Wife of fugitive tries to collect retirement funds.Byline: David Steves The Register-GuardSALEM - Her husband is on the lam. She has been charged with conspiracy for participating in their alleged bribery scheme. And the state is suing them for more than $1 million. But that didn't stop Karen Monem from walking into a state office and trying to withdraw money from the retirement account of her husband, Fred Monem, a former state prison food manager. She was turned down by alert state employees. Fred Monem has been a fugitive since fleeing Oregon last month before federal criminal charges had been filed against him. The Monems are charged with taking more than $1 million in bribes from discount food wholesalers in return for favorable business deals with the state Department of Corrections. Karen Monem made the request to withdraw funds from her husband's Public Employees Retirement System account on a July 27 visit to the agency's Salem office. That was a day after a judge had signed a temporary restraining order temporary restraining order: see injunction. that barred the transfer of money to her or her husband from any bank account or investment fund in which they had an interest. As a result, Monem was denied her request, said Stephanie Soden, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Hardy Myers Hardy Myers (born October 25 1939 in Electric Mills, Mississippi) is a lawyer and Democratic politician currently serving his third term as attorney general of the state of Oregon, United States. . She said such requests at PERS a. 1. Light blue; grayish blue; - a term applied to different shades at different periods. offices are common. This one was halted because PERS employees knew from news accounts who Karen Monem was. "They recognized her and called us," Soden said. The restraining order restraining order: see injunction. was signed the same day that Myers filed a racketeering Traditionally, obtaining or extorting money illegally or carrying on illegal business activities, usually by Organized Crime . A pattern of illegal activity carried out as part of an enterprise that is owned or controlled by those who are engaged in the illegal activity. lawsuit against the Monems in Marion County Marion County is the name of seventeen counties in the United States of America, mostly named for General Francis Marion:
Before Fred Monem's flight, he sold a boat for $25,000 and withdrew $30,000 from their bank accounts, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. court papers. Government officials have said the Monems did so despite their agreement not to liquidate assets while negotiating a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. Those negotiations were still under way when Monem flew to Buffalo, N.Y., on July 1. He was declared a fugitive when he failed to return to Salem. Monem has relatives in Iran and Canada. |
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