Attention all scalawags, swindlers, con men, and other scam artists. Consider opening up shop in Kootenai County, Idaho, as you will have little to fear from Prosecutor Barry McHugh or his staff. If you have been following this malfeasance of duty, as I have, you may recall that this case began over three years ago when it came to light that Kevin Mitchell and his daughter, Sarah, accepted money for the purchase of gold or silver coins which the victims never received, making numerous excuses for non-delivery. The detectives from Coeur d'Alene Police Department conducted an investigation into this fraud and subsequently submitted their findings to Prosecuting Attorney Barry McHugh. This is where the foot dragging on McHugh's part began.

Most prosecuting attorneys are good at prosecuting simple cases of who hit John, who raped Sally or who robbed the local 7-11 store. This case, however, required job skills, drive, determination, and a strong sense of looking out for and protecting its citizens. People should realize that some prosecuting attorneys are deathly afraid of losing a well publicized criminal trial as it may affect their re-election and don't think that isn't a major consideration.

Many months ago I was contacted by two of the CoiNuts victims and asked for any input or suggestions as they, too, were having doubts regarding Barry McHugh's office. The first suggestion was to contact the I.R.S. There was a time when if the I.R.S. became involved in prosecuting a crook, victims became eligible to receive some reimbursement from the bad guys' ill-gotten gains. The second suggestion, and boy was that a mistake, was for the victims to contact the F.B.I. One victim did so and was told the case did not meet their criteria. Good grief. The CoiNuts case involved victims in three different states. Remembering back a few years when the F.B.I. approached local law enforcement to enter into a few joint investigations to promote better interagency relations.

As I compose this dissertation, one can't help glancing at the CoiNuts victims list containing over 50 people with a combined monetary loss of just under $2 million. Hopefully people will recall that at one point Barry McHugh stepped up, stating to The Press that he was personally taking over the case. We should have little doubt that this move was due to public pressure. Some thought that, at last, Superman had arrived and now justice would be served and Kevin Mitchell would be sent to prison.

And finally on March 20, 2015, comes the announcement from Superman that Mitchell was sentenced to six months in jail with the charges knocked down to six misdemeanor counts. Folks, what wasn't mentioned in the sentencing, is that there is little doubt that Mitchell will be put on a work release program whereby he will be released during the day to work but must return to jail at night to sleep. We don't want to forget that Mitchell claims that he is presently engaged in a growing operation using the aquaponics method to grow organic basil for restaurants. What other green leafy plant material could that be? People, this was a case of GRAND THEFT and should have been brought before a jury which having listened to the numerous victims testimony there can be little doubt the verdict would have been GUILTY. And, if not at least, the prosecuting attorney would have TRIED. And then to add insult to injury, it took Barry McHugh two columns and approximately 400 words of unmitigated gall to explain to the great unwashed that the Mitchell clan was only guilty of misdemeanors and MISCONDUCT.

In conclusion, I would point out that I have had the distinct honor and pleasure of dealing with county, state and federal prosecutors in several states over many years and found this lack of concern for the citizens to be in the lower 10 percent of prosecutions with which I have been involved.

Michael J. Murphy is a Hayden resident.