Court wants to know former editor's whereabouts

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May 28, 2008

By Mark Freeman

Mail Tribune

Former Ashland Daily Tidings Editor Andrew Scot Bolsinger cannot be found at any of the addresses or telephone numbers he has given Marion County court officials while free on $25,000 bail on felony sex-abuse charges, possibly jeopardizing his freedom.

Contact numbers on both his Jan. 29 bail agreement from the Marion County Jail and a Feb. 7 court permit allowing him to move to Healdsburg, Calif., turned up no leads to his whereabouts.

Bolsinger's former Phoenix home, which was foreclosed upon in December, is empty and for sale. The cell phone number listed on the bail agreement was disconnected and since has been assigned to a new Medford customer.

Jerry Frost, Marion County Circuit Court operations manager, said Tuesday that defendants released on bail must report their current residences to court officials. Nothing in Bolsinger's case file suggests that he has done that, Frost said.

When informed by the Mail Tribune of the discrepancies on his bail agreement and travel permit, Frost said he would try to locate Bolsinger through Larry Roloff, his Eugene attorney in the sex-abuse case.

"If not, I'll suggest we do a revocation of his release," Frost said. "I'll advise the court he's not residing where he said he would."

Bolsinger, 41, pleaded not guilty to four counts of second-degree sexual abuse, stemming from alleged sex with a female teenager he met while teaching at a Salem-area academy in 2000. He was fired Feb. 5 from the Daily Tidings, which is a sister paper of the Mail Tribune.

Roloff twice has filed delays in status conferences on the case, and the next conference was scheduled for June 18 in Salem.

Roloff did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

Ashland police also are investigating Bolsinger for potential theft and racketeering charges from his businesses, which included Pipon's restaurant, Lithia Stationery, The Main Source print shop and Jefferson State Pub, which has reopened under old owners with no ties to Bolsinger.

Bolsinger has not been charged in connection with the businesses' problems, in which he has accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars in debts, including Internal Revenue Service liens and penalties for failing to pay employees' payroll taxes.

The most recent court document involving Bolsinger's release on bail is the Feb. 7 signed and sworn Notice of Travel Privileges. In it, the court granted Bolsinger's request for out-of-state travel beginning Feb. 15 so his wife, Lori Bolsinger, could seek employment. Bolsinger listed his soon-to-be residence in Healdsburg.

The residence's telephone number supplied by Bolsinger on the permit is listed to Mary Evangelista. When contacted twice by telephone by the Mail Tribune, Evangelista said the Bolsingers "were only here a few weeks" before leaving, possibly for San Francisco.

Evangelista would not identify her relationship with the Bolsingers and declined further comment.

On the permit, Bolsinger also listed the name and telephone number of a Joanne Nahmias as a "contact person." The number is listed to a Jack and Joanne Nahmias of Sonora, Calif.

A Mail Tribune telephone call to that number was answered by a man who said, "We can't get in touch" with the Bolsingers and that Joanne Nahmias "is not a contact person."

The permit states that any violation of it may constitute a violation of his release agreement and may lead to the issuing of an arrest warrant for Bolsinger.

The permit, however, does not specifically state that failing to notify the court over changes to his residence and contact status constitutes a violation.

Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail mfreeman@mailtribune.com.

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