PD - STOEN REHIRED BY MENDOCINO D.A.

STOEN REHIRED BY MENDOCINO D.A.
Published on July 7, 2005
© 2005- The Press Democrat
BYLINE:    MIKE GENIELLA
PAGE: B1

UKIAH -- Tim Stoen, a Humboldt County prosecutor who created political waves during a three-year tenure there, is returning to work for the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office.

District Attorney Norm Vroman said Wednesday he'd rehired Stoen to become a senior deputy prosecutor in charge of white-collar crimes. Stoen will return to the Mendocino office in early August.

`I'm tickled to have him back,'' Vroman said.

Vroman dismissed as ``politics'' the controversies that have surrounded Stoen since 2002, when he left Mendocino to become chief deputy to then-newly elected Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos.

`He's a fine lawyer who wanted to come home,'' Vroman said.

Stoen has Mendocino County ties dating to the early 1970s, when in his personal life he served as chief legal adviser to cult leader Jim Jones. At the same time, Stoen was acting as legal adviser to the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors.

Although Stoen broke from Jones and his People's Temple before the 1978 mass suicide-murder of more than 900 people at Jonestown in South America, his political aspirations have been haunted by his links to Jones.

Neither Gallegos, who is up for re-election next year, nor Stoen could be reached Wednesday for comment on Stoen's exit as the Humboldt district attorney's chief aide.

Stoen's resignation follows two major setbacks in recent weeks related to controversial cases he filed against Pacific Lumber Co. and Fortuna City Councilwoman Debi August.

The Pacific Lumber civil fraud case Stoen pursued with vigor shortly after taking the Humboldt County job was dismissed in early June by a judge who described the lawsuit as a ``stretch.'' A few weeks later, a similar controversial conflict-of-interest case Stoen mounted against August was thrown out on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

In June Stoen suffered another professional setback when he failed to win appointment by Mendocino County supervisors to succeed recently retired County Counsel H. Peter Klein.

Vroman said Wednesday he'd rehired Stoen because of his past successes at prosecuting major embezzlement cases and other related white-collar crime. ``We need that niche filled here,'' Vroman said.

Stoen's Humboldt departure is being hailed in some quarters.

In a July 1 editorial, the Eureka Times-Standard newspaper said Stoen's leaving was a ``good move.''

"For one reason or another -- including his actions 30 years ago and much more recently -- Tim Stoen was a poor fit for Humboldt County. He's better served by heading back to Mendocino.''

You can reach Staff Writer Mike Geniella at 462-6470 or mgeniella@pressdemocrat.com.

PHOTO: mug: Tim Stoen

Infobox: shorter version ran in city edition