Lies? Or half-truths?

Investigators from the state attorney general's office interviewed former Idaho Falls Prosecutor Kimball Mason three times during their investigation. There were several inconsistencies between what Mason told investigators and what witnesses said or what the evidence revealed. Here are some examples.

What Mason said: He'd received oral approval in the mid-1990s from the director of the Idaho Department of Law Enforcement to get 20 percent to 25 percent of the proceeds of all items forfeited in Bonneville County. Director Dick Cade, he said, had called and asked him to handle forfeitures.

Facts: Cade didn't become director until 2001. Robert Sobba, Cade's predecessor, said he never contacted Mason about handling forfeitures.

What others said: Cade, who took over for Sobba, also denied asking Mason to handle forfeitures. If there had been such an agreement, he said, it would have been documented.

What Mason said: To get a court order to have $13,195.83 forfeited as abandoned property (money seized by police in 30 separate cases), Mason told Judge Mark Riddoch the money would be used for the "drug fund." When Riddoch asked Mason why the money should be forfeited (statutes say forfeited money must have been used to "facilitate drug or other illegal activity") Mason said "they all pled guilty," and added that he had relied on police reports to make that assertion. He said he thought the Idaho Falls Police Department had tried to contact people about the forfeitures, but they weren't "forthcoming."

Facts: Mason did not follow the statutory requirements needed to obtain a court order. He did not notify the owners of the money, nor did he post a notice in the newspaper announcing that steps were being taken to forfeit the money.

What others said: IFPD Sgt. Jim Hoffman denied trying to contact the owners of the money or suggesting that he or anyone with the police department ever did so.

Investigator's notes: Riddoch OK'd the court order even though there was no case number on the document. The trial court administrator told investigators that orders without case numbers are not valid.

Five of the 30 cases were dismissed.

Mason charged a 28 percent commission, or $340.35, for getting the money.

What Mason said: When asked if he thought taking forfeited property and converting it to his personal use was wrong, Mason said: "Well I don't consider it my own personal use and benefit. I'm a law enforcement officer."

Facts: Law enforcement officers are required to get certification at the POST Law Enforcement Academy. Mason has no POST certification. Also, when he resigned in January, Mason did not hand over his "duty weapon." The only city property he said he had was a key to a locker in the IFPD weight room.

What Mason said: That he had the authority as city prosecutor to take forfeited firearms for his personal use -- to trade, sell or keep.

Facts: When he traded four guns to Ski's House of Guns in Idaho Falls, the information he scribbled on each pawn slip bears no mention of his status as a city official. He wrote his home address on each form. The federal forms he filled out at Ski's on three other occasions contained similar information and no mention of him being a city official.

Read the files yourself at www.postregister.com/kimballmason/ or in the Post Register newsroom,

333 Northgate Mile in Idaho Falls.