Record South Whidbey
SATURDAY, MARCH 10, 2012 | Vol. 88, No. 20 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
INSIDE: Spring Home & Garden, Sports Season Previews, A9-A12
Crooked attorney faces mail fraud charge Bilked millions from his clients By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
Jim Larsen / The Record
Chris Michalopoulos, a Whidbey Telecom employee, greets old friend Angela Vosburg with a hug as she stops by for lunch at the WiFire cafe. As owner of Freeland’s China City restaurant, she enjoys the warm ambiance of the cafe. She also supports the company’s alternative energy approach, as China City also offers plug-in stations for electric cars.
Whidbey Telecom brings the future to Freeland
By Jim Larsen Record editor
In 1953, David Henny purchased Whidbey Telephone Co. with its 500 customers and soon decided to bury the overhead telephone lines underground. The decision showed foresight but was not without controversy. The Whidbey Record editor at the time wrote sarcastically that if the phone lines were to be buried then the sewer lines should be placed overhead on wooden poles. Fortunately, that idea didn’t carry the day. In the ensuing decades, South Whidbey’s telephone company became known as one of the most dependable phone systems in the state, generally immune to any snow and ice storms that raged above ground. No matter the weather, Whidbey Telephone customers could always call Puget Power and complain the electricity was out. David Henny is gone, but his spirit of
building for the future lives on in his son George Henny and daughter Julia Henny DeMartini who last fall opened a futurist new company headquarters in Freeland, transforming an abandoned old eyesore into a modern work of useful art that has customers scratching their heads and asking themselves, “Am I really on Whidbey Island?” George and Julie are co-CEO’s of what is now known as Whidbey Telecom, a company also run by David’s widow, Marion Henny, whose title is chairperson of the board. While David was futuristic, Marion is down-to-earth and wrote the company’s core values and corporate culture, which George carries around on a card in his wallet. It’s summed up in the company motto written by his mother: “An attitude of service is the foundation of our company.” See Telecom, A7
Jim Larsen / The Record
The Whidbey Telecom Logo pinched between soaring, curved pieces of metal is the work of Tim Leonard.
A former Freeland attorney accused of defrauding his clients of millions of dollars was charged in federal court last week with a single count of felony mail fraud. Peter Moote has been cooperating closely with federal investigators Peter Moote and will plead guilty to the charge, according to Michael Filipovic, assistant federal public defender. Filipovic released a statement on behalf of his client. “He is ashamed of his conduct, and is profoundly remorseful for the financial damage he has caused his former clients. He deeply regrets the fallout this has had on his family and friends, and the negative effect this has on the reputation of the legal profession,” the release states. Moote was a well-known attorney on South Whidbey for years when he shocked the island legal community by resigning from the Washington State Bar Association in lieu of disbarment in 2010. Moote was accused of settling civil cases without notifying his clients and stealing the settlement money, all the while telling his frustrated — and in some cases, disabled — clients that their cases were ongoing. Detectives with the Island County Sheriff’s Office started investigating and discovered that many more of Moote’s clients had been swindled. The case was eventually taken over by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. A receivership has been set up in Island County Superior Court to collect and divide Moote’s assets among the victims. At least 32 people have filed claims, which total $4.5 million. Moote’s law office was sold and his South Whidbey home is currently on the market. The receiver found six people who owe Moote a percentage of their pensions, which can be distributed to victims. Yet it’s clear the victims will recover only a portion of their losses. See Moote, A6