Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza has requested state and federal investigations into allegations of his own involvement in organized crime and narcotics trafficking, according to two letters signed by Snaza on Thursday.
The letters, addressed separately to the Washington state Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) and the Lewis County Board of Commissioners (BOCC), concern “baseless claims” Snaza said were made by former Centralia Police Sgt. Tracy Murphy.
Murphy is running for Lewis County sheriff. Snaza is not seeking reelection.
In his letter to the BOCC, Snaza said he has requested that the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Seattle Field Division and the CJTC “look into this matter and determine if a thorough investigation is warranted.”
Snaza told the CJTC he requested the investigation “in the interest of restoring public trust.”
“These unfounded allegations of criminality and corruption have eroded the public faith and confidence in the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office,” Snaza said.
In his letter to the CJTC, Snaza referenced the “significant” local media coverage that followed an anonymous complaint submitted to the state agency in January. The CJTC investigates potential police misconduct leading to possible decertification.
The complaint alleged that Murphy made “repeated statements” claiming Snaza “acquires and protects cocaine dealers.”
The anonymous complainant further alleged that Murphy was either “knowingly spreading false information for political purposes,” or else the allegations “have some basis in fact,” and Murphy “is not reporting them through appropriate legal or professional channels and may instead be using this information to influence or gain leverage in an upcoming election.”
(Editor's note: To see all the public documents obtained by The Chronicle in relation to Tracy Murphy's termination, visit: https://tinyurl.com/ynxbbned )
At the time, Murphy led the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET), then composed of detectives and agents from the Centralia Police Department, the Washington state Department of Corrections and the DEA.
In his letter to the CJTC, Snaza cited the anonymous complaint, which is still pending. The complaint nonetheless led to an internal investigation by the Centralia Police Department.
During that investigation, the private investigator took issue with Murphy’s initial “categorical denial” that he made statements suggesting Snaza “acquires or protects drug dealers.”
Murphy later admitted in a second interview to discussing the sheriff’s possible protection of individuals involved in drug trafficking.
Those discussions, Murphy asserted, were held solely between members of JNET.
Centralia Police Chief Andy Caldwell ultimately fired Murphy for allegedly making false statements while omitting material information during the investigation’s interview process, despite the investigator determining that the potential policy violations derived from the CJTC complaint were “not sustained.”
Murphy has maintained that the hangup pertained to a non-disclosure agreement he’d signed with the DEA prohibiting him from disclosing federal case information without authorization.
(Editor's note: To see all the public documents obtained by The Chronicle in relation to Tracy Murphy's termination, visit: https://tinyurl.com/ynxbbned )
Murphy, in his role with JNET, also operated as a deputized DEA agent.
“When you look at the investigation as a whole, once I got clarification after the first interview, there is no issue,” Murphy told The Chronicle a day after his firing in April.
In May, Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer issued a potential impeachment disclosure (PID) on Murphy. The PID, known informally as a Brady letter, is used to disclose to a criminal defendant information about a government witness that may be exculpatory or impeaching.
Caldwell, meanwhile, has written two memorandums detailing conversations he had with two witnesses following Murphy’s firing. Caldwell found that their statements — and the evidence they provided — supported the allegation that Murphy lied when he said he’d never disclosed information linking Snaza to drug activity to anyone outside of the department or JNET.
Murphy has spoken publicly about the firing — which he says is being challenged by his union — at multiple sheriff candidate forums and campaign stops leading up to the August 4 primary.
“We’re in the grievance process with the union for the wrongful termination,” Murphy said June 16 during a meet-and-greet at the Mossyrock Community Center.
He’s also done little to quell ongoing rumors of Snaza’s possible protection of alleged drug activity, though he’s said that no investigative information should have been released by the City of Centralia. The information — which also contained some failed redactions — was provided to The Chronicle and others as part of records requests related to his firing.
“We don’t know if it’s true, we don’t know if it’s not true, because it’s in an investigation,” Murphy said on June 16.
In his letter to the CJTC, Snaza noted that Murphy still holds a peace officer certification with the state and “should be adhering to the law enforcement code of conduct.”
In his letter to the BOCC, Snaza requested that people contact Caldwell with “any knowledge of allegations or statements of criminality or corruption” made against him by Murphy.
Snaza is in his third term — and 12th year — as Lewis County sheriff. He’s been with the department since 1995.
Murphy was hired by the Centralia Police Department in 1995 and served until his firing.
The Chronicle has reached out to Snaza for comment.
