COEUR d'ALENE - A deputy prosecutor fired for alleged sexual harassment was the target of numerous coworker complaints dating back to 2007, according to a third-party investigator hired by the county.

Yet that prosecutor, Kenneth D. Stone, received a $315,000 payout from the county's insurer last November to settle a wrongful termination suit he had filed against the county. As part of a settlement agreement, the county also agreed to re-hire Stone with full salary and benefits until he is vested with a lifetime, taxpayer-funded pension.

Documents filed in Stone's federal lawsuit question whether the county followed correct procedures when handling Stone's firing and his appeal of that decision. Among other things, Stone's attorneys maintained that the county erred in not requiring those who made allegations against Stone to testify at his appeal hearing.

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County commissioners created a new position for Stone in December and he is reportedly still employed with the county. The county late Thursday released a portion of Stone's employment information that is deemed public under the Idaho Public Records Law.

However, the county refused to reveal whether Stone was, at any time, or is currently on leave.

Records the county released Thursday show Stone was earning $54,612 per year at the time of his firing. Records show he was hired back to the county on Dec. 16 with the same salary.

Though the paperwork lists Stone as a full-time regular employee working 40 hours a week, numerous county sources say Stone, who is in his 70s, never came back to work for the county.

Commissioner Todd Tondee and Stone's wife, Saviraj Grewal, each said Stone remains employed at the prosecutor's office. He is not listed in the county directory or internal phone lists. His contact information in a District Court attorney directory lists a private email address and an address and phone number for his wife's law firm.

Stone is listed on her site under the heading of "Our Professionals" as being of counsel to her firm and having worked at the prosecutor's office through 2011. A receptionist at the prosecutor's office said Stone does not work in the office.

Stone was hired in July 2006 by former Prosecutor Bill Douglas. According to documents filed in federal court by Stone's attorneys, Douglas penned a memo that fall about a meeting he had with Stone because of a complaint "regarding inappropriate language and touching."

Douglas admonished Stone not to touch employees "including female and male members of law enforcement" and gave Stone a brochure titled "About Sexual Harassment in the Work Place."

Less than a month later, Douglas again met with Stone to discuss his use of "rude and offensive language."

Kandy Weaver, hired by the county to investigate claims against Stone, related many other instances where Stone allegedly touched the buttocks of male and female employees alike, told "gay jokes," and gave coworkers nicknames like "babe," "sweetie" and "homo."

Weaver said some she interviewed for the investigation described Stone as inappropriate, "creepy" and "a perverted old man."

He was allegedly overheard telling a female employee following sexual harassment training to "get that cute little ass in the office before I pinch it."

When Stone was interviewed by Weaver, he described himself as somewhat of a jokester.

"He also reported that he is outgoing and friendly," Weaver wrote in her report, "gives 'nicknames for the day' to people in the office and is from the 'old school.'"

Stone denied ever touching anyone in a sexual manner.

At the close of her investigation, Weaver recommended the county hold Stone accountable for his behavior.

"Should Mr. Stone be allowed to continue to conduct himself in an unprofessional manner in which employees feel uncomfortable, he is putting Kootenai County at further risk of exposure and is breaking the law," she wrote.

Responsibility "for correcting the allegations of inappropriate workplace conduct rests with the Prosecutor's Department," Weaver wrote.

Weaver was hired by the county in the past to investigate allegations of harassment and hostile workplace allegations. During Douglas' tenure as prosecutor, Weaver investigated sexual harassment claims against then-Chief Deputy Prosecutor Rick Baughman, who later resigned.

At the time, Douglas was embroiled in a scandal over sexually suggestive emails he had exchanged with an employee.

In a January 2011 memo to Prosecutor Barry McHugh, a holdover employee from Douglas' administration said there were concerns in 2007 by women in the office that Stone was "touching them when moving through the crowded walkway" in the office.

The employee told McHugh that he believed women were reluctant to report the incidents because they thought Douglas "might not take reports seriously."

"There are some things you just do not do," the employee wrote, "and in an office that prosecutes people for various crimes involving offensive conduct, it seems to me totally unacceptable for Mr. Stone to take such liberties."

Stone's $315,000 settlement is one of 80 claims - totaling more than $1 million - the Idaho Counties Risk Management Plan, or ICRMP, has paid out on behalf of the county since 2010.

That figure doesn't include any additional money the county might pay as part of those, or any other, settlements and claims.

County Commissioner Dan Green would not comment on Stone's settlement, but said Thursday that the county's insurance premiums have increased.

"The county is working with ICRMP to attempt to deal with issues in managing our insurance premiums," he said. "We can control costs by being more proactive."

Green said the county's human resources department is working to come up with a "consistent process" for handling employment issues. Right now, Green said, every department under an elected official has its own policy manual.

When it comes to settling claims against the county, Green said he tries to apply the same principles as he would in private business.

"I'm always thinking about return on investment," he said. "Sometimes I spend money in an attempt to save more money down the road."