Crime & Courts

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has unanimously approved a series of requests for financial secrecy filed by attorneys representing John Malone, the telecom billionaire seeking to take a controlling interest in Alaska’s largest internet firm.

The approval means Malone will not be required to publish his personal finances and that the financial condition of three GCI-related subsidiaries will also remain secret. The finances of GCI Liberty, the parent company, are already public due to required filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In October, Malone, 84, told the Wall Street Journal that he would be stepping away from day-to-day operations of his various companies but would retain his controlling interests. Bloomberg has estimated his net worth to be approximately $10.6 billion.

The approval was published just before 4 p.m. on Black Friday. The five governor-appointed commissioners said they were granting the requests because they were in line with the commission’s prior practices, because they don’t have the power to regulate much of GCI Liberty’s business, and because “the public interest in disclosure of the financial information of (the three subsidiaries) is outweighed by the potential competitive financial disadvantages demonstrated in the petition.”

The chair of GCI’s parent company, GCI Liberty, Malone holds shares controlling 53.5% of GCI Liberty’s voting power. But Malone’s personal power has been restricted until recently to 49.32% of the company’s voting power, regulatory filings state.

Now, Malone is seeking to increase his voting power above 50%.

The commission’s Friday order does not decide that request; it addressed the combined requests for financial secrecy on behalf of Malone and the three GCI Liberty subsidiaries.

Alaskans submitted a combined 67 comments across three dockets related to Malone’s proposal. Almost all were opposed to the request for secrecy.

In a response to those comments, Malone’s attorneys said “no legitimate public interest will be served by requiring (Malone) to file his personal financial information.”

The response also said that “the acquisition … will be seamless and transparent to customers because the GCI companies will continue to provide the same services to Alaska customers under their same experienced management. There will be no operational or management changes to the GCI companies as a result of the acquisition.”

GCI’s attorneys had argued that the financial statements of the three subsidiaries should stay confidential because GCI’s competitors were not required to reveal their finances, and it would be unfair for them to open their books.

“We find that disclosure … might create a competitive or financial disadvantage,” the regulators concluded.

In addition, unlike the way that water and power utilities’ rates are regulated by the RCA, GCI’s prices are not regulated by state law.

For that reason, plus the fact that GCI Liberty’s combined financial statements are publicly available, regulators concluded, “public interest in disclosure … is outweighed by the potential competitive financial disadvantages demonstrated in the petition.”

On the request for secrecy covering Malone himself, Malone’s attorneys argued that he isn’t legally obligated to provide financial support to GCI Liberty, and thus, “requiring the submission of his personal financial information would not advance a public interest objective.”

They also argued that in 2018, when wealthy telecom entrepreneur Jane Eudy obtained full control of several Interior Alaska telecom companies by taking 100% control of American Broadband, a national firm, the RCA did not require her to publicize her finances.

Members of the public argued that disclosure is in the best interests of Alaskans.

Megan Johnson, one of dozens of people who offered public comments, said, “Telecommunications in Alaska are not just about convenience, they are lifelines for education, healthcare, emergency services, and economic development, especially in rural and Indigenous communities. Decisions made by owners unfamiliar with our terrain, seasonal challenges, and cultural values risk undermining the progress we’ve made in closing the digital divide.”

Kirsa Hughes-Skandijs of Juneau wrote, “I am gravely concerned about the idea of concealing financial information, particularly when it comes to consolidating control of a public good like an ISP, broadcast and telecommunications company.”

Commissioners ultimately sided with Malone.

“We find the circumstances presented in these dockets similar to those we considered (in 2018),” they wrote.

“We find that under the circumstances … no legitimate public interest will be served by requiring Dr. Malone to provide a statement of financial condition.”

Commissioners are scheduled to make a final determination on Malone’s takeover by April 1.

Alaska State Commission for Human Rights chair Dorene Lorenz sued blogger Jeff Landfield of the Alaska Landmine on Friday. Lorenz accuses Landfield of defaming her by implying she stole state funding intended to preserve a historic building in Seward.

Landfield, whose irreverent blog often breaks significant political news, recently poked fun at a land acknowledgement Lorenz read at a United Nations gathering in Switzerland. In a social media post, he called the statement “super loose and bizarre” and labeled Lorenz an “absolute nut.”

“Nobody really wonders what I think, because I usually tell them,” Landfield said in an interview.

For her part, Lorenz said she gets it — as a public official, criticism comes with the territory.

“You can call people names, that’s fine. You can suggest that they did horrible things, that’s fine,” she said.

But the post went further. Landfield pointed to an episode in her past: “Remember when she got in trouble for using … state money for the Jesse Lee Home for herself?”

Landfield was referring to a 2015 move by Gov. Bill Walker’s administration to cancel a grant to a group Lorenz chaired seeking to restore the now-demolished Jesse Lee Home in Seward.

The state found the Friends of the Jesse Lee Home spent grant money on a wide variety of “disallowed and questionable” items — everything from stereo equipment, unapproved travel and an office remodel to a tub of bikini wax. A state official said that despite about $7 million in public funding spent on restoring the home, it was “painfully apparent that this project will not be successful.”

But Lorenz insists that she did not use the money for herself — and she said Landfield’s post crossed a line.

“You cannot say that a public figure stole public money when you know for a fact that they didn’t,” she said.

Proving defamation can be an uphill battle. For so-called “public figures,” including many government officials, a plaintiff has to meet a high standard — they have to show that the speaker either knew what they were saying was false, or willingly looked away from evidence that it was.

Lorenz said she thought she had a good shot at meeting that high bar.

In subsequent posts and livestreams, Landfield pointed to a 2018 Alaska Public Media article detailing the grant cancellation. But notably, in that article, a deputy commissioner with the department said he did not believe Lorenz or anyone else involved had pocketed the money.

“Obviously he’s aware that that is the statement and the conclusion of the state of Alaska,” Lorenz said.

Lorenz also named Alaska Landmine co-owners Paxson Woebler and Scott Jensen in the suit. Lorenz is representing herself and is requesting unspecified damages, a retraction and a correction.

“It’s a very open-shut case,” she said. “It’s not something that’s heavily nuanced.”

In an interview, Landfield stood by the statement. He called Lorenz’s use of state funds a “scam” and a “grift” that wasted millions of dollars.

He said he had yet to be served, but it was the first time anyone had followed through on a threat to sue him — and he said he was looking forward to fighting it in court.

“I’m going to be spending my immediate future … getting every single document, every single grant reimbursement request, and I’m going to show just what this woman did,” he said. “She really messed with the wrong one.”

A District Court judge has dismissed the eviction cases against three tenants refusing to vacate their rentals in the historic Telephone Hill neighborhood in downtown Juneau. 

Instead, a Superior Court judge presiding over a lawsuit filed by tenants against the city late last month will decide the outcome. The lawsuit seeks to stop the city’s demolition of the historic neighborhood and stop the evictions. The city plans to demolish the houses on the hill later this winter to make way for newer, denser housing to combat the city’s housing crunch. 

The court hasn’t yet scheduled any hearings for that lawsuit. 

City Attorney Emily Wright said it’s unclear if or how the dismissals may impact the city’s plan to move forward with demolition of the homes this winter. She said the city is disappointed in the District Court judge’s ruling and plans to ask that the lawsuit in Superior Court be expedited. 

“We’ll work with the tenants and their attorney in the other superior court case to look at the best options for them and for the city. But once you’ve moved into court, it can be a very long process to get a resolution,” she said. 

The tenants’ lawsuit, which has three plaintiffs, claims that the city improperly evicted people on the hill, illegally phased the redevelopment and that the project fails to comply with federal and state historic preservation acts. The city denies these claims.

Joe Karson called the eviction dismissals a win. Karson, a plaintiff in the lawsuit and one of the tenants who hasn’t vacated,  said he plans to continue to live in his apartment on the hill as long as possible. 

“I want to stay in my home, of course,” Karson said. “Just because you rent doesn’t mean that it’s not your home, and that’s my home.”

Fred Triem, the tenants’ attorney, said the tenants continuing to live in the old homes as the weather gets colder helps preserve them.

“Our ultimate goal is to preserve the old buildings, especially the telephone switchboard and that building constructed in 1882,” he said. “That’s the short of it — historic preservation.”

Under the Alaska Uniform Residential Landlord & Tenant Act, the city cannot take retaliatory action against the tenants, like turning off the utilities, while they wait for the outcome of the lawsuit. 

A district court judge has delayed the pending eviction hearings of three tenants who have refused to vacate their residences in Juneau’s downtown Telephone Hill neighborhood until at least Friday morning.

That’s so the judge can review a motion filed late Tuesday by the tenants’ attorney. 

The motion asks the court to delay the evictions pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed by tenants against the city. The lawsuit seeks to stop the city’s demolition of the historic neighborhood and reverse the evictions. 

The city had given the tenants living in the homes until Nov.1 to move out. The city plans to demolish the houses on the hill later this winter to make way for newer, denser housing to combat the city’s housing crunch. However, some tenants are refusing to leave and the city earlier this month filed legal action to evict them. 

At the courthouse on Wednesday morning, John Ingalls, one of the tenants who hasn’t vacated and is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said he’s going to fight tooth and nail to stop the evictions.

“They’re just gonna make people pissed off at them. They’re gonna make people angry because I don’t think they have what’s right on their side, and I think people are going to stand up for what’s right,” he said. “I’m not worried about it. If they want to take my stuff. Fine, take it. Go ahead. If you want to be really ugly, let’s get ugly.”

An attorney from the city’s law department argued that the late filing of the motion was an intentional delay tactic and requested that the judge proceed with the hearing. The judge instead pushed Wednesday’s hearings back till Friday morning at 8:15 a.m. 

City Attorney Emily Wright said if the evictions are approved on Friday morning, the city plans to take swift action. She said the city gave the tenants more than enough notice and time to move out of the homes before taking legal action to force them out.

“If the city were given immediate possession of the homes on Friday, we would change the locks,” she said. “We would take possession of the homes, and we would work with the tenants to get their belongings out of the homes as soon as possible.”

In response to the tenants’ lawsuit, the city denies the claims that it improperly evicted people on the hill, illegally phased the redevelopment and that the project fails to comply with federal and state historic preservation acts.

The man who was slammed to the ground by a former Juneau police officer this summer is suing the City and Borough of Juneau and the officer in civil superior court. 

Christopher Williams, Jr. filed a lawsuit last week against the city and former Juneau Police officer Brandon LeBlanc for allegedly violating his civil rights during the arrest. The violent arrest knocked Williams unconscious. He was later medevaced out of town.

The lawsuit comes just over a month after the state’s Office of Special Prosecutions cleared the officer of criminal charges. Video of the July incident recorded by a witness circulated widely online and prompted a public outcry.

Jeff Barber is an attorney representing Williams. In an interview, Barber said the lawsuit seeks to hold the city and LeBlanc accountable. 

“It’s dehumanizing to see the way Mr. Williams was treated in this case by police, and so I think more people should be aware of these kinds of actions,” he said. “It represents an assault on human dignity when you see someone act like that.”

The lawsuit asserts several allegations of wrongdoing by both LeBlanc and the city. It claims that LeBlanc acted with “intentional malice” when arresting Williams, and that his actions led Williams to suffer severe and permanent physical injury. It says LeBlanc intentionally failed to render aid to Williams after he was injured. 

The lawsuit also claims the city is liable for hiring LeBlanc and failing to reasonably train and supervise the officer, who was previously sued by a man for excessive force and battery while he served in Louisiana. The jury in that lawsuit found LeBlanc not guilty. 

After Williams’ arrest in July, Leblanc was placed on paid administrative leave. He later resigned from his position just a day before JPD released the body-worn camera footage of the arrest. In his statements to the Office of Special Prosecutions, he denied any wrongdoing and said he acted out of fear for his own safety during the incident.

Juneau Police Chief Derek Bos defended the department’s hiring of LeBlanc during a presentation to the Juneau Assembly in late September, saying LeBlanc is “a good officer who made a very bad mistake.” 

Barber, William’s attorney, disagrees. 

“Yes, we’re seeking money damages from the entities that are responsible —  all the way from the top on down,” he said. “So if it looks like the City and Borough of Juneau shouldn’t have hired this guy in the first place, we’re going to hold them accountable for that.”

The lawsuit does not specify the amount of damages Williams seeks. 

Juneau’s City Attorney Emily Wright said on Tuesday afternoon that the city had yet to be served with the complaint and could not comment. 

On a sunny afternoon in early August, Atcharee Buntow was running an errand for her mom’s Thai restaurant, topping off their supply of oyster sauce. But when an unmarked vehicle pulled her over on her way home, it became one of the worst days of her life.

A U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent approached her car, and Buntow started taking a video of the encounter on her phone while frantically trying to text her family.

Buntow says she didn’t know what was happening until after the agent put her in handcuffs.

“They did not identify themselves until they had me in custody,” she said in an interview after her release.

Buntow said she was told that she was being detained for overstaying her visa and then taken to a holding facility in Tacoma, Washington. She said she was locked in a dorm with about 60 other women, where it was hard to sleep and meals didn’t come on time.

“Some nights, we didn’t get our dinner till 10:30 p.m., or 11,” she said. “The latest night I ever got dinner was at 2:30 a.m., so I just starved that night.”

She was released on bail about two months later, on Oct. 2.

Buntow, who turns 43 this week, was born in Thailand but has lived in the United States since she was 11. She said she wasn’t aware that there had been any issue with her immigration status, especially after she got married to her first husband, an American citizen.

She’s now married to a different American citizen and is the mother of six American children — four adults and two younger kids. She said the separation was hardest for them.

“My 12-year-old, he was in and out of the hospital for asthma attacks,” Buntow said. “Now that I’m back, he is fine.”

She also has a two-year-old son who relatives say would cry every night she was gone. 

Buntow stayed in touch with family with a tablet she shared with dozens of other women in the detention center. She said those brief calls were one of her only sources of comfort behind bars.

“I was depressed,” Buntow said. “You know, what are they going to do for Thanksgiving? I cook every year. Mac and cheese, sweet potato pie and the green bean casserole. The kids love that.”

Buntow said she feels like her arrest was pretty random. But she’s been convicted of a few nonviolent misdemeanors in Fairbanks over the last couple decades, as well as a felony for fraudulently applying for the Alaska Permanent Fund dividend, according to court records.

She pleaded guilty to falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on her PFD application in 2014. Buntow said that was a mistake she made while she was filling out the PFD paperwork for her children. Now, she’s trying to get the conviction vacated so she can stay in Alaska with her family.

Over the last couple months, Buntow’s friends and neighbors, Fairbanks officials, and state legislators advocated for her release. Fairbanksans held a protest in her honor, and her family was able to crowdfund over $20,000 for her bail.

Buntow said the fundraiser remains active to help cover her legal fees while she tries to secure a green card.

Margaret Stock, an Anchorage-based attorney who is recognized for her expertise in immigration law, said she’s seen many people in Alaska face similar situations this year. And that while the Trump administration insists ICE agents are only picking up the worst of the worst, she sees a lot of collateral damage.

“What I’m seeing are a lot of people being picked up who don’t have a criminal record,” Stock said. “Or it’s something really minor, like they had an encounter with the police, but no charges were filed. In some cases, they’re picking up U.S. citizens.”

Stock said she’s even working with an Alaska military veteran to fight deportation proceedings. She said the majority of people she sees ICE detaining are eligible for a green card, and that she believes ICE is putting pressure on them to leave the country by putting them in detention centers.

But those proceedings can take years. And Stock said legal resources are stretched thin, especially in Alaska.

“It’s pretty hard to find help,” she said. “I mean, there are a few private lawyers, but we’re strapped thin. Right now, the immigration judges have more than 4,000 cases per judge. Getting a hearing with the judge can take a really long time, and you have to comply with a lot of technical rules, so it’s really difficult if you don’t have an attorney.”

That’s the route Buntow is trying to take. Buntow said she’s cautiously hopeful she won’t be deported to Thailand, which doesn’t feel like home anymore.

“I don’t know anything over there,” she said. “I’ve been living here all my life. Where would I live? Where would I go? What will I do without my kids, my husband? I’m happy that I’m back, I’m just scared of what’s going to happen next.”

Her husband, an American citizen who has never left the country before, is preparing to start his life over with her abroad if their worst fears come to pass.

Buntow remains grateful for the time she has with her family and the chance to celebrate her birthday and the holidays together. But her thoughts remain with the other mothers she befriended in the Tacoma detention center.

Buntow is still in touch with a fellow detainee named Paula, an immigrant from the Philippines who was born in Cambodia.

“I just heard Paula got sent to Louisiana, which is worse than Tacoma,” Buntow said. “She has eight children. She’s been in there for 18 months, and her immigration case is over. She was trying to appeal it, and they denied her appeal. I really feel very bad for her. Like, I cried when she told me her story.”

ICE did not respond to interview requests before press time.