February 20, 2006 | Funny Bits

Feds end inquiry into former Spokane mayor

Accused of offering young men that he met online jobs in exchange for sex, Jim West, the former mayor of Spokane, Wash., is finally in the clear. The U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday that it has ended its nine-month investigation of West, and will not file criminal charges against him.

The FBI initiated an inquiry into West last May when Spokane's The Spokesman-Review published a report alleging that the mayor had offered city appointments, jobs and internships to young gay men that he met in an Internet chatroom. The FBI confiscated computers from West's home and office, but would not disclose their contents.

According to The Associated Press, an FBI spokesman said Thursday that federal investigators found no evidence that West "specifically intended to defraud citizens of their intangible rights for honest service," the standard for federal criminal charges.

West was recalled from office by voters in December on charges that he abused his office by making a job offer online in anticipation of sex with someone he thought was an 18-year-old man. While West admits errors in judgment, he insists no legal wrongdoing.

"If I had done the things alleged by The Spokesman-Review, I would have voted against myself," West said, asking for a personal apology from the newspaper and threatening to sue it.

The newspaper stands by its story, however. "The newspaper will absolutely not apologize for our coverage. We stand by our reporting," said Carla Savalli, the newspaper's senior editor for local news. "I don't think the FBI's decision today in any way diminishes our feeling about the work that we've done. It in no way reflects on the quality of our journalism."

West is currently unemployed. Maybe he should go back to that infamous chatroom to ask for a job of his own!

• Feds end investigation of former Spokane mayor [Advocate]