From the March 2000 Idaho Observer:

Tom Blewett -- Leas' probation officer -- may be in serious trouble

By The Idaho Observer

MOSCOW -- State of Idaho Department of Correction Probation Officer and first cousin of Judge John Stegner Tom Blewett may have been a little overzelous in his attempts to manufacture a probation violation that would throw Fred Leas, 51, of Helmer, in prison. It appears that the judge's cousin attempted to place false evidence in the form of a baseless letter alleging indecent liberties with minor children into Leas' file.

Leas was sentenced to time served and five years probation by Judge Stegner in 1997 for custodial interference in a child custody dispute that began in 1993 over the four Leas children when his former wife left him to marry a man who, by all accounts, is a violent and sexually perverse alcoholic/drug abuser/drug dealer. Leas is a kind and simple man who has never given up hope that his two young girls Audrey, 13, and Hattie, 11, will one day be released from the (court sanctioned) homelife of hell with their mother and stepfather and be allowed to live with him. Leas' patience, persistence and love for his girls has been exposing a cabal of corruption in Latah county. The cabal that Leas is exposing includes Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson and his deputy Robin Eckman (both of whom have attempted repeatedly to maliciously and frivolously prosecute Leas over crimes which were manufactured by his ex-wife Ruth Mohr and her husband Paul, but refused to prosecute the Mohrs even when it was proven that they have filed false police reports to prompt the malicious prosecutions of an innocent man), Judge Stegner (who has allowed falsified documents and evidence into his court on behalf of the prosecution but has refused to allow potentially exculpatory evidence into his court if it might help Leas), Idaho Legal Aid Attorney Maureen Laflin (a longtime friend of Judge Stegner who has, at taxpayer expense, been representing the Mohrs as they manufacture crimes in an attempt to put Leas behind bars), Child Psychologist and friend of the court Greg Wilson (who possesses a videotape of the girls that describes in detail what life with mommy is like and would prove that all of the above are protecting the wrong people in this case) and countless Child Protective Services people (who have done nothing to help this man provide a decent home for his girls), and members of the Latah County Sheriff's Department (who have been party to the crimes manufactured against Leas and have done their part to harass him).

Blewett was apparently called in to keep the indignant father from exposing the unethical and underworld activities of the county's elected leadership by finding a way to cite Leas with a probation violation serious enough to justify his cousin, the judge, sending him to prison for the duration of his sentence.

The plot thickened last April when Judge Greg Kalbfleish ordered that Leas be allowed to have his daughters for the summer. This development undoubtedly sent shockwaves through the people mentioned above who appear to fear that their activities, which the evidence suggests are connected to an underworld relationship with Paul Mohr, will become public knowledge.

Probation arrangements are a contract between the state and a convicted individual that can only be altered through court action. Blewett arbitrarily imposed curfews on Leas without a court order. Blewett also entered Leas' home while he was away working and searched the place thoroughly in the hopes of finding something that would lead to his arrest.

Unable to find anything on the law-abiding Leas, Blewett convinced an unidentified person to compose a letter that claimed he had witnessed Leas take indecent liberties with his daughters last summer. The letter was so baseless and so absurd that Thompson would not file charges against Leas over Blewett's letter. (perhaps Thompson learned his lesson when the Mohrs manufactured a sodomy rape at gunpoint and convinced the county prosecutor to attempt trying Leas for the heinous crime).

Then, last November, it was discovered in open court during a hearing to reevaluate Leas' probation based upon charges by Blewett, that Judge Stegner and Blewett were first cousins. Since that time, Stegner has been forced to recuse himself from the Leas case and has been replaced by Judge Reinhardt of Grangeville.

Judge Reinhardt, in a recent teleconference with Leas and his attorney Steve Mahaffey, stated that he was not even going to read the letter and that he would remove the letter from the file and throw it in the garbage.

(Tom) Blewett. The probation officer's relationship with the judge, his obvious bias against Leas and his attempt to use a wholly false document to throw him in prison are actionable offenses not exactly becoming of a public servant.

We will continue to report on the Leas case as it unfolds. This is most exciting as we are witnessing a case where decency and love are overcoming evil. The Leas case is a lesson for all of us.