Thomas Fenton Smith

Thomas Fenton Smith III resigned as the town council for Basalt under controversy. Moreover, this article was in the Aspen paper: Accusations brought against Basalt town attorney Tom Smith in February by resident Mary Kenyon could have serious ramifications. But the process is protracted and con...voluted, with only a small percentage of cases making their way up the investigatory ladder. On May 2, the Attorney Regulation Counsel of the Colorado Supreme Court sent Smith a “Request for Investigation,” in which it outlined four accusations made by Kenyon.... According to James C. Coyle, director of the 
Attorney Regulation Counsel, about 3,500 “Requests for Investigation” are filed each year. “They are often filed by opposing parties in a case, such as one party of a divorce case who thinks the opposing attorney misrepresented facts,” Coyle said. “Other types of disputes can also trigger a request for investigation.” Coyle stressed that he is not familiar with the Smith case and, even if he was, he would not be able to comment upon it. According to Kenyon, she filed her Request for Investigation with the Attorney Regulation Counsel because of what she perceived as conflicts of interest stemming from Smith’s representation of Basalt town mayor Jacque Whitsitt and Basalt town clerk Pam Schilling during questioning by Colorado Fifth District Attorney Bruce Brown last July. The questioning was in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation into the conduct of both Whitsitt and Schilling related to alleged improper communications that Kenyon alleged took place before, during and after the April 2016 municipal elections. Kenyon contends that, during that questioning, Smith was representing the interests of both Whitsitt and Schilling. But, according to Kenyon, Smith eventually billed the town of Basalt for his services — meaning he was allegedly functioning as the town attorney when Brown was questioning Whitsitt and Schilling as individuals, rather than employees of Basalt. It was during that protracted process, during which Whitsitt and Schilling were exonerated, that Kenyon contends Smith’s lines blurred. “He billed the town for personally representing Jacque and Pam,” Kenyon alleged. “Then Aspen Public Radio interviewed him and asked if he didn’t think that was a conflict of interest. During that interview, he issued what amounted to a mea culpa and promised to pay the town back the money he was paid. He has never done that.” According to an invoice obtained by Kenyon, the amount is $641. Smith, who has been Basalt’s town attorney for about 10 years, vociferously disputes the allegations made by Kenyon, who practiced law in Michigan. “On July 1, 2016, the District Attorney’s office was deciding, based upon allegations made by Mary Kenyon, whether to pursue criminal charges against Jacque and Pam,” Smith said. “Since the issue was based upon the performance of their duties as town employees, and since I am the town attorney, I was there to represent them, which was perfectly appropriate. Had criminal charges been brought against them, that would have been a different story. The DA decided to not bring criminal charges, so the point it moot.” Smith added that, since he attended the interrogations in his capacity as town attorney, it was appropriate for him to bill the town for what amounted to about three hours of work. “No one in the town government — including staff or council — has ever asked me to reimburse the town,” Smith said. “If they had asked, I would have been happy to do so.” According to the Request for Investigation letter sent from the Attorney Regulation counsel to Smith, Kenyon accuses Smith of billing improper fees, conflicts of interest, something called “lawyer as witness” and, according to Coyle, the potentially most serious charge, dishonesty. Google Tom Smith "dishonesty" Aspen for more articles