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The Seattle Times Search
Saturday, August 9, 2003
Slaying suspect disputes case victim oversaw
By Steve Miletich
Seattle Times staff reporter
A Bellevue airline pilot, under investigation in the 2001 killing of Seattle federal Prosecutor Thomas Wales, appeared in court yesterday to hear his attorney argue that the pilot was unfairly prosecuted in a fraud case overseen by Wales in 2000.
The attorney, Larry Setchell, didn't mention Wales by name, but labeled the government's prosecution of the pilot as a "terrible injustice" during arguments before a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle.
A Justice Department special prosecutor has identified the pilot as a suspect in Wales' death, according to court papers. Wales was killed shortly after the pilot brought a wrongful-prosecution action seeking more than $125,000 in legal fees.
The Seattle Times is not naming the pilot because he hasn't been charged.
Wales, 49, was shot in his Queen Anne home late on Oct. 11, 2001, as he sat at his basement computer. A $1 million reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest.
The pilot was prosecuted by Wales in a fraud case involving a military-helicopter-rebuilding business. Felony charges against the pilot and other individuals were dropped, but the business pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and paid a $10,000 fine.
The pilot's wrongful-prosecution case claims the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) manipulated evidence and that Wales made false statements. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle ruled against the pilot last year.
The pilot appealed and yesterday the appeals court heard arguments from Setchell and the government's attorney, Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Mueller.
Setchell told the appellate judges that the original charges stemmed from a "frivolous indictment." He also complained that Coughenour refused to review grand-jury evidence that would have shown "something terrible went on here."
The pilot, dressed in a dark suit and striped tie, sat with his mother and stepfather in the front row during the hearing. He declined to speak with a reporter afterward.
Mueller disputed the pilot's claims, telling the court there was no evidence the prosecution was "vexatious, frivolous or brought in bad faith," the legal standard for proving wrongful prosecution.
Mueller outlined a list of actions to show the government possessed evidence the pilot and others improperly altered a military-surplus helicopter to make it look like a civilian model.
The defendants tried to "pull a fast one," Mueller said, "for financial gain." He said the decision to drop criminal charges against the pilot was voluntary, part of routine negotiations.
One judge, Richard Clifton, questioned the pilot's appeal, noting that the statute being used to bring the action doesn't appear to allow the conduct of a federal agency — in this case, the FAA — to be considered in alleging prosecutors were wrongful.
Clifton also said the government didn't seem "off on a frolic" when it examined the relationship between the pilot and another defendant, whom Clifton described as a "bad actor."
The appeals judges will issue a ruling later.
