The Blaine County Journal materialized in 1995 with a purpose to drive Mike Perry out of business. Sheriff Maddox was appointed after Jack Harrington had decided that he wanted to retire and move back to Butte. Sheriff Harrington's retirement came just a few months into his investigation of local smuggling and corruption allegations. Two years of operating at a loss was all it took to ruin Mike Perry's business and force Perry to sell out to the rival Journal.
It was only after Sheriff Maddox began to go around store-to-store in uniform and remove the Chinook Opinion newspapers that Perry was convinced he would have to go to court in order to save his business. The Blaine County Commisioners had given the county print jobs to the Journal. Legal and official advertising was directed to the Journal despite the fact the Perry owned Chinook Opinion was the official newspaper for Blaine County. The Journal sold advertising at a loss, and gave their papers away each week door to door in Chinook and Harlem.
In the early spring of 1996, Mike Perry arranged to retain an attorney in Havre to help him, Mort Goldstein.. Goldstein had practiced law in Havre since just after his lawschool days - and was known as an excellent lawyer despite being an "outsider". Goldstein, was from a Reformed Jewish family and was active in synagogue when he could attend. Mort Goldstein was agile and tough. Goldstein had to be tough to stay in north central Montana and deal with the succession of Marlborro Men, ranchers, mountain men, Frreemen, cowboys, Vikings, outlaws and the Calamity Jane's they shared. At the time of Perry's first visit, Goldstein had announced his candidacy for County Attorney in Hill County for the 1996 campaign.
Goldstein made it clear that he had no use for the corruption elements in Hill County and the surrounding area, including Chinook. At the beginning, the ranchers around Havre were to a man behind Goldstein. They were tired of the killings and the talk of drug smuggling and corrupt federal agents. Goldstein and most of Havre anticipated his easy win in November
Mort.Goldstein enjoyed very good times in early 1996. When Mike Perry arrived at Goldstein's office in Havre on Fifth Street to tell his story, Mort Goldstein was one of the only area attorneys bright enough and gutsy enough who could handle Perry's case. The Chinook Opinion had been causing big trouble for the wrong people.
Mort Goldstein picked up Mike Perry's package of documents and swore to Perry he would get the matter "cleaned up" for him. Goldstein knew that a well connected Chinook attorney was behind the attacks on Perry. Goldstein also had heard all about the Cowan murders and the drug flights into the Chinook airport. This was daily coffee shop news in all the small towns around Chinook and Havre.
Mort Goldstein set out putting together the files and was on the phone hourly to the Chinook Opinion offices: talking to Perry, getting the legal issues organized, preparing for war. Then the calls stopped abruptly.
Not only did Goldstein's calls stop, but Goldstein wouldn't take any more calls from Mike Perry. It was months before Perry could get his files back from Mort Goldstein's office. At the same time, Goldstein had made no effort to shake hands or campaign for office and was roundly defeated. Mort Goldstein never again spoke to Mike Perry about his case.
Mike Perry concluded that Goldstein had been bought or scared off. Perry knew that Goldstein was honest and that something was seriously wrong. Goldstein abandoning Perry's case was a major private blow to Perry. Mike Perry also gradually came to realize that all was lost if he couldn't at least get an attorney to represent his businesss. This was a crucial factor in Mike Perry's decision to sell the Chinook Opinion. Mike Perry knew he had become an "untouchable". That was the logical explanation until last week.
A press release orginating from the Montana Commission on Practice about the decision to remove Mort Goldstein's law license pending further legal proceedings in a tangled probate dispute rocked the legal profession accross the state. The allegations were that Goldstein had groomed an elderly client with an estate of close to $1,000,000, and had wrongfully talked the client into transfering the bulk of the estate to him. The client's heirs had just had Goldstein removed as personal representative of the estate. The decision by the Montana Commission on Practice came suddenly and may have been premature.
Nobody yet has explored the complete relationship between the client and Goldstein.
It's possible the client could have legitimately decided to give his estate to Goldstein. Newsman Perry was highly suspicious of the transaction by lawyer Mort Goldstein. But Perry also recalled that another aged Havre client, Joseph Kombeitz, had been coaxed out of a Havre rest home to a Chinook rest home and had then transferred almost $275,000 to the Chinook rest home administrator. The Chinook county attorney had "power of attorney" over Joseph Kombeitz and had supervised the transactions. Kombeitz's family had discovered the problem in time to recover the money. But not before it was disclosed that the funds were also ultimately destined for the aunt and benefactor of yet another attorney then employed on Marc Racicot's staff as assistant to the attorney general. Later, a Helena task force for the aged could not find any wrongdoing on the part of the Chinook attorney, and after all, the money had been returned.
Last week, The Great Falls Tribune and the wire services made Mort Goldstein out to be a master villain. Perhaps he is. Or perhaps Mort Goldstein is being wrongly marked because he was rocking the boat in a corrupt profession in a corrupt state. All the facts will gradually come out, as the estate dispute is settled. But that's too late for Mike Perry and the sale of the Chinook Opinion. Questions will remain as long as the murderers of the Cowans remain at large.
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