Columbia Basin Herald Online Newspaper
Local News - Moses Lake, WA - Grant County
Prosecutor's office argument goes public
Herald managing editor
EPHRATA — An argument between Grant County Deputy Prosecutor Teddy Chow and Prosecutor Angus Lee became public with a written statement issued by Chow.
Chow accused Lee of lying about his knowledge of a non-reportable collision involving Grant County District Court Judge Richard Fitterer and Leroy Schoessler in June.
“I am referring to the statements I see quoted in the Columbia Basin Herald, page A12, of the Oct. 15, 2009, edition, stating, ‘My office has never received any information of any kind, regarding what you are talking about. If we receive any information from law enforcement that there is probable cause for a crime, we prosecute it, regardless of who it is,’” Chow wrote in his statement. “This statement is unquestionably false.”
Lee disagreed.
“I had heard rumors about this incident but had not seen an official incident report. I spoke to (Quincy police officer) Aaron Doyle the day after the event and he said he wasn’t even going to file a report,” Lee said in an interview. “I did not know we received a report in the office until I looked for it the day after (the Grant County Republican Women’s forum).”
The Columbia Basin Herald article referred to by Chow was coverage of the prosecutor candidates debating at the Grant County Republican Women.
Chow made further accusations of Lee trying to suppress the information about the collision.
“Mr. Lee made it clear to me and two or three deputy prosecuting attorneys I was with that we were not to discuss the judge’s case, and that we were to keep it very quiet,” Chow wrote in his statement. “This was the same afternoon that the accident happened, so Mr. Lee not only knew about it, but he knew about it almost instantly.”
In an interview, Chow elaborated on how he learned of the collision the day it occurred.
“I heard about it from Chris Anderson from the wildlife department,” Chow said. “(Lee) knew about this as soon as it happened.”
Lee denied knowing about the collision the day it occurred and said the report filed June 15 by Doyle, wasn’t brought to his attention.
“I am frustrated that this was kept from me,” said Lee.
The police report of the collision states Fitterer sideswiped another car on a road in Quincy that merges from two lanes to one. Officer Doyle and Schoessler estimated the damage was less than $750 in value, making it below the threshold for reporting an accident to police. Fitterer and Schoessler were satisfied with speaking to each other and Schoessler “said he was not desiring prosecution,” according to the police report.
Schoessler did not make a statement to the Quincy police until June 9, four days after the accident. The police report was written on June 15.
“To avoid any appearance of impropriety, a copy of this incident report should be forwarded to the Grant County Prosecutor’s Office,” wrote Doyle.
When reports are submitted to the prosecutor’s office, a face sheet is attached with comments on who decides on charging and when.
“The way a non-felony is routed is it goes to the front (office deputies) and felonies are sent to my desk for review,” Lee said.
Chow said he was told about the incident by other deputy prosecutors.
“People want to keep me in the loop because these kinds of things land on my desk,” he said. “There is nothing pending about this investigation. There was nothing to investigate.”
Lee agreed with Chow’s assessment.
“I have reviewed the case and there will be no charges. This is colossal waste of time,” Lee said.
Chow said Lee called him after the article in the Columbia Basin Herald was published and asked him to divulge who Chow spoke to about the collision.
“He was apparently angry that others know about the pending charge/no charge decision to be made regarding the Judge,” wrote Chow in his statement. “Angus (Lee) raised his voice and yelled at me during our conversation. He said, ‘You need to tell me exactly what happened,’ and to name every person I spoke with regarding this matter in writing.”
Lee said he was upset but it was not personal nor did it have to do with people learning of the collision.
“What he didn’t include in his letter was that he was raising his voice yelling (obscenities) and slammed his hand down on the desk and yelled (an obscene name) as he left my office. Ladies down the hall heard it,” Lee said. “I was frustrated that our office confidentiality policy was violated.”
Lee said it mirrors a similar policy for all Grant County employees.
“As an employee of the Grant County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office you will have access to records and information of a confidential nature. All information obtained from victims, witnesses, files, police reports, inner office conversations, etc. are confidential and shall be discussed with authorized personnel only. Employees shall treat all official department business and records as confidential and shall not discuss or impart information to any person who is not a member of the Criminal Justice system without the permission of the Prosecutor or by due process of law ... Unauthorized release of criminal history information constitutes a misdemeanor offense subject to criminal prosecution and civil action,” according to the prosecutor’s office policy.
Chow stated he learned of the collision the day it happened, while traveling back from Leavenworth, and was not the person who started spreading the information.
“He thinks I was the one who leaked it,” Chow said of Lee. “There is nothing to this case.”
In his statement, Chow also accused Lee of threatening his job over the situation.
“Prior to my leaving Mr. Lee’s office this afternoon, he stated that ‘Come January’ he would make decisions regarding budget, and that I better be careful. I feel that he was implying that my job was at risk regarding this matter, and at this time, I expect to be fired,” Chow wrote in his statement.
Lee said he did not threaten Chow’s employment nor make a statement about the budget. He declined to speak about any potential reprimands for Chow because it is a human resource issue.
Chow began his first job as an attorney with the Grant County Prosecutor’s Office in November 2001. He said he generally handles district court, worked in superior court for two years and assisted in juvenile court.
“I plan on staying here. This is where I like to work and live here,” Chow said.
Both Chow and Lee accused each other of exaggerating the argument due to politics.
“It’s no secret that Teddy Chow is campaigning for Albert Lin. He’s knocking on doors for him,” said Lee.
Chow said he stayed out of the politics for the majority of the campaign, but supports Lin.
“Unfortunately I have to. I can’t support the guy who threatened my job,” Chow said. “He’s being really vindictive and worried if he will even be elected and taking it out on his employees.”
Chow admitted to signing a letter of no confidence submitted to Grant County commissioners before they appointed Lee as interim prosecutor in January, and another letter to the commissioners stating he did not support Lee due to lack of experience.
Lee is running for election to hold office for one year, then must run again in 2010 to hold the office during the next full term.
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LAW wrote on Oct 22, 2009 5:06 PM:
I can't believe LEE said, "this is a collosal waste of time" to investigate if this was any one of the prosecutor's family getting hit and run, or if it was any of the LEE supporters that got hit and run. Is this the answer you want when you are the victim of a hit and run????
Now there is a major cover up that is being exposed. I guess now the LEE supporters will say the person exposing is at fault, or somehow find a way to blame Lin. Truely BLIND. I can't believe people blame the truth coming out as "not being a team player" especially since they are in the same office. The problem here lies in LEE has broken the LAW and has not UPHELD the LAW by turning a blind eye on this and now threatening (almost like a blackmailing) those who tell the TRUTH. "
Interesting Comparison wrote on Oct 22, 2009 2:25 PM:
Ms. wrote on Oct 22, 2009 11:23 AM:
forest1 wrote on Oct 22, 2009 11:22 AM:
Lacking Tacky wrote on Oct 22, 2009 8:44 AM:
It was an "all or nothing" attempt to knock off Mr. Lee. "
good old boys wrote on Oct 22, 2009 3:00 AM:
people seem to support angus because he claims to offer change and they defend his inexperience by saying that we need to give him a chance to get that experience. but this job is about judgment and integrity; its not a training course.
angus has been caught lying at every turn. NO ONE in the courthouse can impugn albert's credibility. is he slick? no. but i'm fine with that. i want someone i can trust.
why isn't anyone troubled by the fact that the top two people in the prosecutor's office are CONVICTS?? you can say people learn from their mistakes, but aren't you embarassed to be the only county with that particular skeleton in their closet? ed owens is a felon and angus' first act in office was to promote him to chief deputy.
i challenge all citizens to come to court and watch mr. owens, how he treats attorneys and how ignorant he sounds. please, come evaluate the demeanor and skill level of the person who is training angus. then watch albert--he is sincere and zealous. notice that angus is nowhere to be found--he's out on the campaign trail on our dime. "
and the REal Winner is...... wrote on Oct 21, 2009 10:02 PM:
so now he gets put on the stand and it won't be pretty. didn't you order staff to keep quiet about the judge's matter? yes. didn't you come into some type of immediate contact with law enforcement about the judge's matter after it occurred? yes. when questioned about this by our former state senator --- in a forum --- where you knew votes were likely at stake --- didn't you state you had no information of any type on this matter? yes.
however, when you vacated your arrest/conviction, didn't you do that at about the time you were being appointed? yes. didn't you tell the judge in king county, under declaration of penalty of perjury that you were doing this to avoid any later professional embarrassment? yes. but when you answered questioned to the CBH as to why you vacated the conviction, you mentioned it was so you could go to Canada in 15 month, correct. Which party, specifically, did you tell the truth to?
you can pick these off one by one and it won't even be hard. here he comes --- and he will be fun to cross examine. "
The Flyin Bull-Coug wrote on Oct 21, 2009 9:27 PM:
If Angus pulls a Sammy Sosa and forgets English, I'm going to lose it!
BTW - there is no dirt on Lin...but his restaurant in Moses Lake is to die for! "
getting schocked wrote on Oct 21, 2009 7:17 PM:
Not a Fan of Lee wrote on Oct 21, 2009 7:01 PM:
No common sense wrote on Oct 21, 2009 4:57 PM:
It seems like reverse psychology, the more dirt, behind the scene cover ups, inexperiences, the more LEE's the man. I just love it. Keep it coming Grant county. This just proves how much darkness there is out there and how backwards most people are. "
The Bobbettes wrote on Oct 21, 2009 1:51 PM:
One Two Three
Look at Mister Lee.
Three Four Five
Look at him jive!
Mister Lee, Mister Lee
Mister Lee. . .
It's like freakin' Nostradamus, man. "
Rob Wellson wrote on Oct 21, 2009 1:39 PM:
But, the house needs cleaning, and so I have to vote for Mr. Lee, even if he has problems, too.
I am ready for NEW problems. "
interesting wrote on Oct 21, 2009 10:00 AM:
Robert Wellson wrote on Oct 21, 2009 8:53 AM:
What is really the story here? "
Butch wrote on Oct 21, 2009 7:56 AM:
Susanne Merkle wrote on Oct 21, 2009 12:46 AM:
It must be that Mr. Lee was appointed with too little time to establish his "own" office before the election, and so the "competitors" decided to just wait him out, and throw stones.
Mr. Chow now should be afraid for his job, if only because "team players" (yes, yes, who should avoid being "yes men") need to be given to Mr. Lee to run the office without back-stabbing and back-biting.
How unfortunately nasty this race has become. "
Craig Mason wrote on Oct 20, 2009 11:36 PM:
The offense was, on all facts we have, minor and not a matter for prosecution.
However, two really red flags are raised:
1) The communication in any bureaucracy must be non-defensive, and instead be open, non-personal, and pragmatic. This has broken down. Obviously, Mr. Lee must take care to (a) not be defensive, and to (b) not act out of retaliation. However, subordinates need to communicate openly, also in a non-defensive way, and not work darkly to undermine their supervisors. A sad business.
2) The largest average citizen concern, of which I am aware, is that the prosecutor's office, for a long time (long before Mr. Lee was in law school), has been seen as a place in which the "connected" citizens do not get charged for their wrong-doing. Even this allegation is damagingly reinforcing that view. (To repeat, there is no evidence to date in this instance that such favoritism did occur.)
Finally: There are scientific norms of social psychology that need to be applied, after the election, to restore pragmatic functioning to the office. The public needs an office without this level of dissension. If Mr. Lee establishes his own open and non-defensive communication, it would be appropriate to fire the prosecutors who go behind his back. Subordinates have the duty to engage in critical and honest discussion, when a plan of action is being set (without fear of repurcussion, or editing themselves), but once the leader makes a decision, they also have a duty to execute the policies loyally. "
Yikes wrote on Oct 20, 2009 10:02 PM:
Thunder Rebel wrote on Oct 20, 2009 9:53 PM:
REALITY: "His father Darrell Lee represented him during the case."
ANGUS #1: "My office has never received any information OF ANY KIND, regarding what you are talking about."
ANGUS #2: I had heard rumors about this incident but had not seen an official incident report."
REALITY: "Mr. Lee not only knew about it, but he knew about it almost instantly.
The thing about the truth is that you never have to remember. Angus has to remember all the time. "
ML Citizen wrote on Oct 20, 2009 9:25 PM:
We have a real life schizophrenic who appears to be catholic church going, womanizing, phony integrity, pull the wool over your eye experience, playing the little violin for symapathy, Bill Clinton politician talkin/ lookin, nice guy exposed for waht he really is.
Come on people... wake up and smell the coffee. There has been nothing but trouble since the young inexperienced lad took control of the helm , tooting his horn for every little thing done, and threatening those below him with his "power".
Let the truth be known. "
Banjo Player wrote on Oct 20, 2009 8:08 PM:
The Flyin Bull-Coug wrote on Oct 20, 2009 7:52 PM:
Perhaps Angus has "misremembered" some facts.
The problem now is that there's no way out. At his age and with his experience level, if he loses and he loses for these reasons it will be difficult to rehabilitate himself on a professional level. He has to win to stay in Grant County, but what would a win say about Grant County voters?
The bigger problem facing Angus and his family is what licensing ramifications he may face as a result of his statement that his office had "never received any information of any kind," which is patently false.
He now acknowledges that he heard "rumors," but the truth is that he doesn't get random rumors floating across his desk. He gets this information - and it is information of a kind - from law enforcement agencies and their personnel.
What is more is that it is highly unlikely that mere rumors were the extent of his information considering his position and the position of those involved in the issue with Judge Fitterer.
How does Teddy Chow get a call from a Fish and Wildlife officer on his way back from Leavenworth, but the extent of Angus's information is "rumors" and he makes no effort to review the report until after the issue is brought up by the public?
I'd almost feel bad for Angus if it were that he hadn't put himself in this position. His disingenuousness combined with patent ambition are a horrendous combination.
These issues could have probably been easily explained away or dealt with less than a week ago, but Angus finds himself a victim of his own hubris. "
WELL WE CAN ALL AGREE wrote on Oct 20, 2009 7:05 PM:
Write in for Schiffner wrote on Oct 20, 2009 6:34 PM:
Lee (frat guy politician type)
Lin (revenge of the nerds)
Schiffner: the right choice "
Interesting wrote on Oct 20, 2009 6:15 PM:
If I were a county resident, I'd ask for a do-over and get some better candidates. You have a choice between a politician amongst politicians (Lee) and a stick in the mud who is NOT a leader.
Let the write in campaign for ANYONE ELSE begin. "
Nat wrote on Oct 25, 2009 7:45 PM: