Huskies pull off major upset C1
FRIDAY, 10.09.2015
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EVERETT, WASHINGTON
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Don’t worry about the screaming. It’s just a ‘Twin Peaks’ reboot in the making. Probably. A3
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Everett lands a Fortune 500 SEC Sources say Fluke’s parent is splitting into two, and one of the companies will move its headquarters to the city. By Dan Catchpole and Jim Davis Herald Writers
EVERETT — The parent company of Everett’s Fluke Corp. is breaking apart and one of the two
new companies will be moving its headquarters here, according to a source familiar with the deal. The company, which is going by the temporary name NewCo, is expected to move 50 employees to Everett who head a group
of businesses that generated $6 billion in revenue last fiscal year. NewCo would be considered a Fortune 500 company. A state official familiar with the move, who is not authorized to speak publicly about it, said state and local government officials ran a recruitment campaign to attract NewCo to Everett. Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson
confirmed that the city has attempted to land NewCo here, but he said the city has not officially heard word about the company’s decision. Representatives with the Fluke Corp. and its parent company, Danaher, could not be reached Thursday afternoon. See FORTUNE 500, Page A12
Ex-sergeant pleads guilty Darrell O’Neill admits he helped launder prostitution money
wants assets eyed
Attorneys will ask the court to appoint someone to oversee several projects controlled by a developer accused of fraud. By Dan Catchpole Herald Writer
stands, last fall pleaded guilty to promoting prostitution and laundering the proceeds. Panico has long-standing ties to the Colocurcio family, who for years operated strip clubs in Washington but were shut down by federal prosecutors who proved the businesses were being used as prostitution fronts. Samantha Lancaster had managed Panico’s coffee stands. She, too, pleaded guilty to promoting prostitution.
SEATTLE — Attorneys will be arguing Friday in U.S. District Court about who should control properties belonging to an Everettbased developer accused of securities fraud. While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is pursuing a civil complaint against Lobsang Dargey, the FBI is conducting a criminal investigation. The SEC has asked the court to appoint a receiver with wideranging powers to oversee several development projects controlled by Dargey, 41, and his Everettbased company, Path America. The commission filed a civil suit in the U.S. District Court for Western Washington against Dargey in August accusing him of misusing as much as $46 million of investors money. Dargey’s attorneys say the SEC’s request entails far-reaching powers that will halt progress on the developments, which include a 220-unit apartment building in Everett. They also say it will hurt foreign investors. Dargey used a federal investment program known as the EB-5 program to bankroll much of his company development work. The program essentially allows foreign nationals a shortcut to consideration for U.S. residency in exchange for investing at least $500,000 in a qualifying project. To qualify, projects must create at least 10 U.S. jobs. Foreigners, mostly from China, invested millions in two Dargey projects: the 220-apartment Potala Place and Farmer’s Market and adjacent Hampton Inn in downtown Everett, and a 41-story Potala Tower in Seattle. Potala Place and Farmer’s Market is nearly finished. Tenant improvements for ground-floor retail shops are supposed to be finished by the end of the year. The Hampton Inn is already completed. Both are operating. Potala Tower, however, is simply an empty hole in downtown Seattle.
See PLEADS, Page A10
See ASSETS, Page A12
Herald Writer
EVERETT — A former Snohomish County sheriff ’s sergeant admitted Thursday he ignored his duty and helped launder money he knew came from a multimillion-dollar prostitution operation that transformed roadside coffee huts into drivethrough brothels. Darrell O’Neill, 60, pleaded guilty to one count of felony conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of
misdemeanor official misconduct. He faces up to a year in jail. Thursday’s Snohomish County Superior Court hearing came roughly a week before O’Neill was scheduled to face trial on the more serious charge of second-degree promoting prostitution. That offense carried the prospect of a longer prison sentence because prosectors were alleging aggravating circumstances, including the deputy’s abuse of his position of trust and the amount of
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money involved. The case stemmed from a public corruption investigation into allegations coffee stands were raking in cash by employing bikini baristas to serve up strip shows and engage in prostitution with customers. Two women who played key roles in the operation earlier reached plea agreements with prosecutors and were prepared to testify at O’Neill’s trial. Carmella Panico, a former exotic dancer who owned the Java Juggs and Twin Peaks
Phhhtttt Mensa munitions, not: Turns out those Russian cruise missiles that Vladimir Putin fired at Syria on Wednesday weren’t so awesome after all. Some of them crashed somewhere in Iran, U.S. officials said Thursday (Page A6). The image-conscious Dear Abby. . . .D5 Horoscope . . . B4
Russian potentate can still save face, however, by pointing out that his “smart” bombs are no dumber than the U.S. ones that blasted a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan. Bus plunge reduction program: A small town in Greece has been chosen to
Lottery . . . . . .A2 Obituaries. . . .A4
Opinion. . . . .A15 Short Takes . . .D6
test a driverless bus, part of a European project to revolutionize mass transit and reduce oil consumption (Page A6). Which leads to a rather obvious question: Which would you rather have, no bus driver or a Greek bus driver? Surfing the Vast Cultural Sports . . . . . . . C1 Stocks . . . . . .A14
Wasteland: Season 22 of “America’s Next Top Model” debuts tonight on the CW network (The Clicker, Page D6). Contestants who fall short will automatically be eligible for an upcoming reality competition show, “Donald Trump’s Next Trophy Wife.” — Mark Carlson and John McCartney, Herald staff
Mopey 65/57, C6
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ANDY BRONSON / THE HERALD
Former Snohomish County sheriff’s Sgt. Darrell O’Neill adjusts his suit before entering pleas in Snohomish County Superior Court on Thursday in Everett. O’Neill pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and official misconduct.
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