco, car repairs and concerts. On top of that, the frequent flyer miles earned on the guild credit cards were used for personal trips and vacations. The list is disheartening and sickening. And to add salt to the wound, one of the accounts was for our Arbitration Fund.”

“Today, I am speaking to you with mixed emotions,” Mease wrote in the widely-sent email.  “Angry and betrayed that our fellow members have done this to us.  Saddened that our fellow members have done this to us.”

According to Mease, the money has not been accounted for, so the new executive board voted to file a police report.

The guild’s office is located in Tukwila.

“The staff were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation currently being conducted by the Tukwila Police Department,” said William Hayes, director of King County’s Adult and Juvenile Detention. “Any additional questions should be directed to the King County Corrections Guild as they are the complainants in the matter.”

KIRO 7 is not identifying the jail officers under investigation because they have not yet been arrested or charged with any crime.

“Earlier this year the Guild elected a new leadership team,” King County Corrections Guild President Darin Mease said in a written statement. “Upon taking office we conducted an audit of our financial records and found evidence of what appears to be misuse of a significant amount of Guild funds by some former Board members. We have reported this to the Tukwila police and an investigation is underway. As this is an ongoing investigation, we have no further comment.”

Mitchell said he doesn’t yet know if any officers arrested will be booked into a King County facility, or another facility, because of their positions.

The full e-mail from Mease is below:

Members,

Today I am speaking to you with mixed emotions. I am angry that this has happened to our Guild, I am saddened of what has transpired over the course of a few days and what we must do, what we had to do. I feel betrayed by the people we trusted.

Approximately 10 days ago, the Guild was able to attain bank records on one of the Guild’s accounts that had been previously closed by former Board members. The records received were dated 2009 until closure in 2014. Then, approximately 4 days ago, the Guild received more bank records on an additional account. We are still getting more records on various other accounts. What we have found so far has made me physically sick.

After a line-by-line review of our records received to date, we believe that the amount of questionable purchases, misappropriated funds, or theft of funds is over $150,000. It appears more than one former board member used their Guild credit and/or debit card in an improper manner.

It is very clear that this was not an occasional occurrence, but rather a chosen lifestyle for the individuals involved. This includes, among other things, cash withdraws in Las Vegas and the Emerald Queen Casino, a personal vacation to Arizona, multiple weekly trips to common stores like Walmart, BestBuy and Costco, car repairs and concerts. On top of that, the frequent flyer miles earned on the Guild credit cards were used for personal trips and vacations. The list is disheartening and sickening. And to add salt to the wound, one of the accounts was our Arbitration Fund.

Like you, I remember these very same ex-Board members standing in front of us, the membership, and telling us we needed more money for our arbitration fund. I remember them looking me right in the eye telling me “Arbitration is expensive; we need more money.” The people involved I respected and admired, I would even go as far to say friends. I remember attending Guild meetings and the ex-Board members standing in from of us, the membership, telling us that all money is accounted for. In retrospect, it clearly was not all accounted for. Far from it. These recent discoveries have left me wondering how this could have happened and why did this happen? The Executive Board is now in a position to fix things, to ensure this does not happen again. The new Executive Board and I have been, and will continue to, make positive steps forward to get us back on track.

Today, in an emergency Executive Board meeting called by myself, the leadership of the Guild voted to file a police report to hold those few accountable for what they have done. Granted, this is not the end. The Executive Board and I will be relentless in pursuing and investigating even further and we are continuing with the forensic audit of all our accounts until this matter is resolved.

As we move forward and try to recover, I ask that all of our members remain civil. The investigation is now in the hands of Law enforcement. Rest assured, the Guild leadership is doing everything possible to hold the individuals involved accountable and will keep you informed every step of the way. This has been a difficult issue to tackle, but we will forge on.

Today I am speaking to you with mixed emotions. Angry and betrayed that our fellow Members have done this to us. Saddened that our fellow members have done this to us.

Respectfully,

Darin