U.S. Ends Investigation of Ex-Spokane Mayor
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Federal officials said they had concluded a nine-month public corruption investigation of former Spokane Mayor James E. West without bringing criminal charges.
The limited investigation found insufficient evidence that West had offered paid jobs or internships in exchange for sex to men he met online, said Mark Bartlett, an assistant U.S. attorney from Seattle who served as special prosecutor.
The investigation, which included interviews of more than two dozen people as well as forensic examination of West’s computers, found no evidence that he “specifically intended to defraud citizens of their intangible rights for honest service” -- the standard for federal criminal charges, Bartlett said.
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