Here’s why prosecutors clashed over ex-mayor’s massage parlor case - Tri-City Herald

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How a Tri-Cities mayor became involved with illicit massage parlors​

The Tri-Cities was rocked when Kennewick’s mayor resigned suddenly on Nov. 7, 2023, with news of his involvement with illicit massage parlors coming just days later.

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Did former Kennewick Mayor Bill McKay escape charges in a scandal involving paying for sexual services at illicit massage parlors because no one wanted to prosecute him? The answer isn’t as cut and dry as it might seem.


New emails obtained by the Tri-City Herald through the Open Public Records Act show that the former Benton County prosecutor got into a heated exchange with his successor over how McKay’s scandal was being handled and why it wasn’t referred to an outside prosecutor sooner.


Pierce County Prosecutor Mary Robnett, who eventually reviewed the case, recently told the Tri-City Herald that while she was prepared to bring charges against McKay if they were warranted, she was unable to, in part, because someone may have tipped off one of the massage parlors being investigated for sex trafficking.


As the information about the case first became public last November the former prosecutor, Andy Miller, reached out to his successor asking why he hadn’t already requested an outside prosecutor and urging him to do so before it was too late to build a potential case.


Prosecutor Eric Eisinger first learned about the situation months earlier, but believed his office had handled it appropriately. Eisinger had stepped away from personally handling the case because he felt his personal relationship with McKay would be seen as a conflict of interest.


Police never sent a referral to Eisinger’s office because city leadership had made the decision early on to handle the situation the same as Kennewick police would with anyone else who came forward. The department’s policy has been to go after the owners and traffickers, rather than people paying for sexual services.


Eisinger told Miller he was going to cut off communication with him after several email exchanges.



Andy Miller Bob Brawdy bbrawdy@tricityherald.com

Despite this, Eisinger requested an outside prosecutor a few days later. Miller retired at the end of 2022 after 36 years in the role, making him one of the longest serving elected prosecutors in the history of Washington state.

Building a case​

Robnett told the Herald that while it might have been better to make the request as soon as possible, in this case the timing likely wouldn’t have made a difference.


“I say that because when I spoke to the task force commander ..., by the time they executed their search warrant, the place had been cleaned out. They had either been tipped off or knew,” Robnett said.


“My rough understanding was that this was not referred by the police to the prosecutor right away. The police felt like they had nothing but a confession, which you can’t make a criminal case out of that, they realized it was not a prosecutable case.”


While Kennewick police also have said that the owners were potentially tipped off about the raid, they have not indicated they suspect anyone of doing so.


McKay first approached Guerrero at a council meeting the night before a raid on a Clearwater Avenue business suspected of engaging in sex trafficking, as part of a Chelan County investigation.


Guerrero said he didn’t share any specifics about the upcoming raid with McKay. It is unclear why McKay chose to broach the subject at that time, though he did later admit to paying for a “happy ending” at the illicit massage parlor that was raided the next day.


Chelan County investigators have since said they believe those business owners have fled the country.


She said the parlor being cleared out meant that building a case was unlikely. Without a witness she believes a case could have been built had enough evidence been collected, but with no witnesses or evidence all they had to go on was McKay’s confession.


In her review of the case, Robnett noted that McKay admitted to paying twice for sexual services.


Robnett said that she is in favor of strong policies that also go after people who solicit prostitutes.


“Quite frankly, I have no problem building a case or filing charges on a solicitor or a ‘John,’ I do think it sends a strong message,” she said.


“I do favor a policy of prosecuting those customers when we can, I just think it’s a shame that you have this situation with human trafficking. It’s a horrific crime that takes a terrible, terrible toll on victims.”


Robnett said that Miller had been a mentor figure for her and she greatly respects his opinion, but didn’t think any delay in Eisinger’s request could have led to a different outcome due to lack of evidence.


“I’m sorry this investigation ended the way it did, without a successful prosecution,” she said.

Prosecutor discussion​

On Nov. 8, the day after McKay’s sudden resignation from the council, Miller reached out to Eisinger in an email about rumors that were flying around that could have painted Eisinger in a bad light due to his connection to McKay.



Bill McKay Courtesy City of Kennewick

McKay had donated $1,875 to Eisinger’s campaign when he ran for prosecutor, and he had publicly lauded Eisinger at council meetings.


Miller asked Eisinger if a police referral involving McKay had ever been sent to his office and for copies of related documents, according to the emails obtained by the Herald.


Eisinger told Miller that the office never received a formal request and that the Kennewick city attorney had not filed charges and the police department did not consider McKay’s involvement a criminal matter. Miller offered to share that information with others wondering the same.


Afterward Miller sent another email offering his some advice on how he had handled similar cases in his years in that office. He ended by suggesting that Eisinger appoint a special prosecutor since the city attorney would not have been able to file state charges, only local violations.


Eisinger’s responded telling Miller he was confident they had handled the matter appropriately, and that a forthcoming public documents release would shed more light on why there were no charges filed.


The conversation became more heated as Eisinger said he planned to take a few days off after finishing a long murder trial and that he wouldn’t be responding to questions about McKay during that time.


“I tried many cases that were much longer than eight days. I never needed to take a couple of days off,” Miller wrote in response. “I’m not sure how precluding a potential review of state felony charges for a friend is appropriate, but it’s your decision.”


Eisinger responded, telling Miller he wouldn’t discuss the matter any further, calling Miller’s comments “baseless accusations.”


“Let me put this very plainly. I took no action to preclude any potential charges against Bill McKay,” Eisinger wrote. “As soon as I became aware of this issue, I disclosed it to a number of people within my office to ensure that it was handled appropriately. It is precisely because of your baseless accusation that I am very grateful that I took these steps. It is all documented and you are welcome to request it by a public record request. I have copied (public records officer) Hope Houck on this email for that very reason. As I said, I will be taking the next couple of days off and will not engage with you on this any further.”



Benton County Prosecutor Eric Eisinger stepped away from personally handling the case because he felt his personal connection with Bill McKay would be seen as a conflict of interest. Bob Brawdy bbrawdy@tricityherald.com

Miller responded, again urging Eisinger to appoint a special prosecutor.


“I don’t understand why you do not want a fellow Prosecutor to review the case. I don’t see the harm of handling this case like every case has been handled in the past 36 years — or like every other Prosecutor’s Office in the state handles situations like this,” Miller wrote. “And maybe I’m missing something ... if McKay committed a state felony, and that is a big if, and the US Attorney’s office does not charge — is there any path for filing charges under your action(?)“


Despite Eisinger initially saying a special prosecutor was not necessary, Miller continued to urge him to reconsider, pointing out that a decision not to charge by the city could be viewed as an impossible choice because McKay was their boss as the mayor of the city council.


“I understand that you are in a challenging situation but I do not believe that this is going away. Faith in the criminal justice system is important and many in the community are concerned about their perception that McKay is escaping criminal prosecution because of his campaign contributions etc.,” Miller wrote.


“McKay may very well be innocent, not charging him may be appropriate — but it does not appear that an independent prosecutor has reviewed this case. You can correct that by following (Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys) practice.”


Eisinger ended up requesting an outside prosecutor about a week later.


According to the emails, he reached out to Robnett, who Miller had suggested would be a good fit due to her experience with complex cases and history of prosecuting sex crimes. And Eisinger emailed Miller to let him know he’d asked her to review it.


This story was originally published February 21, 2024, 5:00 AM.

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Cory is an award-winning investigative reporter. He joined the Tri-City Herald in Dec. 2021 as an Editor/Reporter covering social accountability issues. His past work can be found in the Tyler Morning Telegraph and other Texas newspapers. He was a 2019-20 Education Writers Association Fellow, and has been featured on The Murder Tapes, Grave Mysteries and Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen.


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