A happy ending to Deposit-gate for Tasha Downum!

This arrived in my email box yesterday from Tasha Downum:

I'm waiting to hear from her that the check has cleared — I'll remain suspicious until the end, given the twists and turns in this saga — but assuming that it's all kosher, I'm overjoyed. Tasha is starting school this semester, and the long-overdue check from Vic Williams for her rental deposit, plus the add-ons from the small claims court ruling, should help her with books and supplies, with maybe a few dollars left over to treat her five year old son, Javier, to a little something special.

Let's review the story. Tasha, recently returned to her home in Missouri from a year long stint in Iraq, took her family on a two week vacation last July to the Southern California beaches. She rented a place from recently elected AZ legislator, Vic Williams (R, LD-26). For reasons I can't figure out and Williams won't divulge, Williams never got around to returning her $400 refundable deposit. Tasha took Williams to small claims court in early November, where the judge upped the amount to $1,845,20. I found out about the situation in early December and began blogging about it. Jim Nintzel at Tucson Weekly picked it up soon after. We both called Willams. Now, finally, almost a month after the story hit Tucson, it looks like Williams has paid up.

All of Tasha's recent communication has been with the law firm Schiada & Caballero, based in Santa Fe Springs, California, about 20 miles southeast of Santa Monica. One of the two partners is listed as a real estate lawyer, so maybe the firm handles all of Williams' real estate transactions. But I can't understand why Williams didn't take care of this himself. It was just a matter of writing a check and sticking it in the mail.

The firm had three to four contacts with Tasha, which must have added to Williams' tab on this little misadventure, which was already almost five times the amount of the rental deposit.

And if the law firm handles Williams' real estate transactions, why didn't it fire off a $400 check in the first place?

Questions, questions, questions. I suppose I could call Vic Williams and ask for an explanation, but I imagine he doesn't think of me as his bff (best friend forever, for those of you less juvenile than I am), so I think I'll pass.