News Briefs
June 11
Cornerstone hearing postponed
POLSON — Montana State Auditor’s office officials confirmed last Thursday afternoon that the first hearing concerning the Cornerstone Financial Corporation fraud investigations has been postponed for 45 days.
The original hearing was set for June 9, but late last week a judge granted an extension on request of the respondents.
Keith Kovick and Robert Congdon, partner/owners of Cornerstone Financial Corporation, which operated out of Polson beginning in 2000, have been named in state legal action for their alleged involvement in committing a securities fraud in the form of a Ponzi scheme that included at least 100 investors with investments totaling more than $14.4 million in 181 unregistered securities.
On July 21, the first court proceeding will be held in Helena to begin sorting through the legal side of the alleged involvement of two Polson men in what could become the largest Ponzi scheme in Montana history.
-Reporter Jenna Cederberg
Officials seek house fire leads
Th Polson Fire Department is looking into a house fire that occurred at approximately 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, June 6. The residence is located at 203 10th Ave. W. The house is still under construction.
People in the neighborhood have seen people in and out of the house during the past several months. This fire was caused by an open flame set to burnable materials.
There was extensive damage done and costs to repair and ready the house for sale will be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
If you have seen anyone in or around this residence, please call the Polson Police Department at 883-8210 or the Polson Fire Department at 883-8220.
-Courtesy of the Polson Fire Department
Crime lab reports suspect bone not human
ELMO — What appeared to be a human shin bone discovered by an Elmo couple while mowing the yard 12 days ago has now been reported to be a large dog or deer’s leg bone, according to state crime lab test results.
The bone was located in the yard at a residence on the 400 block of Kalispell Avenue and reported to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 4:03 p.m. on May 31. Due to the bone’s likeness to a human bone and the fact that a piece of fabric cloth was found on it, the remains were investigated as if it were that of a person’s.
Reserve Deputy Ethan Smith responded to the call, documenting the scene with photos and collecting the bone and evidence to be sent to the crime lab in Missoula. Smith explained that his department has the responsibility to verify not only if the bone is human, but if the remains are of American Indian ancestry, as it is not uncommon for people to come across a long-lost burial site in the area.
Smith added that since the bone was found in Elmo, the possibility of it being a culturally or historically significant site to the Salish and Kootenai Tribes was high.
“You just never know if it’s someone’s grandparent or great-grandparent so we always check to make sure,” Smith said.
The last American Indian remains that were uncovered locally were found on Feb. 12 at a construction site near Woods Bay. Lab experts confirmed that the bones were of a native male, 13-14 years in age, with a historic magnitude dating to the pre-Civil War era.
Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Sargeant said his department has two major concerns when bones are found that could be human: One, are they of historical or cultural value; and two, is it evidence in a crime? If it is a human’s remains the sheriff’s office secures the evidence and advises Tribal law enforcement and the Tribes’ cultural department.
The investigators also need to confirm that the remains are not connected to either of the department’s two open missing persons cases. Two females that went missing in 2005 and 2006 in Lake County have still not been located.
Lt. Sargeant confirmed that human bones are come across more often than most would think, as Montana’s burial laws are quite liberal allowing people to bury loved ones remains in their backyard or on family property if the right disposition paperwork is filed.