From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:
Fugitives accused of duping City Light superintendent nabbed
Two men accused of impersonating American Indians to dupe Seattle City Light Superintendent Jorge Carrasco out of 21 tons of copper have been arrested after months on the run.
Charged in the wire theft in December, Michael George and Jim Costa were arrested earlier this month in separate states. The men are accused of posing as Cherokee Nation charity workers to steal the copper wire from the publicly owned utility.
King County prosecutors contend George and Costa – known as “Chief Little Bear” and “Joe Wolf” to their marks – wandered the halls of Seattle Municipal Tower and talked their way into a meeting with Carrasco, who runs the municipally owned utility.
Posing as do-gooders running an arts and crafts program for Cherokee children, Costa and George are alleged to have raided the City Light supply lot after Carrasco agreed to a small donation of scrap wire. Writing the court, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Scott Peterson said George, Costa and Costa’s son hit the utility as part of a nationwide scheme that’s seen them defraud businesses in at least three other states.
“They flew to Washington state exclusively for the purpose of committing these crimes and either attempted or were successful in doing so in King, Kitsap, Pierce and Whatcom” counties, Peterson said in December.
Some more:
Though Carrasco’s role in the theft was first publicized in December, the incident drew renewed attention in June when Carrasco was up for a major pay raise. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray ultimately denied Carrasco the raise, which would’ve pushed the longtime City Light leader’s salary above the $300,000 mark.
Carrasco issued an apology for his “mistakes” after the raise was denied. Chief among them, apparently, was falling for professional conmen.
A guy this gullible stupid was standing in line to receive a $300,000 salary? I am in the wrong business. That is over $800/day. And Seattle City Light is a publicly held utility - the shareholders should demand Mr. Carrasco's immediate resignation.
