The 2010 Hall of Shame

Anne Bremner, attorney of some repute

Seattle attorney Anne Bremner could have exercised her right
to remain silent after she was arrested for driving under the influence.
Instead she claimed she was a hit-and-run victim and had a brain injury that impaired
her driving. Then she asked that the records of her case be sealed because they
could hurt her reputation and were not of interest to the public.

The public disagreed on the interest part. After local
media filed requests for release of the records, and after much newsworthy
legal maneuvering, Bremner pleaded guilty, and took her $5,000 fine and two
days in the pokey as a small price to pay for publicity. D.V.

Mark Phillips, co-founder, former CEO, MOD Systems

Mark Phillips was arrested in March for wire fraud, accused
of stealing up to $5.5 million from MOD Systems, his former company, to spend
on various luxury items such as gold watches, his Belltown condo, prints by
Salvador Dali and a down payment on a space flight. He also offered $10,000 to
a man to have sex with the young adult daughter of a former colleague at MOD
with whom he was upset.

Phillips, who was fired from the media technology firm in
2009, was later released, but then in August, he violated the terms of his bail
again by inhaling four cans of dust cleaner. He was found unconscious on his
bathroom floor and sent back to jail. C.W.

John Kenneth Arnold, co-founder, Intelius

The co-founder of Intelius, John Kenneth Arnold, was
sentenced to 45 days in jail and a $30,000 fine for lying to a grand jury
during a racketeering investigation into strip clubs run by Frank Colacurcio
Sr. and his son, Frank Jr. The lie: that he never engaged in sex acts at one of
the clubs, when in fact he not only hopped in the sack with dancers there, but
also posted reviews of his encounters. On the internet. The elder Colacurcio
died in June, but the younger is still running the family businesses. C.W.

Darren Berg, ex-chairman, Meridian Funds

Darren Bergs collapsed mortgage investment
group, Meridian Funds, continued to unravel, with Berg charged with wire fraud
and money laundering for schemes that defrauded investors of more than $100
million. If that werent bad enough, a bankruptcy judge recently stripped him
of his CEO-ship of MTR Western, a luxury motor coach company he allegedly set
up with Meridian money, although he wasnt above skimming a few million to
remodel his Mercer Island mansion as well. C.W

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