Earlier today I teased context to a video clip I recorded from Thursday’s wild Mineral County Commissioner’s meeting where the usual methods of keeping Federal investigations and Confidential Criminal Justice Information insulated from public disclosure were thrown out the window by outgoing Sheriff, Ryan Funke, and his “specialized” LEO lawyer, Lance Jasper.
What is going on here?
If you’re Deb Jackson, who represents the Mineral County Attorney’s Office, what’s going on is an effort to obtain a copy of a contract proving a deal exists between the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office and a Kansas-based company, called ESU Pursuits, to provide six vehicles to the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office for $170,000 dollars.
But this company, counters Funke and his LEO lawyer, Lance Jasper, is entangled in an FBI investigation, so HOW DARE Jackson subpoena Sheriff Funke AND Shawn Smalley, the former County Commissioner who resigned from his position just before questions about this deal started getting asked months ago.
Publicly available information that one can glean from online searches is one thing, but privileged information about knowledge of an FBI investigation is something else, which is why I figured an attempt to give Lance Jasper a call would be worth rolling the dice on.
I mean, it’s not like he would be dumb enough to call me back and talk about what he just blabbed about in a public during a County Commissioners meeting, right?
Right?
I called Reep, Bell and Jasper to confirm if Lance Jasper was still employed by this law firm, since I heard it was no longer in existence. A woman named Jessica answered and, instead of telling me that Lance Jasper is running a NEW law firm now called LPJ Law, she massaged the truth into a lie-adjacent omission that this new law firm exists by simply saying “yes” to my inquiry. I then gave her my name and number, not expecting the special LEO lawyer to call me back less than an hour later.
The 8 minutes I spent talking to the raspy-sounding Lance Jasper were concerning for reasons that will become glaringly apparent.
I told Jasper that, from what I had just watched online, it appeared he and the Sheriff (and former County Commissioner) were turning a simple request for records into a public spectacle for reasons that made no sense, so I asked which FBI office was involved.
Did I get a clear answer? No, Jasper mentioned “Monte”, as in Monte Shaide, but then said the investigation was being handled by the FBI in another state.
Hmmm.
After about two or three minutes I started thinking this whole conversation with Lance Jasper wasn’t making sense, so I asked a very direct question:
“When is the last time you had a drink of alcohol?” I asked Lance Jasper point blank, half-expecting him to hang up on me immediately. Instead, he kept going, but without answering my question, so I asked him again more emphatically.
“I’m not a public figure,” he said, dodging my question again, to which I pointed out he was representing one, and that there were rumors about his alcohol abuse. I got another refusal to answer and started wondering if maybe it wasn’t alcohol, but something that could keep a person up for 2 or 3 days.
I pressed Lance Jasper on my knowledge of his previous law firm’s role in the parity pay litigation against Missoula County on behalf of the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, then hit him with my reporting that David Barsotti had allegedly died recently.
“I didn’t know David was dead,” Lance said. Do I believe him? No.
After Jasper agreed with me about LEO corruption in Western Montana, giving me (unsolicited) the name of a client he represented in Ravalli County I should look into, it was ME who ended the conversation.
WTF is going on here?
I’d ask Lance’s partner, Jenna Penielle Lyons Dubler-Houser, but she’s probably still recovering from Burning Man.
Tomorrow Lance Jasper has assured the Mineral County Commissioners he’s going to bring the contract for the Sheriff vehicles in order to account for the $170,000. I reached out to a few officials, including leaving a voicemail on Ryan Funke’s direct line to let him know how much I enjoyed chatting with his special lawyer.
Exactly how special, well, that remains to be seen.
If you appreciate my coverage of what happens in our neighboring county please consider donating to my new GoFundMe page. I’m going to keep a close eye on this story as it develops because I think there’s more to discover, and it ties directly to the judge who enjoys nibbling on nothing burgers.
Thanks for reading!
