SPOKANE, Wash. – Tuesday night’s Spokane Valley City Council meeting featured a tense disagreement between Council Member Al Merkel and a private investigator who claimed he had engaged in possibly illegal conduct.
Ted Pulver, a private investigator and army veteran, made the allegations during the council’s public comment period.
“I’m giving a summary of the public being misled by political fraud and the abuse and extortion of local businesses,” Pulver said.
According to Pulver, Merkel purportedly pressured his way into a business leadership position at Sequoia Detox Centers using his influence as a city council member and intimidated women who worked with him.
“Numerous abuse instances have been reported by female coworkers in those positions,” Pulver said.
Merkel responded during the council comment period by disavowing Pulver’s claims.
“Earlier there were some significant ridiculous comments by a person who has repeatedly called and harassed me and my family. This is the price of public service for me and it’s unfortunate,” Merkel said.
The confrontation between Pulver and the council member heated up on May 23 when Merkel sent a press release to media outlets claiming that he was being harassed by Pulver.
“This is an appalling and unacceptable attempt to intimidate and discredit me and my family, a continuation of the campaign to silence me,” Merkel said.
Pulver responded during an interview with NonStop Local May 27, saying that he had no interest in intruding in Merkel’s personal life and was purely concerned with what he characterized as an extortion scheme run by Merkel.
Pulver also said that he’d taken the evidence against Merkel to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Seattle’s FBI Field Office confirmed that it was contacted by Pulver, though it is not bureau policy to offer information on investigations.
A separate investigation commissioned by the City of Spokane Valley released May 9 found that the council member violated workplace conduct guidelines, though no disciplinary measures against Merkel were taken by the municipal government.
It is unclear whether the new controversy involving Merkel will escalate to litigation or become merely another controversial episode in the council member’s tenure in public service.
