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Michael Kenneth Webb had a good thing going. After 35 years in radio, he was a weekday talk-show host from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on 50,000-watt KIRO-AM (710), a once-legendary leader in the nation's 14th-biggest radio market. As a self-proclaimed "liberal with a loud 'L,'" Webb, 50, was by far the most politically progressive radio host in town. Bush administration critic and former Iraq weapons inspector Scott Ritter was a favorite guest, as was U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle. Webb's abrasive, confrontational style, particularly with occasional conservative callers or guests, rubbed some the wrong way. But he had a loyal following. (Disclosure: I was a guest on Webb's show a number of times. He always treated me well, but I'm a progressive myself.)
One night in December, Webb was abruptly gone from the airwaves. His listeners would have had no idea why unless they read blogs about radio or caught one of the two articles about him in The Seattle Times. Webb says he's not sure himself why he was fired. You could call that disingenuous considering he's up on a criminal felony charge and faces a trial next month, but this story's not that simple.
On Dec. 6, a warrant was issued for Webb's arrest on suspicion of felony insurance fraud. An additional investigation, of possible forgery, apparently has been dropped. On Dec. 20, Webb was arraigned in King County Superior Court and pleaded not guilty. He was initially released on personal recognizance, then on bond of $5,050. After several postponements, a pretrial hearing is set for April 21. Webb's trial is scheduled to begin May 4.
Those are the seemingly straightforward facts. But the tale that precedes Webb being charged with a crime is a twisty one. It's about a radio talent who alternately impresses and pisses off co-workers, whose work habits have been questioned, whose firing is tangled up in the demise of once-legendary KIRO-AM, and who helped decertify his union. On top of everything else, some question the liberal credentials of this irrepressible talker.
The local, lefty talk-radio blog BlatherWatch (blatherwatch.blogs.com) broke the story of Webb's court proceedings in December. It was great fodder. The Seattle police probable-cause report details a bizarre story. On June 28, 2005, in the Eastlake neighborhood near the studios of KIRO, Webb's black 2000 Lexus was hit by a motorist who ran a yield sign. Webb showed police a proof-of- insurance card from National Merit. A report was filled out, and Webb was left with an estimated $4,000 in damage to his car.
According to investigators, on the next day, June 29, "according to Geico records, the defendant applied for and received motor vehicle insurance for his Lexus. . . . Geico records indicate that the initial payment of $151.00 was debited from his account on 6-29-05 at 15:31 local time. The next payment was debited from his account, again for $151, on 7-4-05 at 19:47 local time."
The day after Webb opened his policy, the police report says, Geico received an e-mail from Webb: "I need to get a copy via email as promised. I signed up day before yesterday and they said it would come same day, can you please check this out? Thank you, Mike Webb." Later that day of June 30, Webb allegedly called Geico to claim damages from the accident two days previous— an event that occurred, according to Geico's records, the day before he bought insurance.
Geico launched an investigation. Webb told an insurance investigator that he had opened his policy with Geico on May 20. He made that claim in taped conversations with both a Geico claims representative on July 5 and at a meeting with the same Geico investigator, Webb, and Webb's lawyer in the lawyer's office on Aug. 1.
The police report continues: "During the interview of 8-1-05 . . . [the Geico investigator] was presented by the defendant with a redacted copy of the defendant's Washington Mutual on-line banking statement for the date range of 5-19-05 to 6-15-05. . . . Highlighted on this copy of the bank statement were account debits on 5-20-05 in the amount of $151.00 from DIRECTDEBIT/ VISA-GEICO and 6-7-05 in the amount of $151.00. . . . The defendant contends that these deductions are proof that the defendant's Geico policy was effective in May 2005 and in effect when the accident occurred on 6-28-05. [The investigator] requested permission from the defendant to view his on-line banking record or to give him consent to get a copy of his banking statement directly from Washington Mutual Bank but both requests were denied."
Police then obtained a search warrant for Webb's WaMu records and found that they matched Geico's timeline, not Webb's: one Geico deduction for $151 on June 30, another on July 8, but nothing in May or early June.
One other damning bit of evidence emerges in court documents: Geico issues 10-digit policy numbers to new accounts. The first nine digits are chronological—the next customer to open an account gets the next number. The 10th digit is irrelevant to the sequence. The initial nine-digit policy numbers issued immediately before and after Webb's new Geico policy were both opened on June 29.
And the insurance card Webb showed the police officer investigating his June 28 accident? National Merit says that policy expired in 2001. Webb claims the policy was "months, not years," out of date.
