by Travis Mateer
I like putting the heads of public figures on metaphorical spikes as I work to stop their political ambitions because NOTHING good comes from the metamorphosis of law enforcers transforming into politicians, as the man pictured above has clearly demonstrated.
How did I stop McDermott’s run for Mayor? Simple, I covered his candidacy in a way NO OTHER MEDIA could, and that’s because I’m not paid to control narratives, I’m CALLED to END that control by showing what a fearless approach to radical transparency can produce when you have the experience that I do in this community, like helping McDermott’s predecessor, Sheriff Ibsen, actually identify a killer who murdered a homeless man under the Reserve Street bridge.
Here’s some of the coverage I’m confident contributed to the strategic disappearance of McDermott as a Mayoral candidate for Missoula:
The Blame Others Strategy Is In Full Effect (November 11th, 2022)
Does Outgoing Missoula County Sheriff, T.J. McDermott, Eat Settlement Levys For Breakfast? (October 20th, 2022)
Who Took Outgoing Sheriff T.J.’s Money? (December 8th, 2022)
Does The Missoula County Sheriff’s Office Know What The Word “Deescalate” Means? (February 20th, 2023)
Does This Former Sheriff Think His Former Badge Is A Magical Ticket To Mayor? (January 8th, 2023)
The Mysterious, Disappearing Mayoral Candidacy Of Former Missoula Sheriff, T.J. McDermott, Solved! (February 28th, 2023)
The Business Of Jail And The Aborted Mayoral Candidacy Of Former Missoula County Sheriff, T.J. McDermott (April 20th, 2023)
I know what you’re thinking: how can I go so hard against powerful people without feeling the sting of retaliation? Well, here’s the thing, I ABSOLUTELY HAVE experienced retaliation, but sometimes the asymmetrical nature of that retaliation is either hard to identify, or worse, something I’m currently embroiled in, like criminal charges for violating an order of protection.
The person doing an excellent job making good on her threats to destroy me is someone I should have stayed FAR AWAY from, considering her former employer is someone who ALSO is out to stop me from sharing what I know about her shenanigans, and that’s the Executive Director of Missoula County’s United Way, Susan Hay Patrick.
The relationship between United Way of Missoula County and the Sheriff’s Office is one I’ve been reporting on for years. Before I get to the “Project Safe Neighborhoods”, let’s see how McDermott’s name interfaces with Patrick’s in this celebration of funding. From the link (emphasis mine):
Violent crime increased 49% from 2011 to 2017 in Missoula County. PSN, which focuses on prosecuting meth dealers, armed robbers, and violent offenders with firearms, began at the end of April 2018. Over the next two years, murders, robberies and aggravated assaults decreased 25 percent. Since COVID-19 arrived, however, those same violent crimes increased 40% for the seven months of April through October when compared with the same period last year.
…
“The Missoula County Sheriff’s Office looks forward to this partnership with the United Way to provide assistance through Missoula Substance Abuse Connect to those in our community who are dealing with addictions and substance abuse issues. I’d also like to thank United Way of Missoula CEO Susan Hay Patrick for her efforts on this project,” Missoula County Sheriff TJ McDermott said.
Ok, with that cozy relationship established, let’s look at some of my coverage on this Federal spigot releasing money to law men and non-profit ladies:
Can Some Hip Hop Wisdom Expose The Real Objective Behind Project Safe Neighborhoods In Missoula? (July 14th, 2020)
Guess Who The Father Of Project Safe Neighborhoods Is, Liberal Missoula? (July 17th, 2020)
On Trying To Understand Project Safe Neighborhoods (August 13th, 2020)
A Montana Meth Bust Made Possible By CIs (November 22nd, 2020)
Meth In Montana Gets A New Placation Plan From United Way’s Community Fixer Susan Hay Patrick (November 23rd, 2020)
What The Montana Media Is Missing With The Appointment Of Kurt Alme As Gianforte’s Budget Director (December 10th, 2020)
A Project Safe Neighborhood Meth Bust (September 21st, 2021)
Yes, you can see why a once smiling Susan Hay Patrick is no longer smiling regarding the work I feel called to do, and she has taken actions behind the scenes to impact my ability to expose her and what she’s done as a political influencer in this community.
Yep, I gave our local leaders and influencers plenty to smile about back in the day because I helped them control narratives through my participation in key committees, like the Mayor’s Downtown Advisory Committee. It’s impressive how quickly those smiles disappear when you STOP enabling deceitful schemes.
Moving on, my metaphorical crosshairs have shifted west, to Mineral County, where the rumors are swirling that ANOTHER law man is being groomed for a political metamorphosis. Say it ain’t so, Sheriff Funke!
The new piece of publicly available information I’m excited to share with Zoom Chron readers is how Ryan Funke got some early financial support when he got an ouchie from a deck that collapsed. The ouchie became a payday thanks to Ryan being a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the city of Polson, aka, the TAXPAYERS of Polson.
From the link (emphasis mine):
Plaintiff Ryan Funke, one of the 80 people injured, contended the city shared negligence because it was responsible for approving the deck’s construction and subsequent inspections.
Lawyers for the city argued it bore no responsibility for the collapse.
The city acknowledged that an anonymous caller telephoned the city’s building department about 14 hours before the collapse occurred, warning that the deck was not safe.
The caller gave no details, and the city said that without specific information, officials could not act on the anonymous tip, even if they would have had time to do so.
A jury awarded Funke nearly $684,000 in damages, apportioning 95 percent of the negligence to building owner Bert Shultz and 5 percent to the city.
Now, I’m not against litigation as a self-funding strategy, since I considered MY legal options against Martin GOMER Kidston, but that’s a little different than shaking down a municipality for loot because the private sector contractor built shit. Ironically, Funke’s legal move here STRENGTHENS the need for government to involve itself in the development of private property.
Isn’t this hilarious? Almost as hilarious as the Missoulian thinking they can effectively cover the strange, Lynchian realm known as Mineral County, but that won’t stop our Lee Enterprises newspaper from trying with a headline I’m still trying to figure out.
This article is actually pretty good because it’s written by former Kaimin editor, Griffin Smith, who earned a congratulatory call from me last year after I read his piece about what happened and what DIDN’T happen in the death of UM student, Courtney Klagues. Smith’s article led me to ask the following question nearly a year ago: have we arrived at “manifest abuse of discretion” yet?
For some context, here’s how Funke’s pals at the Highway Patrol handled this situation:
Reckless and inattentive driving are grounds for vehicular manslaughter charges under Montana law. Klagues’ family hoped something would happen, that they would hear an explanation for her death.
No one was charged with a crime after a two-month investigation by the Montana Highway Patrol.
Almost three years later, Klagues’ family started a scholarship in her name at UM. Lance Klagues, her father, questions why no one was charged. With fewer than three months until the statute of limitation expires, he hopes a new investigation can be launched.
Did anything happen? No, not that I’m aware of, because in the FAILED STATE of Montana, accountability for lethal tragedies and serious crimes no longer seems to exist. Instead, potential crimes are reduced to fodder for anonymous social media accounts to talk shit about at virtual locales like Mineral County Uncensored. Here’s what “Winston” has to say about the Missoulian article:
What is Winston referring to? Let’s take a look at the Missoulian article to see what’s riling up Riley:
For years, Mineral County hired officers who were unqualified and even committed crimes while on the job.
A 2022 civil lawsuit alleged that the sheriff’s office did not disclose negative information about its deputies, which the writ of mandamus said were either unqualified or had serious ethical issues while on the job.
The case specially named former deputies David Kuzelman, Shawn Visintin and Patrick Nobles in the 2022 report. Kuzelman was still a deputy during the start of the dispute.
Visintin was alleged to not be qualified as a deputy because of previous felony charges, including burglary and rape. While the sexual assault charges were dropped, Visintin pleaded guilty to burglary in the early 2000s.
Lawyers for the petitioners alleged the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office either knew about the charges and hired him, or did not complete a background check for Visintin, which is required for all Montana law enforcement officers.
Nobles allegedly arrested a resident for assaulting a peace officer, and then when that person called 911 over a mental breakdown, Nobles responded. At some point during the day he had sex with the resident, on duty in his patrol car.
Case documents allege Nobles had sex with the resident 15 times after the first encounter. Nobles then arrested the same resident for a domestic dispute days later.
How fucked up is this? Pretty fucked up, if you ask me, but there’s more, and I’m SO GLAD the Missoulian is actually taking notice of what’s happening in the County next door where our CURRENT Sheriff sent one of these jokers who couldn’t pass a test in Missoula. From the link (emphasis mine):
Kuzelman worked as a reserve deputy for the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office for several years, but could never pass the county’s written exam for a full-time job.
He was allegedly caught cheating on the test by stealing the answer sheet, and was not approved to be a deputy the following year. Mineral County hired him as a deputy in 2021.
Don’t worry, Mineral County, even though the men with badges can’t control their own dicks, they can still promote the ILLUSION that they are capable of doing their jobs.
If you believe Montana is a safer place because of the badges in Mineral County, maybe MY reporting will change your mind. Here’s some of that reporting, including the articles I wrote about the Writ of Mandamus fiasco:
A Governor Who Blames Biden For Not Securing Our Southern Border Can’t Secure His Own Counties (August 31st, 2022)
Will Monte Turner Report On The Writ Of Mandamus, Or Is It More Advantageous To Write About Badge Boys And Tech Toys? (September 6th, 2022)
I Ordered This Cool Mandamus, But All I Got Was A Shitty Ryan Funke Yard Sign (September 23rd, 2022)
Was The Writ Of Mandamus A Ploy To Destroy The Candidacy Of A Political Outsider In Mineral County? (October 27th, 2022)
The First Reports Of A Prisoner Suicide Inside The Mineral County Jail (November 27th, 2022)
What The Funke Is That Disparaging Smell, Ryan? (January 10th, 2023)
Who Dares Challenge Their Hero Narrative? (March 22nd, 2023)
Mineral County Is At War With Itself, Assisted By A Law Firm Specializing In Money Shakedown Schemes For Badges Across Western Montana (April 21st, 2023)
Is There A Reason Judge Vannatta Is Afraid Of Weak Courthouse Security? (November 9th, 2023)
If things are THIS BAD in Mineral County, shouldn’t there be some kind of STATE oversight? Yes, in theory that would come from Montana’s Department of Justice, or the AG himself, Austin Knudsen, but considering Ryan Funke survived the Coyote Club scrutiny over a decade ago, don’t hold your breath.
For those NOT familiar with how our former AG and Governor, Steve Bullock, helped the law-challenged lawmen, I wrote about THAT as well, and I wrote about it BEFORE Ryan Funke became Sheriff. Why? Because Funke was SO UPSET that he was investigated by his boss, he decided to SUE his boss for the damages his fragile mind allegedly incurred. And this guy thinks he has what it takes to be a SHERIFF? From the link (emphasis mine):
Detective Lenz seized seven whitetail deer mounts and a black bear rug from Sargeant’s residence. Around this time, Sheriff Bell discussed the ongoing investigation with Funke, and Bell provided Funke with a copy of the search warrant but did not execute the search warrant at his residence. Funke voluntarily invited Bell into his residence. Bell took photographs of deer mounts, but nothing was seized from Funke’s home.
As a result of these activities, Sargeant and Funke both claim that they have experienced debilitating stress and emotional and mental damages. Plaintiffs filed a civil rights petition against LSCO in Montana’s Twentieth Judicial District Court, which was removed to federal court. Sargeant and Funke alleged four claims: Count I: Violation of Plaintiffs Rights under the Montana Constitution; Count II: 42 U.S.C. §1983, Violation of Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments by Sheriff Bell and John Does 1-5 in their individual capacities; Count III: Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress; Count IV: Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress; and punitive damages and attorneys’ fees. LSCO moved for summary judgment on all counts, which Judge Anderson granted.
This shit-show in Mineral County is an astounding example of Montana’s GOOD ‘OL BOY approach to criminal justice, and no one in a position of authority seems to want to say YES, IT REALLY IS THIS BAD.
While authorities in Montana seem intent on ignoring the scope of how fucked this state has become, more and more families are finding themselves in the terrible situation of experiencing first-hand this structural dysfunction enabled at the highest levels of Montana’s government, like the families of Rebekah Barsotti, Joey Thompson, Shane Pelletier, Courtney Klagues, Johnny Lee Perry, and the case that started me down this dark path of discovery, Sean Stevenson.
If you’re reading this, I have a question: are you going to keep sitting back while I put myself out there at great expense to my personal relationships and my bank account, or are you going to STEP THE FUCK UP and accept the reality that NO ONE IS COMING TO SAVE YOU when the shit hits the fan.
When you accept this harsh reality, it might be easier to justify directing some financial support to ME, which I could really use right now as I face the law-fare tactics of those who would LOVE to shut me up for good.
Thanks for reading!