Montesano Attorney Gets Five-Year Term For Fraud

A Grays Harbor County attorney who has been active in Democratic politics was one of five people sentenced in federal court yesterday in connection with a billing scheme that defrauded Burien's Schick Shadel Hospital of approximately $405,000.

Daniel Tighe, 41, a suspended Montesano attorney, was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by five years' probation.

In January, Tighe pleaded guilty to two counts of income-tax evasion relating to money stolen through fraudulent billings and bookkeeping deceptions.

His wife, Antoinette Tighe, 43, was sentenced to an 18-month prison term. She pleaded guilty to one count of income-tax evasion.

Tighe's mother and bookkeeper, Rose Tighe, 65, was sentenced to one year in custody, with all but 60 days suspended, and two years' probation. She had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor count of providing false information to a government agency.

Veronica Ojdana, 47, hospital administrator, and Ross Robinson, 40, hospital controller and public accountant, each was sentenced to 20 months. Each had pleaded guilty to one felony count of making false statements to a government agency involving Medicare reimbursements.

The Tighes used their influence in the small community of Montesano, where he was a prominent local attorney and a member of the board of directors of a local bank, to circumvent normal accounting procedures and negotiate falsely generated checks made payable to local merchants, prosecutors charged.

Much of the money was then laundered through Dan Tighe's attorney-client trust account and spent on a lavish remodeling of their home, two Mercedes, a Porsche and travel.

The fraudulent-billing scheme ran from 1983 to 1989, prosecutors charged.

Last month, Daniel Tighe and his mother were sentenced in Grays Harbor Superior Court following their convictions in an unrelated case. Each was convicted of four counts of forgery and four counts of filing false documents. Daniel Tighe was sentenced to a year in jail and fined $25,000. His mother was sentenced to 60 days in jail, with 30 days converted to community service.