Ex-forestry employees indicted

JOHN DAVIDSON-Frontiersman reporter

PALMER -- A grand jury indicted two former state Division of Forestry employees Wednesday on four felony charges, for allegedly using state-issued credit cards to buy parts for airboats they were building in their garages for personal use.

Matthew Tomter, an aircraft supervisor at the Division of Forestry's Palmer supply facility, and Rodney Russell, an aircraft maintenance inspector, both resigned after the investigation was launched in November 2003.

The money was reportedly taken from the state Emergency Fire Suppression Fund between July 2002 and August 2003.

Alaska State Troopers investigator Chris Thompson said various tools were also bought with state money and used to build the boats.

Although the airboats were not built entirely with state funds, the boats do use aircraft engines, and many of the parts Thompson and Russell allegedly purchased look like parts they might have purchased for the forestry hangar in Palmer, Thompson said.

"They didn't build the boats from the ground up with state funds," Thompson said. "They bought some items themselves, but added things to it."

Kevin Burke, an attorney with the Office of Special Prosecutions in Anchorage, declined to say how much money was involved in the alleged purchases.

But the most serious charge the two men face -- scheme to defraud -- is a class B felony, which applies to cases of fraud in the amount of $10,000 or more, although the amount may be as much as $80,000.

The airboat Russell built has been seized by state troopers, but Tomter, who has since moved to Nome, has not disclosed the location of the other airboat and troopers are actively looking for it. Both boats are fully functional, Thompson said.

Tomter and Russell's listed phone numbers have been disconnected and they could not be reached for comment Friday evening.

The two men are not currently in custody, and Burke's office will not seek an arrest warrant before their arraignment Dec. 21. A detailed investigation has been going for nearly a year and the men have made no attempt to flee, even after their properties were assessed, Burke said.

Joe Stam, fire program manager for the Division of Forestry, supervised Tomter and Russell while they were working for the state. Stam said he has not been contacted by investigators and is not permitted to comment on the case.

Tomter is also involved in a civil suit that is scheduled to go before the Alaska Supreme Court in March. The case, J & S Services Inc. vs. Matthew Tomter and Alaska Department of Natural Resources, was brought by Jim Simpco, part owner of Fairbanks-based J & S Services.

Simpco's company supplies aircraft to the state through lease or sale, and he contends Tomter wrongly denied him several jobs, awarding them to friends who bid much higher prices; one bid was $1.3 million more than what J & S Services bid.

Although investigators say Simpco's suit has nothing to do with Tomter and Russell's indictment, Simpco says his complaints led officials to check into the Division of Forestry's Palmer supply facility. These checks involved surprise audits, which in turn revealed missing entries and led to an official investigation, Simpco said.

Simpco also claims the suit has cost him more than $1 million over the last three years.

Russell and Tomter's arraignment in Palmer Superior Court is set for Tuesday, Dec. 21 at 8:30 a.m. They each are charged with misapplication of property, a class C felony; second-degree theft, also a class C felony, and conducting a scheme to defraud the state, a class B felony. Russell faces an additional class C felony charge of tampering with physical evidence.

Contact John Davidson at john.davidson@frontiersman.com.