Idaho Falls prosecutor resignsInvestigation into some of Kimball Mason's cases on property seizures ongoing
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By PHIL DAVIDSON
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pdavidson@postregister.com
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Kimball Mason, the Idaho Falls city prosecutor under investigation by the Idaho attorney general, resigned Monday. Mason, the city's prosecutor for 12 years, has been on paid leave since December, when the attorney general's office revealed it was investigating property seizures in cases Mason handled. Mayor Jared Fuhriman, who received Mason's resignation letter Monday, said the prosecutor was neither forced nor coerced to resign. But, Fuhriman said, it was probably in the city's best interest that he did so. "We didn't turn him down on that offer," he said. Mason's resignation letter, which is dated Jan. 20, said, "I had looked forward to serving in your administration as well, but circumstances have persuaded me that it would be in the best interest of the City and myself to resign as City Prosecutor." Efforts to reach Mason for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful. Former Mayor Linda Milam put him on paid administrative leave beginning Dec. 12. Mason's $112,000 contract with the city ended Monday. Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney Dane Watkins Jr.'s office has been picking up Mason's caseload in the interim at a cost of $2,000 a week to the city, Fuhriman said. The city has two options for replacing Mason. It could either contract with the county prosecutor's office, which was the arrangement before Mason began handling misdemeanors in 1993, or it can again hire a separate prosecutor. A decision is expected within three weeks, Fuhriman said. Watkins said his eight-attorney office has made headway in managing Mason's caseloads -- about 100 per week -- and is "certainly up to the challenge" to take them on permanently. However, he added that he expects more conversations about the terms of such a contract to occur in the next few days between himself, Fuhriman and Bonneville County commissioners. The investigation into Mason is still ongoing. Fuhriman said he was told preliminary findings will be released in the next three weeks.
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