Skagway Assembly member Dan Henry. (Skagway News)
The Alaska Public Offices Commission has agreed to postpone a hearing for Skagway Assemblyman Dan Henry until later this year.
In April, APOC staff found that Henry violated state regulations by providing incomplete information about his income in filings to the commission. They recommended he pay a penalty of $22,000.
The commission planned a hearing on the case at its meeting this week, where a final decision on his penalty would be made. Henry requested a postponement, which was approved by the commission.
Henry’s financial omissions came to light early this year, when a federal investigation into his tax filings became public. He pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor counts of failure to timely file income taxes. In a plea agreement, Henry agreed to pay more than $600,000 in penalties and serve up to two years in federal prison.
Also in the plea agreement, Henry admits that he failed to disclose his income in required reports to APOC.
That spurred Skagway resident Roger Griffin to lodge a complaint against Henry with APOC. The commission then launched an investigation, which found that Henry misrepresented his income in financial disclosure statements candidates are required to file when running for public office.
Henry sent a letter to APOC, asking for the hearing on his case to be postponed from its June 8 date. He asks for APOC to wait until his federal sentencing takes place. The sentencing was originally scheduled for May, but was postponed to August 1.
In the letter, Henry says he wants to tell the commission his side of the story, but his attorney has advised him to wait until after the federal case is concluded.
Henry also says that a recent death in the family will make it difficult to prepare for the June 8 hearing.
APOC Director Paul Dauphinais says a hearing date has not yet been chosen. The next commission meetings are scheduled for August 9 and October 25.
Henry owns the Skagway Fish Company Restaurant. He was first elected to Skagway local government about 20 years ago. Henry has continued to serve on the borough assembly following the federal tax conviction and APOC investigation.
