Pubdate: Wed, 18 Feb. 1998 Source: The Herald, Everett, WA Contact: http://www.heraldnet.com Author: Scott North, Herald Writer Note: You can contact Scott North by phone at 425-339-3431 or you can send e-mail to him at LAWYER GRILLED ON POT RING Mestel denies any wrongdoing SEATTLE -- An Everett lawyer found the tables turned Tuesday as he took the witness stand in U.S. District Court, and was questioned for 1 1/2hours regarding his knowledge of a large marijuana-growing ring. Mark Mestel, a veteran of more than 400 jury trials, submitted to the questioning at a pretrial hearing in the case of two Eastern Washington men awaiting trial on federal charges stemming from the alleged pot-growing conspiracy. At issue was how much Mestel knew about the drug ring, exactly how and when the attorney provided legal representation to the men, and whether that contact was protected by attorney-client privilege. Lawyers for Gregory Haynes and James Denton asked Judge Thomas Zilly to throw out evidence against the pair. They alleged federal prosecutors stepped over the line when they recruited Dale Fairbanks, a private investigator who had worked closely with Mestel, to become a government informant on the case, supplying investigators with evidence. "The majority of the information comes from the direct violation of the attorney-client relationship," Haynes' attorney, Allen Ressler, told the judge. Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Whalley said Mestel didn't represent the pair during the time the government's investigation was under way. Moreover, the defendants illegally abused their relationship with Mestel, misleading him about the ownership of a Stanwood farm where some of the marijuana growing took place, the prosecutor said. The prosecutor on Tuesday called Todd Hollibaugh, a co-defendant in the drug case. The former Stanwood man alleged he, Haynes and Denton conspired to have Mestel file misleading paperwork in a 1994 civil case connected to the drug-growing operation. Hollibaugh went so far as to claim Mestel knew some of the information supplied to government officials was bogus and designed to lead them away from Haynes and Denton. When called to testify, Mestel flatly denied misleading anyone or having knowledge about the inner workings of the pot-growing ring. He was less certain, however, about whether his clients may have duped him into making fraudulent representations. "I don't know," Mestel said, his eyes downcast. "I don't know if I was tricked or I was used." The lawyer testified he was not actively representing either Haynes or Denton when Fairbanks became a government informant in January 1996. But he also said he always encouraged clients to trust Fairbanks. "I tell my clients that he is my alter ego," he said. "If they can tell me, they can tell him." Fairbanks and Mestel no longer work together, and Mestel testified that had he known the private investigator was secretly working for the government, he would have broken off ties immediately. Before Zilly let Mestel leave the stand, he asked the lawyer to respond to Fairbanks' testimony in an earlier hearing about alleged marijuana deliveries from Haynes to Mestel using Fairbanks. Mestel acknowledged that pot deliveries happened twice, and both times involved small amounts of marijuana he had not requested. The attorney said the first time the marijuana arrived, he threw it away. Mestel testified that after the second delivery, he told Fairbanks to get the pot out of his office and never bring him more. Fairbanks is scheduled to testify today. You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]