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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (July 23, 2021)
The Columbia Press 8 July 23, 2021 Procession held for Astoria police officer A young Astoria police of- ficer, who died of apparent natural causes while sleeping at his Warrenton home, was honored Wednesday with a motorcade procession of public safety leaders and a funeral at Seaside Conven- tion Center. Samuel T. Whisler, 26, was discovered dead in his Ninth Street home at 4:32 p.m. July 9. The medical examiner’s office determined the death was not suspicious and fam- ily members said he had suf- fered from seizures as a child. Whisler had been sworn in as an Astoria police officer in January 2020, but he had spent many years in public service before then, follow- ing in the footsteps of his fa- ther, Mark, a retired Clatsop County Sheriff’s deputy. As a teenager, Whisler spent eight years as a volunteer for the county’s search and res- cue team. While still in high school, he volunteered with the Gearhart Fire Depart- ment. In 2013, he became a DIVE INTO A LOWER RATE. Lenard Hansen/Warrenton Fire Department Ladder trucks from Astoria and Warrenton fire departments work in tandem to form an arch for Officer Samuel Whisler’s procession. cadet with the sheriff’s office and was sworn in as a reserve deputy four years later. He also served as a volunteer lifeguard and rescue swim- mer for the Seaside Fire De- partment. Whisler was raised in Sea- side and graduated from Sea- side High School in 2013. The motorcade route was announced in advance and members of the public came out to honor him from Asto- ria to Camp Rilea to Seaside. He is survived by his wife, Christin; daughter, Pe- nelope; stepson Maverick Rankin; parents Mark and Lisa Whisler; four sisters, Ai- mee Walker, Amanda Laird, Korissa Whisler, and Sarah Whisler; three brothers, Josh Whitmore, Justin Laird, and Patrick Whisler; and grand- mother, Shirley Whisler. Man convicted in $4.5 million fraud scheme A federal jury convicted a man from Long Beach, Wash., and a business partner for their roles in a $4.5 million telemarketing scheme. Mark Oman, 36, of Long Beach and Manuel Chavez, 30, of Miami, Fla., each were convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit mail From auto to home, you can spend less on your loans and save more for your nest egg. Call, visit, or log on to learn about the many benefits of membership. Warrenton High School All-School Reunion 85 W. Marine Dr. Astoria 2315 N. Roosevelt Dr. Seaside 1771 SE Ensign Ln. Warrenton www.tlcfcu.org | 866.901.3521 Federally Insured By NCUA ILikeTLC FibreFamily 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sat., July 24 High School Cafeteria Light refreshments All teachers invited and wire fraud, six counts of wire fraud, one count of con- spiracy to commit interna- tional money laundering and six counts of international money laundering. Sentenc- ing will follow. According to court docu- ments and trial evidence, the men participated in a scheme that defrauded vic- tims throughout the United States from a call center in Costa Rica. Several co-conspirators posed as U.S. government of- ficials and contacted victims to tell them that they’d won a substantial “sweepstakes” prize. After convincing victims -- many of them elderly -- that they stood to receive a sig- nificant financial reward, the co-conspirators had them make up-front payments be- fore collecting their supposed prize, purportedly for taxes, customs duties and other fees. Oman worked at the fraud- ulent call center soliciting victims and also collected victim funds in Costa Rica, according to evidence pre- sented at trial. Chavez, Oman, and their co-conspirators stole approx- imately $4.5 million from victims, according to the De- partment of Justice. Each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison per count.
