NEW: Prosecutor alleges defendant is trying to hide assets

By CHET BROKAW, Associated Press Writer | Tuesday, May 02, 2006

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PIERRE -- A prosecutor has filed court documents alleging that a Pierre man charged with murdering his wife has been trying to hide his financial assets so he won't have to help pay for the lawyer defending him.

A judge has appointed a lawyer to represent Brad Reay at taxpayer expense. Reay faces alternative counts of first-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter for killing his wife, Tami Reay, in early February.

Hughes County State's Attorney Timothy Maher filed a motion Monday asking that Circuit Judge Kathleen Trandahl rescind the appointment of Reay's court-appointed lawyer or require that Reay complete an application that would include details of his financial situation.

In a memorandum accompanying the motion, Maher said Reay is entitled to have a defense lawyer who has handled similar cases.

"What cannot be tolerated is the Defendant's scheme to hide assets and avoid paying for or contributing to his legal representation," Maher wrote.

Court documents say Reay has made phone calls and sent letters from jail indicating he is trying to hide money and other assets so the state won't take them to help pay for his court-appointed lawyer.

Tami Reay's nude body was found Feb. 9 near Lake Oahe after a co-worker told police she did not show up for work.

Brad Reay has pleaded not guilty and could be imprisoned for life if convicted on either charge.

His twin brother, Bret Reay, has pleaded not guilty to being an accessory to a felony. Prosecutors have said he tried to mislead those who are investigating his brother.

In the motion filed Monday, Maher said officials monitored Brad Reay's phone calls and letters after he was put in jail. Reay asked Jay Vermillion, proprietor of Jay's Pawn Shop in Billings, Mont., and Bret Reay, who had not yet been arrested, to help hide bank accounts and other assets, the prosecutor said.

Brad Reay's letters and phone calls indicated he wanted to protect the assets so they would not be seized to help pay for his legal defense, Maher said.

Reay said he had about $14,000 in accessible cash, $35,000 in equity in the family's house, and up to $70,000 in baseball cards, according to court documents.

Reay told Vermillion he wanted to protect the assets for his daughter and also make sure he had money in case he wins his freedom, Maher said.

The prosecutor noted that state law provides that people charged with crimes will get court-appointed lawyers if they cannot afford to hire their own attorneys. But poor defendants also have to certify on the record all the factors relating to their ability to pay for their own defense, he said.

Reay might have been lying when he told a judge he could not afford to hire his own lawyer, Maher said.

"Until we have a firm accounting of his assets, the Defendant persists in making a mockery of this Court's good intentions of supplying the needy with sound legal assistance," Maher wrote.