Councilwoman's son accused of theft

The son of Lacey City Councilwoman Ann Burgman is charged with stealing $1.4 million of trust fund money and an additional $400,000 belonging to the family's two funeral homes.

Joseph Patrick Burgman, 38, was charged Wednesday in Thurston County Superior Court with eight counts of first-degree theft; 31 counts of second-degree theft; three counts of third-degree theft; and one count of unlawful use of criminal proceeds.

The trust fund that Burgman is accused of stealing from was used by the funeral home to cover the costs of prearranged funerals, and to maintain cemeteries and burial sites, said Thurston County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Wheeler, who filed the charges Wednesday.

The thefts occurred when Burgman was vice president of Southwick Corp., which controls the family's two funeral homes — Forest Funeral Home in Shelton and and Woodlawn Funeral Home in Lacey.

Ann Burgman, who has served on the Lacey City Council since 1993, said she does not have a phone number for her son. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday. He has confessed to the crimes and will be summoned to court later, court papers state.

Ann Burgman said in a phone interview Wednesday, "His father and I are very saddened by this episode. It's not anything we ever thought he'd be involved in."

According to court papers:

• Auditors began investigating Burgman's financial activities when his ex-wife contacted the Department of Licensing Business and Professional Divisions in August. Auditors in those divisions discovered "a series of thefts, frauds, and criminal use of proceeds," and contacted the State Patrol.

• Burgman's ex-wife reported to the state that "Burgman was involved in criminal activity involving the family-owned corporation using stolen money for 'get rich quick schemes.' "

• Burgman's alleged crimes began March 30, 2001, when he fraudulently obtained signature authority for the corporation and used it to remove $1.4 million in trust fund money and broke the law by placing it "in a financial institution that did not meet the state required guidelines for maintaining the money in a FDIC-insured institution."

• Burgman put the $1.4 million in a high-risk investment company called Vortex Financial that was not FDIC-insured. To hide this deception from audit, Burgman "created fictitious bank statements purportedly showing that money was safely protected in FDIC accounts."

• After Vortex Financial went into federal receivership, Burgman was able to get back $900,000 of the money he had fraudulently invested. In 2003, he invested $500,000 of the money in a company called Quest, which later became Learn Waterhouse. In early 2004, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seized the assets of Learn Waterhouse, which was involved an apparent pyramid scheme. Burgman placed a claim with the SEC for $400,000.

• In 2003, Burgman was granted a $350,000 loan in Southwick's name without authority of the corporation. Burgman invested this money in a cartoon movie company.

• In 2005, Burgman filed a report with the Department of Licensing suggesting that Southwick had $1.4 million in assets that was FDIC-insured.

• From 2003 to 2006, Burgman dipped into Southwick's trust funds 41 more times, stealing smaller amounts for personal use. These amounts totaled more than $40,000.

• In fall 2006, Burgman told his father he had taken some of the trust fund money. He also later confessed to state and State Patrol investigators.

Wheeler said Wednesday that the State Patrol has told him Burgman is working for a funeral home in Tacoma.

According to a Web site for Woodlawn-Forest Funeral Homes, the Burgman family opened its first funeral home in 1935 on Broadway in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood.

"In 1964, the business was sold to Seattle University," the Web site states. "Tim Burgman, along with his mother, Aunt Lucy and young family moved to Lacey in 1965, where they opened a new funeral home on Pacific Avenue."

In 1967, the Burgmans purchased the historic Lacey Pioneer Cemetery and adjacent property, the site states.

Each of Burgman's eight first-degree theft counts is a class B felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Each count of second-degree theft and the single count of unlawful use of criminal proceeds is a class C felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Third-degree theft is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Jeremy Pawloski covers public safety for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465 or jpawloski@theolympian.com.