PORT ANGELES — A second-degree organized retail theft charge against Tony A. Cortani of Sequim has been dismissed.
The case stemmed from alleged thefts that occurred at three Sequim stores the day after Thanksgiving of last year.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge George L. Wood dismissed the charge without prejudice Thursday.
Cortani, 41, pled not guilty to second-degree theft in December and not guilty to second-degree organized retail theft when the case was refiled in June.
Cortani, who owns Tim’s Custom Cabinets in Sequim, maintained his innocence Friday.
“My business is still open as usual,” Cortani said.
“I wanted to thank all my friends, family and customers that always gave me the benefit of the doubt.”
Cortani said publicity surrounding the case “really did do a lot of damage for the business.”
After the first case was dismissed Jan. 20, Cortani was re-charged with his father, William E. Cortani, 67, of Manteca, Calif., on June 9.
Prosecutors said they filed the new charge based on “more extensive work done by law enforcement.”
‘Double-dipped’
Sequim police had alleged that the Cortanis “doubled-dipped” merchandise — meaning they purchased an item to get a receipt, stashed the item and returned to take more of the same item using the original receipt — from the Sequim Walmart.
A 15-page police report alleges thefts of three flat-screen TVs from Walmart; drills, industrial lights and batteries from The Home Depot; and a Motorola Bluetooth and a Casio watch from Costco Wholesale.
The alleged thefts occurred on the busy post-holiday shopping spree known as Black Friday.
An eight-day trial had been set to begin Sept. 12.
Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Troberg filed a motion and order to dismiss Tony Cortani’s charge without prejudice Thursday.
“The basis for the motion is that this office has increasingly limited prosecutorial resources,” Troberg wrote in the motion and order.
“It makes sense to bring this Class C property crime to trial only if the two co-defendants could be tried together.
“Unfortunately, that is not possible because co-defendant William Cortani is not amenable to service of summons.”
Efforts to serve William E. Cortani in Clallam County and in California have failed, Troberg said.
An arrest warrant was issued July 15.
“He is either purposefully evading service or is at an unknown location” Troberg wrote.
“The stronger case is against the elder Mr. Cortani, and a multiday trial against Anthony Cortani only would simply not be an effective use of resources of the criminal justice system.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
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