I have been troubled and perplexed since reading Mary Jane Gaughan's long
posting of April 17 containing allegations of illegal acts by past and present
Latah County officials. (List subscribers may reference the original message
sent by "nobody@nsm.htp.org", with the subject listed as "unidentified
subject!")
I have been hesitant to respond to her message because I am reluctant to give
credibility to some of the charges it contained. However, several
subscribers to the list convinced me that a rebuttal was necessary so that
these allegations did not stand unchallenged.
First of all, let me say that I have never met Mary Jane Gaughan. I have no
knowledge of the family she describes in the first part of her message or of
any of the particular incidents mentioned.
I do have considerable knowledge of Moscow and Latah County government and
politics based on nearly continuous residence in Moscow from 1972 to 1996.
For 15 of those years I was a reporter and editor for the Idahonian (the
predecessor of the Daily News).
During the time I worked at the paper, citizens would occasionally come to me
alleging wrongdoing by public officials, asking the newspaper to investigate.
We usually assigned a reporter to check out the information. On all but one
occasion, the allegations proved groundless. The sole exception was the
arrest of a Moscow City Council member on a drug charge in the early 1980s as
the result of a police undercover operation.
Although Ms. Gaughan does not mention names, the identities of several of the
people involved can be inferred from the context. I cannot speak to the
particular incidents she describes, but her account is entirely inconsistent
with my knowledge of these men and their families. I cannot imagine this
far-fetched scenario of drug abuse, theft, intimidation and corruption
involving public officials occurring in Moscow without it attracting the
attention of the Daily News, the Lewiston Tribune, the Spokesman-Review or a
law-enforcement agency.
I suggest that if Ms. Gaughan has any evidence to support her claims, she
contact Alan Lance, the Idaho attorney general, and ask him to investigate.
I would further advise her -- and other subscribers -- to be cautious in
making allegiations of criminal activity in a public forum such as Vision
2020.
The Vision 2020 list-server was created to be an open forum for discussion of
topics of community concern. Messages containing rumor, innuendo and
personal attacks are contrary to that purpose.
***
Kenton Bird, Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Journalism & Technical Communication
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1785
Voice: (970) 491-5986 Fax: (970) 491-2908
E-mail: KBird@vines.colostate.edu