Settlement rejected in city strip-club contributions probe

By Jim Brunner and Steve Miletich
Seattle Times staff reporters

Frank Colacurcio Jr. is tied to donations.

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Calling the settlement a "slap on the wrist," the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission said it was not in the public interest because it failed to resolve lingering questions surrounding thousands of dollars in contributions during last year's City Council elections.

In the settlement, Colacurcio would have admitted only to inadvertently making improper cash donations to a council campaign. He would have paid the city $7,500 in exchange for an agreement by the commission to end its yearlong investigation.

Colacurcio's office manager, Marsha Furfaro, would have paid $5,000 for funneling campaign contributions through her two daughters.

In rejecting the settlement, the commission told its staff members either to continue the investigation or to get a settlement containing higher fines and more detailed admissions of wrongdoing by Colacurcio.

The investigation has produced some evidence of campaign-law violations. Furfaro's daughters told investigators that their mother had been given a bonus by her employer to pay for the political contributions. But Colacurcio's attorney, John Wolfe, called that "hearsay," and the proposal yesterday did not have his client admitting to any concealment of donations.

Colacurcio has declined to be interviewed by the commission, citing concerns about a possible criminal investigation.

Wayne Barnett, executive director of the commission staff members, acknowledged that they were "still in the thick of this investigation." But he defended the proposal as a deterrent to violating election rules.

The seven-member citizen panel unanimously disagreed.

"I don't think the public is going to perceive this as anything more than a slap on the wrist," Commissioner Bruce Heller said.

Chairman Paul Dayton also cited the limited cooperation of Colacurcio and others in the case. He said it wasn't clear the city had uncovered all the facts.
 
Wolfe was angered by the commission's rejection of what he termed "a mid-investigation settlement" that was in the best interest of the public and his client. Wolfe and Furfaro's attorney, Allen Ressler, both said the commission would not uncover anything more damning.

"It will be a long and hard-fought investigation," Wolfe said.

King County prosecutors have been monitoring the case and had been ready to ask the commission for its evidence to look at whether to pursue a formal criminal investigation.

Prosecutors now may be forced to decide whether to open a separate investigation without waiting for the ethics panel to conclude its inquiry.

The ethics investigation was launched last year after dozens of associates of Colacurcio contributed nearly $39,000 to the re-election campaigns of former City Councilwomen Judy Nicastro and Heidi Wills, who were both defeated, and Councilman Jim Compton, elected to a second term. The flood of money came in shortly before the council-approved rezone favorable to Rick's strip club in Lake City.

Ethics investigators have said they do not think the three knew of any illegal donations.

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or jbrunner@seattletimes.com;

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 or smiletich@seattletimes.com