Enumclaw poisonings of cows, felon linked

By Jessica Blanchard and Mike Carter
Seattle Times staff reporters

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An Algona man who is the focus of a federal investigation into the poisonings of an Enumclaw rancher's dairy cattle is a convicted felon for whom the rancher once posted bond after the man's arrest for environmental crimes in Montana.

The man was arrested in 1992 for illegally storing quantities of the same material that authorities have determined was used to kill the animals.

Two weeks ago, a caustic, reddish substance was found splashed on 10 of Enumclaw rancher John Koopman's herd of 340 cattle. Several of the cows developed welts, and three later died.

Earlier this week, FBI agents raided a house in the 400 block of Seattle Boulevard South in Algona that is owned by a 60-year-old man who has known Koopman for a long time. Local police and a hazardous-materials team from the Auburn Fire Department were also on the scene at the raid.

Court records show Koopman once posted $5,000 cash to get the suspect out of jail after his arrest for environmental crimes in Montana. Records show the men once lived at the same Enumclaw address. Koopman could not be reached for comment.

The Seattle Times is not naming the Algona man because he hasn't been charged in the cattle-poisoning case.

Scientists for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tested tissue samples from the ailing cattle and determined that the substance was a strong, oxidizing chromium compound, often used in metal-electroplating processes. Chromium compounds are usually toxic. Chromium itself is poisonous if ingested by humans and is suspected of being a carcinogen, according to the American Chemical Society.

According to court records and interviews with federal officials, the suspect in the cattle case is the former owner of a metal-plating business in Bonner, Mont.

In 1992, the man was named in a three-count federal indictment alleging that he was illegally storing hazardous materials at the site, including chromium.
 
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kris McLean in Helena, Mont., said the man pleaded guilty to at least one of the counts. He could not specifically recall whether the man went to prison.

McLean said he recalled the case because it was the first time anyone in Montana had ever been charged with a federal environmental crime.

A clerk at the U.S. District Court in Helena confirmed the guilty plea and said the FBI yesterday had requested a copy of the court docket in the case.

The man was living in Kent at the time and first appeared before a magistrate in U.S. District Court in Tacoma in March 1992.

The docket shows that Koopman and his wife, Marlene, posted a cash bond to secure the man's release before his extradition to Montana.

The metal-plating business is now listed as a Superfund cleanup site by the Environmental Protection Agency. Bankruptcy Court records show the man filed for a Chapter 7 liquidation of the company in 1990.

No milk from the ill cattle will enter the food supply, but the FDA on Thursday gave the go-ahead to release milk from Koopman's healthy cattle after tests showed it did not contain toxic amounts of chromium.

Jessica Blanchard: 206-464-3896 or jblanchard@seattletimes.com

Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com