Two of three Franklin County officials under investigation for misconduct, witness tampering and making false or misleading statements face no criminal charges.
Franklin County Commissioner Rocky Mullen and Franklin County Auditor Matt Beaton were both charged with crimes in connection with a complex conflict and alleged cover-up surrounding a $12,500 payment to the HAPO Center’s former management company.
The case was reviewed by Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office Chief Deputy Elise Deschenes, who sent a notice dated Aug. 6 declining to prosecute the case. The Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office had asked her to handle the case to avoid a conflict of interest, as it is the county attorney’s office.
Deschenes wrote that both Mullen and Beaton engaged in “irregular” conduct, but that there was “insufficient evidence to prove criminal conduct beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The notices concerning Mullen and Beaton were released Sept. 6 in response to a request from the Tri-City Herald under the Washington State Public Records Act. It is unclear whether a final decision has been made regarding the third person involved in the dispute, Commissioner Clint Didier.
In Deschenes’s communications—one to Mullen and one to Beaton—Didier was not mentioned.
Scott Johnson, Beaton’s criminal defense attorney, issued a statement Friday calling the investigation “misguided and politically motivated.”
