{"id":1755423,"date":"2022-11-29T12:53:12","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T17:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1755423"},"modified":"2022-11-29T14:03:59","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T19:03:59","slug":"western-state-hospital-knowingly-hired-promoted-felon-now-accused-of-stealing-from-patients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/western-state-hospital-knowingly-hired-promoted-felon-now-accused-of-stealing-from-patients\/","title":{"rendered":"Western State Hospital Knowingly Hired, Promoted Felon Now Accused of Stealing From Patients"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwestern-state-hospital-knowingly-hired-promoted-felon-now-accused-of-stealing-from-patients%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1755423&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/westernstate620.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Western State Hospital knowingly hired and promoted a prolific offender. It didn\u2019t end well for the patients in his care, nor Washington taxpayers. He\u2019s now accused of stealing money from mental patients. But he maintained his job thanks to the state\u2019s \u201cequity\u201d agenda that pretends felons are worthy of endless chances.<\/p>\n<p>Mark James was hired as an Institution Counselor on April 24, 2017. The date is notable because he was booked into the Pierce County Jail on a fugitive warrant from Oregon just 13 days earlier. The Tacoma News Tribune (TNT), which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewstribune.com\/news\/local\/article268305467.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">first reported the story<\/a>, notes the hire happened six days after he was booked on charges of dealing heroin and other drug-related offenses in Oregon.<\/p>\n<p>Washington state hiring officials knew James had at least 22 felony convictions for drug possession, identity theft, forgery, and theft since the 1990s. He said he underwent several background checks. Washington state hired him anyway.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mynorthwest.com\/3713960\/rantz-racism-claim-against-local-high-school-doesnt-add-up-media-rushes-judgment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Rantz: Racism claim against local high school doesn\u2019t add up, media rushes to judgment<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Mark James earned convictions while employed<\/h3>\n<p>While employed with the state, TNT reports James earned five more felony drug convictions.<\/p>\n<p>Oregon police said James was dealing heroin and had 19 grams of heroin, a gram of cocaine, and a scale and packaging material when arrested. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail and 36 months of probation.<\/p>\n<p>His supervisor at the time, Allison Bayba, and coworkers at Western State Hospital didn\u2019t seem to mind. In 2018, they wrote to the judge on his behalf. Bayba called him an \u201cexemplary employee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite his conviction,\u00a0Western State Hospital continued to offer James important responsibilities.<\/p>\n<p>James was tasked with managing highly vulnerable patients, giving him access to some of their finances. He was even promoted, earning a salary of $118,000 in 2020, according to documents reviewed by TNT.<\/p>\n<h3>Accusations of theft<\/h3>\n<p>As James was earning a six-figure salary courtesy of Washington taxpayers, officials allege he was stealing from his patients.<\/p>\n<p>When patients are admitted to the hospital, they may access personal accounts stored in a petty cash drawer. James had access to them. Over nine months, the state alleges James dipped into the petty cash drawer 117 times, stealing over $5,000. He allegedly took under $50 each time, which is under the threshold that requires supervisory approval.<\/p>\n<p>Police records obtained by TNT note Western State Hospital did not follow internal procedures around the account withdrawals. They required receipts and signatures from staffers, but that did not occur. Some of the patients James allegedly stole from weren\u2019t even in his care.<\/p>\n<h3>No consequences yet<\/h3>\n<p>The state confronted James with the allegations and transferred him to a job in the hospital kitchen while an investigation was underway. Seven months later, James chose to resign, according to TNT.<\/p>\n<p>State investigators forwarded their report to the Lakewood Police, which recommended felony charges.<\/p>\n<p>But James escaped any consequences for the alleged crimes after the Pierce County Prosecutor\u2019s Office declined to charge him. The victims were reluctant or \u201cincoherent,\u201d so prosecutors were not confident they could prove the crime in court. Making the case more difficult, Western State\u2019s procedures were so lax, the lack of record-keeping made the case nearly impossible to prosecute.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with TNT, James neither confirmed nor denied the theft allegations. He now works in Oregon in the same industry.<\/p>\n<h3>This is the equity movement at work<\/h3>\n<p>Though left-wing activists and the state government accelerated the \u201cequity\u201d movement in 2020, it was alive and well in 2017. It just didn\u2019t get the same media coverage.<\/p>\n<p>Washington Democrats passed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dwt.com\/blogs\/employment-labor-and-benefits\/2018\/05\/new-ban-the-box-laws-in-washington-take-effect-jun\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">legislation<\/a> to \u201cban the box,\u201d which severely limits the use of criminal background checks to screen applicants. There\u2019s also been an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.atg.wa.gov\/news\/news-releases\/ag-takes-discriminatory-blanket-housing-bans-renters-criminal-histories\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">effort<\/a> to prevent landlords from keeping dangerous criminals off their properties.<\/p>\n<p>Activists have long viewed criminals as victims of a racist criminal justice system. They\u2019ve spent decades pushing legislation giving criminals a pass for their lawlessness. It explains why someone like James didn\u2019t just get the job in the first place but had defenders enabling him.<\/p>\n<p>While Western State Hospital officials admit James should not have been hired, this exact issue will undoubtedly come up again. But it may look a bit different.<\/p>\n<p>The current equity movement is so extreme that it seeks to give criminals a total pass. Many suspects won\u2019t ever see a judge. Instead, they\u2019re being pushed into ineffective restorative justice programs that allow them to continue their criminal behavior.<\/p>\n<p>So it\u2019s probable that an identity thief or drug dealer doesn\u2019t ever earn a conviction before getting a job, which makes it easy for them to continue to create victims. The only thing equitable about the movement is that every Washingtonian will have an equal opportunity to become victimized.<\/p>\n<p><em>Listen to the Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3:00 p.m. \u2013 6:00 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3).\u00a0<\/em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/mynorthwest.com\/category\/podcast_results\/?pr=ac249c74-350e-438d-ade5-a8d30112724c&#038;pl=08fdb07e-7380-42cd-9c5a-a8d30112725a&#038;n=The+Jason+Rantz+Show\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Subscribe to the podcast<\/a><\/em><em>. Follow @JasonRantz on\u00a0<\/em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jasonrantz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a><\/em><em>,\u00a0<\/em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jasonrantz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a><\/em><em>, and\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JasonRantzShow\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Facebook<\/em><\/a><em>. Check back frequently for more news and analysis.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"twitter-follow-button\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/jasonrantz\" data-show-count=\"false\">Follow @https:\/\/twitter.com\/jasonrantz<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Western State Hospital knowingly hired and promoted a prolific offender. It didn\u2019t end well for the patients in his care, nor Washington taxpayers. He\u2019s now accused of stealing money from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1755426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1755423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1755423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1755423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1755423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1755426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1755423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1755423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1755423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}