Coining a new club for grand theft victims
The Press and in particular Mr. David Cole should be commended for their effort in bringing to the attention of the reading public the ongoing series describing the owners of the CoiNuts operation.
In the 27 years that I have resided in this county, I have never seen such a series of thefts go UN-prosecuted as have been demonstrated during the last three years by the County Prosecutor's office. To this end I offer some solutions.
The FIFTY some victims of the owners of CoiNuts should consider forming an organization which could be called "CNVA" - Coin Nuts Victims Association. Their main goal should be to help the Prosecuting Attorney resurrect his head out of a dark place. Imagine all of the victims under one roof relating their stories.
The association would request, no demand, the attendance of Mr. McHugh. People, the way these cases develop begins with the victim filing a crime report with their local police agency. A detective is assigned to look into the matter. Said detective then proceeds to the prosecutor's office to file charges. The deputy prosecutor reviews the case and makes recommendations as to what charges apply. What caused me to practically fall out of my chair is that the prosecutor, Mr. McHugh, stated that the charges were initially dropped because INTENT could not be established. He might be able to get away with this statement if there were one or two victims, but FIFTY? This is pure grand theft.
Further suggestions for the newly formed CNVA: Reach out to one or two Idaho law school criminal law professors and lay out the fact of these cases. This would be a great research project for some third-year law students. I know that Cd'A Police detectives have done their job and presented many of these cases to McHugh but as stated above he could not prove INTENT. As a side note I spoke with a good friend and retired superior court judge from a major city south of us. Her response was three words. PATTERN and GRAND THEFT.
A little known fact that most citizens are not aware of is the importance of CONVICTION RATES to District and Prosecuting Attorneys throughout the country. After all, like it or not, they become politicians and desire to be re-elected. As a result, these folks sometimes become overly cautious and afraid of losing a complicated case.
I developed interest in this travesty because I know one of the victims. This person also contacted the Fan Belt Inspectors, AKA FBI, only to be told that this crime was not one of their priorities. Hard to believe that the feds could show so little interest in an investigation with a $1 or $2 million dollar loss from 50 victims with little doubt that the suspects conducted some of these crimes over the Internet and crossed state lines in the furtherance of this giant rip off.
In conclusion, a further word to the CNVA - don't be afraid to contact the IRS. Make a complaint against the suspects for failing to pay taxes on their ill-gotten thefts. There was a time when and if the IRS fixed their sights on this type of person, a reward could be obtained after the crooks were financially dissected.
It would be quite a sight to see the father/daughter suspects being led off in wrist jewelry. You know, the type that makes a clicking sound when applied.
Michael J. Murphy is a Hayden resident.