SEATTLE – A King County sheriff’s deputy whose gun was used to kill a convenience store clerk has a history of department violations that prompted internal affairs to recommend in 1991 that he be fired, according to documents obtained by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
A memo written 14 years ago by King County Sheriff Sue Rahr, then an internal affairs lieutenant, said Ferenc Zana “does not possess the integrity to wear the uniform.” Her comments followed an internal affairs investigation that found Zana had given alcohol and his car to two minors who had an accident and then lied about it.
Despite fellow officers’ concerns and disciplinary records that showed a penchant for sloppy and sometimes dangerous behavior, Zana remained with the department, the newspaper learned through interviews and a review of court and sheriff’s documents.
In her memo to then-Sheriff James Montgomery, Rahr said Zana had not only lied during an internal investigation, but “he also encouraged one of the witnesses to lie. … However, progressive discipline limits the department in this situation to suspension. I recommend 10 days suspension without pay, with strong language indicating future violations involving honesty and integrity will result in termination.”
Zana did not reply to interview requests by the newspaper.
Zana’s roommate, Christopher Bistryski, is charged with using a gun that belonged to Zana – not his service weapon – to shoot and kill clerk Dimitri Imad Harb in August.
Those who know Zana say he socialized with younger men like Bistryski, whose criminal record includes juvenile arrests for burglary, theft and arson – sometimes taking them into his home.
Curt Lear, 35, was a regular visitor to Zana’s house 15 years ago. He said Zana was often helpful, but later told Lear he was gay and pressured him to have sex.
“He was actually a really nice guy,” said Lear, now married and living in Everett. “Somebody you could really call a friend, if he stayed just that. If you needed a ride, he’d come and get you. He’d do anything for you.”
But when Zana ignored Lear’s requests to stop propositioning him, the younger man left.
Bistryski met Zana more than 10 years later, according to Bistryski’s father, Gary Beyer, and lived with him for nearly two years.
Bistryski attempted suicide by slashing his wrists in Zana’s home March 31 and again April 23. King County sheriff’s deputies were called both times to help the young man, according to reports.
Deputies sought to have Bistryski involuntarily committed as a danger to himself, but he was held only briefly and then returned to Zana’s home.
On Aug. 20, Bistryski grabbed Zana’s gun from the kitchen table where the deputy had left it. Zana was sleeping when Bistryski left the residence, allegedly to shoot Harb.
There have been other instances in which Zana, who joined the department in 1985, showed lapses in judgment.
He struck a juvenile on a bicycle with his car while responding to a silent alarm at a school in August 1989. The cyclist wasn’t injured and Zana continued to the school. He did not report the accident until he was asked about it, and then told superiors he had failed to read the portion of the department manual dealing with its strict accident-reporting requirements. He was ordered to read that section.
In December 1989, a sergeant found Zana asleep in his car during a police standoff. Zana explained he was tired after a trip to Europe. He was heard joking about the incident days later.
“I am gravely concerned that officer Zana would allow such a thing to happen in the midst of so serious and potentially lethal a detail as this one,” Maj. Jackson Beard wrote of the incident in February 1990. “Additionally, I am concerned that officer Zana does not seem to understand the gravity of this situation and that he placed himself and others at risk.”
In 1990-91, Zana was the focus of an investigation involving an access code for the sheriff’s department’s long-distance phone system, which was being misused. Investigators discovered that Zana was making numerous long-distance calls to a fellow deputy, Michael Janasz, in Skykomish.
Zana said he was helping Janasz with a problem, but Janasz admitted they were playing long-distance board games over the phone, calling each other frequently to relay their moves.
The access number for long-distance calling was changed, and Janasz was told not to share it.
Despite the problems, Zana never received more than a suspension. Montgomery, the former sheriff, praised him for improving his behavior, and his record remained relatively clear until recently.
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