Judge: Bribery charge will stand.

Byline: Bill Bishop The Register-Guard

A federal magistrate judge on Friday ruled that enough evidence exists to charge Karen Monem with conspiracy in an alleged bribery scheme involving her fugitive husband, former state Department of Corrections food purchasing manager Fred Monem.

FBI spokesman Mike Sweeney said the agency is working with international police to find Fred Monem, 48, who flew to Buffalo, N.Y., July 1 but did not use his return ticket on July 11. He is a native of Iran and has relatives in Canada.

"Public corruption is one of our highest crime priorities," Sweeney said. "We are pursuing the possibility he crossed the border to Canada or may have returned to his native Iran."

After his disappearance, prosecutors moved quickly to file a criminal complaint charging that Karen Monem conspired with him to take more than $1 million in bribes from discount food wholesalers in return for favorable business deals.

A probe by the FBI and the IRS found that she is the sole officer in a company called Jamm Inc., which allegedly received at least $475,000 in bribe payments from 2003 through 2006, according to court documents.

Agents also found she was manager of another company formed by her husband and two California men to purchase and lease property in Oregon.

The two Californians and two other men have pleaded guilty to bribery and tax fraud in the case and are awaiting sentencing. They are cooperating with the investigation, according to court documents.

In court Friday, Karen Monem's defense lawyer, Kenneth Lerner, tried to convince Judge Thomas Coffin that she did not know about her husband's alleged illegal bribe taking. He argued there is no evidence to disprove she was acting merely as an employee of her husband's consulting firm. Lerner asked that the conspiracy charge be dismissed.

After a brief hearing, Coffin noted that prosecutors are not required to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in order to file charges, but must show there is sufficient evidence to bring a case to trial in spite of a defendant's potential legal defense.

The hearing was called because prosecutors filed the charge without taking evidence to a grand jury in order to move quickly against Karen Monem.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Cardani told Coffin that a grand jury will review the evidence. Both sides agreed to a formal arraignment on Oct. 22. Meanwhile, Karen Monem, 44, remains free under court orders to, among other things, surrender her passport and remain in Oregon.