No criminal charges to be filed against Aaron Reardon
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COUPEVILLE, Wash. - The Island County prosecutor has decided not to file any criminal charges against Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon.
Gregory Banks said there was insufficient evidence to charge Reardon amid allegations he misused public funds for to pay for personal travel for his mistress.
Snohomish County Councilman Dave Somers got the investigation rolling last fall, asking the prosecutor to open an investigation. Tami Dutton, a county employee, had come to Somers alleging that she'd had a six year affair with Reardon and that he'd used county money to wine and dine her -- both in Snohomish County and on purported business trips.
"It was clear in the accusation it was possible criminal activity or misuse of funds," Somers said, "And so I was completely comfortable turning it over to the PA and I'm completely comfortable that the right process was followed.
Banks said he considered the crimes of misappropriation and falsification of accounts by a public officer, theft, and official misconduct, but in each case there was insufficient evidence to justify bringing formal criminal charges.
He added several county trips were so far in the past it was difficult to find credible witnesses even if wrong doing had occurred. This was after the State Patrol spent seven months investigating, pouring through county financial records and phone records and interviewing numerous witnesses -- with one notable exception.
They never interviewed Reardon, although we caught up to Reardon last month.
"This is all gonna work out in the end," he said then. "I've said that since day one, I'm not concerned about it one bit."
Also not surprised was Dutton. She said she's not surprised at the lack of criminal charges and only brought the matter to Somers to protect her job. Now others in the county hope they can start putting this distraction behind them.
"There's a lot of things to focus on now and I'm just glad that we can do that," Somers said.
There is still one last hurdle for Reardon -- the state Public Disclosure Commission was waiting for the criminal investigation to finish and is now conducting its own investigation. They'll be looking specifically to see if any county resources were used in his election campaign.
Gregory Banks said there was insufficient evidence to charge Reardon amid allegations he misused public funds for to pay for personal travel for his mistress.
Snohomish County Councilman Dave Somers got the investigation rolling last fall, asking the prosecutor to open an investigation. Tami Dutton, a county employee, had come to Somers alleging that she'd had a six year affair with Reardon and that he'd used county money to wine and dine her -- both in Snohomish County and on purported business trips.
"It was clear in the accusation it was possible criminal activity or misuse of funds," Somers said, "And so I was completely comfortable turning it over to the PA and I'm completely comfortable that the right process was followed.
Banks said he considered the crimes of misappropriation and falsification of accounts by a public officer, theft, and official misconduct, but in each case there was insufficient evidence to justify bringing formal criminal charges.
He added several county trips were so far in the past it was difficult to find credible witnesses even if wrong doing had occurred. This was after the State Patrol spent seven months investigating, pouring through county financial records and phone records and interviewing numerous witnesses -- with one notable exception.
They never interviewed Reardon, although we caught up to Reardon last month.
"This is all gonna work out in the end," he said then. "I've said that since day one, I'm not concerned about it one bit."
Also not surprised was Dutton. She said she's not surprised at the lack of criminal charges and only brought the matter to Somers to protect her job. Now others in the county hope they can start putting this distraction behind them.
"There's a lot of things to focus on now and I'm just glad that we can do that," Somers said.
There is still one last hurdle for Reardon -- the state Public Disclosure Commission was waiting for the criminal investigation to finish and is now conducting its own investigation. They'll be looking specifically to see if any county resources were used in his election campaign.
