04-15-2010, 05:44 PM
Not to beat a dead stick with a horse, but the mayor of West Linn is still creating humor and chaos. The FBI ate my San Jose State degree! 
Oh please, lady, keep fighting these charges, it seems to bring out your creativity.
Oh please, lady, keep fighting these charges, it seems to bring out your creativity.Quote:Court records indicate West Linn Mayor Patti Galle lied on election form
By Yuxing Zheng, The Oregonian
April 14, 2010, 9:00PM
WEST LINN -- West Linn Mayor Patti Galle purchased a college degree online two months ago and backdated the diploma to support claims that she was "degreed in English" when she ran for office in 2008, court records show.
The Oregon Department of Justice, which is conducting a criminal investigation of Galle's pre-election claims, disclosed preliminary findings to a Clackamas County judge last month in requesting a search warrant. The affidavit and related documents were released this week at the request of The Oregonian.
Making false statements on an official election document is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $125,000 fine.
On April 1, investigators searched Galle's home and city office, seizing two laptop computers, a cell phone, diploma and financial records. Galle subsequently cleaned out her city office but has not resigned.
Although Galle's diploma from Redding University was dated 1973, investigators said the operation is a "diploma mill" established in 2003. Court records show investigators also seized a computer receipt showing Galle bought the diploma Feb. 12.
Galle and her attorney, Jeffrey Seymour, declined to discuss her education credentials.
"I have not been able to and cannot comment now on this case as it is ongoing," Galle wrote in an e-mail Wednesday. "I am confident when all the facts are in and all parties have had an opportunity to speak, it will resolve itself satisfactorily."
The criminal investigation is the latest in a series of disruptions involving West Linn officials. On Feb. 8, city councilors censured the mayor, accusing her of unprofessional behavior and asking her to make changes or resign. Galle previously had asked the state attorney general and the FBI to investigate what she called corruption in the West Linn government. The attorney general found no basis for Galle's allegations.
The Oregon secretary of State originally launched the investigation of Galle's education credentials after receiving a citizen complaint in January 2009.
In filing to run for mayor in 2008, Galle claimed that she was "degreed in English with an emphasis on teaching."
Last July, Galle told an investigator that she had received a bachelor of arts degree from San Jose State University. The university found no record of her, but Galle offered an explanation.
"Galle told (the investigator) that FBI had investigated her during the 1970s because she was a member of the Animal Liberation Front," according to the affidavit the state Department of Justice filed in Clackamas County Circuit Court. "She stated that the FBI may have lost her records."
The militant animal rights group was founded in 1976 in England.
Investigators confirmed that Galle, then known by her maiden name of Patricia Bologna, did take courses at San Jose City College in the 1970s but did not receive a degree.
Representatives of Redding University told investigators that Galle had applied for a degree Feb. 5, according to court documents. The university awards degrees in 48 fields based on life/work experience.
A week later, Galle paid Redding University for an Associate of Arts Degree, which Redding's Web site lists as costing $375. Also available are bachelor's degrees for $395, master's degrees for $425 and doctorates for $475. For an additional $45, customers can select a GPA for their transcripts.
On Feb. 19, Galle's attorney sent investigators an electronic copy of Galle's Redding University diploma. Investigators later seized the original from a bottom drawer in Galle's master bedroom.
State investigators also subpoenaed Galle's academic records at Marylhurst University, where she recently enrolled.
Galle wrote in one e-mail to Marylhurst that "I am looking forward to enrolling in the Prior Learning Assessment Program as I have not finished the course work necessary for my degree," according to the affidavit. On her application, under a section asking about the highest degree/certificate earned after high school, Galle marked the box "some college courses" instead of other ones for Associate, Bachelor's, or Master's degrees.
Tony Green, spokesman for the Department of Justice, declined to comment on the ongoing criminal investigation.
This isn't the first time an Oregon elected official has run into trouble over statements in official election documents, which by law must be truthful and accurate.
Former Oregon Rep. Wes Cooley was convicted in 1997 of claiming that he had served in Korea. In fact, he never left the United States. He was sentenced to two years' probation, ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service. And in 1984, voters swiftly recalled then-Rep. Pat Gillis after he stated, incorrectly, that he had earned a master's degree.
If Galle is convicted, the West Linn City Council could remove her from office.
"If the mayor or any councilor were convicted of a crime that's punishable by loss of liberty, they are no longer, apparently, qualified to hold office, and the council could declare a vacancy in that position," City Manager Chris Jordan said.
A special election could then be held to fill the vacancy.