With the artist who police say acted as a “COO” of an illegal card room operation in Seattle facing trial in 2012, friends and supporters of DK Pan will gather at Boylston Ave’s FRED Wildlife Refuge Thursday night for a fundraiser party to raise money for Pan’s legal defense.
The story surrounding the card rooms first surfaced following a SWAT raid at a speakeasy in the back of the Winston Apartments at 11th and Pike in June 2009. Federal investigators tied the gambling operation to a drug ring and busted the organizer of the card room, Rick Wilson and his counterpart, Marshall Reinsch. Wilson and Reinsch both did time for the crimes.
Thursday’s event includes an “informative discussion” with Pan’s lawyer, David Whedbee, and Brendan Kiley of the Stranger who has been covering the allegations against Pan and who put together one of the most comprehensive reports on the allegations of drugs and illegal gambling made by police and prosecutors.
STATE V PAN Launch Party
Thursday, OCTOBER 13, 2011 @ FRED Wildlife Refuge
127 Boylston Avenue East, Seattle, WA
Entrance on Belmont Ave East (across from Captain Blacks)Suggested Donation $5-$50
9pm-1amThis event begins with an informative discussion between Attorney David Whedbee and The Stranger’s Brendan Kiley followed by drinks, 60′s soul music by The Witness, a tiny set by Jose Bold, and dancing with a soundtrack provided by Seattle’s DJ Riz. Plus a mug shot photo booth by Kelly O, slideshow by DK Pan, and a cameo appearance by Orangeman. Hosted by co-MC’s Rachael Ferguson and Jennifer Zeyl.
With the prosecution of Wilson and Reinsch, the Capitol Hill hangout was cleared out and shut down but no more charges were filed and the case seemed to fade away. Then in spring 2011, charges were brought against seven men prosecutors say were involved in the operation of the Capitol Hill room and its other locations as it moved around the city.
Plea deals abound. Four of those men have since pleaded guilty. Two were fugitives until one was arrested last month. Pan, alone at this point, is preparing for trial. Facing three counts of professional gambling in the first degree, Pan and his lawyer pleaded not guilty to the charges.
A working artist, the 39-year-old Pan was selected to curate Sound Transit’s construction wall projects and won the 2011 Stranger Genius award for visual art.
Thursday night’s event has a suggested donation of “$5 -$50″ and benefits State V Pan,”a advocacy organization focused on raising awareness of and raising funds for the legal defense of DK Pan.” Organizers say all additional proceeds after trial costs will benefit the American Civil Liberties Union. Its posters, you might note from the graphic above, include a diamond, heart, club and spade.
Thursday is also Capitol Hill’s monthly art walk — you can learn more at http://www.blitzcapitolhill.com/ — We’ll have more on the walk and the rest of the weekend’s events shortly.
He did it. He is guilty. They ran an illegible card room. What the fuck did they think would happen. Stupid people don’t deserve a bailout because they won’t learn anything.
Unless the guy has a big record, big money and bit ego – plead it out. Others who pleaded guilty will testify against him.
Not much scandal in this city, trial might be good copy….. but not much more.
There are better social causes than this to send money to.
And by the way, the Wall project he is in charge of is less than wonderful, 2-3 years later.
What is it? Don’t tell ME directly. Don’t define it in the comments section. Amend your original copy. Put the definition in parentheses.
I was wondering the same thing, but didn’t comment because I wasn’t sure I’d read everything about it. He DID, do it, right? Illegal gambling tied to a drug ring– is that supposed to be OK? So he pleaded not guilty to the charges– usually that’s a procedural technicality.
What’s next? Should we have fundraisers for people who rob, stab, or assault people on CapHill sidewalks? Is this lawbreaking somehow OK because they’re hipsters, or something? Maybe I’m missing something crucial here, I don’t get it.
Those who are questioning the legitimacy of his fundraising campaign should actually read the Brendan Kiley article. It’s not about whether he did or didn’t do it. It’s about gross misconduct of the Seattle Police Department. It’s about protesting- not just for dK, but for Rick Wilson, who is STILL in prison under ridiculous circumstances.
I totally agree. Read the expose in the linked Stranger article. The ridiculousness of this whole situation and the waste of public resources to end up with this as a result. There was no “drug ring”. And SWAT would not have busted the relatively innocuous “speakeasy” (which was more like a traveling party) if they hadn’t been desperate and embarrassed.
DK has been an instrumental part of the arts community in Seattle for some time. Reading Brendan Kiley’s article in the Stranger about this case was infuriating and informative. To think that the SPD and FBI spent so much time and public funding to investigate a bunch of folks for playing poker is absurd and deserves some accountability. The idea that DK and others were targeted as “domestic terrorists” is also disturbing and just plain wrong. For those that think this issue is just about whether DK played poker or dealt poker is missing the larger picture of domestic spying by law enforcement and selective prosecution. I would encourage folks to read more about the case before chiming in with stupid comments. I was able to attend the event last night and listening to DK’s attorney, David Whedbee, and Brendan talk about the complexities of the case was very informative and made me want to support DK all the more in his efforts. Kudos to him for taking a stand.
It’s a pretty common abbreviation, Crow. It means “Chief Operating Officer.” While AP style dictates that you should spell it out on the first use and use the acronym thereafter, I don’t think indie blogs have to comply with AP style.
Here’s another acronym for you: JFGI.
Btw- you might want to check your wording there.
il·leg·i·ble/iˈlejəbəl/
Adjective:
Not clear enough to be read: “his handwriting is totally illegible”.
Synonyms:
unreadable – indecipherable
Jus’ sayin’.