June 11, 2004
(Updated) Investigation Ends Into Bureau Of Licenses Tax Information Leak
DA Says Law Likely Broken, But Unable To Determine By Who
Note: This post has been updated. Any and all updates appear at the end of the original post.
As reported this afternoon by The Business Journal of Portland, the investigation into who within the City leaked confidential tax information has come to a close:
The Multnomah County District Attorney's office won't continue to seek information on which city employee released what the mayor's office described as "confidential tax information" to the media.
Portland Mayor Vera Katz had sought the investigation after the Willamette Week newspaper published an article detailing tax arrangements the city made with Ennis Communications, which owns a television station in Portland.
The leak ultimately led City Commissioner Randy Leonard to dismiss Bureau of Licenses chief Jim Wadsworth after Wadsworth was accused of offering deep discounts on a number of bills. At the time Leonard said the discounts may have cost the city as much as $3 million.
Any number of aspects of this story have been in dispute, with Wadsworth denying any wrongdoing, a City audit of the situation contradicting the amounts involved, and Commissioner Leonard and Mayor Katz sparring over the investigation into what the former called whisteblowing and the latter called an illegal leak.
In the memo documenting his decision (pdf), John Bradley of the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office told the Portland Police Bureau that while "someone who had access to the tax records committed a crime," it was determined that "there was insufficient evidence to say beyond a reasonable doubt that any particular person was criminally responsible."
Bradley also wrote that it appeared "the person who released the information was someone who either had inaccurate information, was unknowledgeable of the local tax codes, or a person who wanted to embarrass the city and/or one of its employees." Several people reportedly refused to cooperate with the investigation.
In a statement released this afternoon (pdf), Mayor Vera Katz said the decision to end the investigation did not surprise her, "given the lack of cooperation investigators encountered when interviewing a few City employees."
Reiterating her stance that the case involved "personal privacy and the public trust," Katz contended that the normal channels through for such complaints or issues were never used prior to the information being leaked, and said she had no regrets over requesting the investigation.
"I cannot and do not selectively choose which laws to enforce," Katz said. "I am sorry that, in this instance, others within City government chose to be selective in their respect for the law."
Update
There's more on this from pdx_reporter, who bothered to go dig up various relevant links in precisely the way that we didn't.
Update
In the comments to the previously-linked pdx_reporter item, you'll find a news release out of Commissioner Leonard's office today (which we didn't get, because we're on the outs with Leonard since our critical non-endorsement in the Commissioner No. 4 race). It reiterates Leonard's position on the investigation Mayor Katz called for:
I am dismayed by several untruthful statements made by the Mayor and various city employees both within the police report and the Mayor's press release. This investigation, ordered by the Mayor, is an example of the irresponsible waste of taxpayer dollars that has caused our citizenry to lose confidence and faith in Portland's government.
It does not address the contention of the Mayor and the DA not only that the leak was illegal but that the surrounding issue of the abuses at the Bureau of Licenses were not what Leonard's office have claimed them to be -- nor, to our knowledge, have they ever directly and in detail demonstrated how those contentions, or the results of the City's audit, are incorrect.
In the end, that actually remains the critical issue as to whether this was whistleblowing or simply a spiteful leak. It probably will remain unresolved until Wadsworth's push-back against his dismissal goes through whatever processes remain on that count.