Feds: State Auditor Troy Kelley paid more than $900,000 in stolen money to law firm

SEATTLE (AP) — Federal prosecutors say indicted Washington State Auditor Troy Kelley paid more than $900,000 in stolen money to his high-priced law firm.

They want a judge to determine whether that creates a conflict of interest for his attorney.

In a motion filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, they asked Judge Ronald Leighton to examine whether attorney Mark Bartlett has a conflict of interest in representing Kelley.

Bartlett is a former senior federal prosecutor who is now with the firm of Davis Wright Tremaine.

Kelley is on leave from his state job as he fights a criminal indictment alleging he stole money from clients of his former business, a real estate services firm, and evaded taxes.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle says that in March, after Kelley was told he was likely to be indicted, he transferred $447,000 to the IRS and $908,000 to Davis Wright Tremaine.

Law firms sometimes hold contested funds without spending them, pending a case's outcome.

Bartlett said Tuesday night he had no comment.