Newport Ambulance releases statement

OLDTOWN — Newport Ambulance is hiring new tax attorneys and expects to have its rigs back on the road.

The idled ambulance service released a statement on Wednesday addressing apparent tax troubles, missing grant money and a complaint filed with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration in Seattle. The statement was directed to the Newport Miner newspaper but was also obtained by the Priest River Times.

Newport Ambulance announced last month it was suspending transport services because of issues related to billing and under- and uninsured patients. In the meantime, the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare filed suit against Newport Ambulance, alleging that the company accepted $128,500 in grant funding for a new ambulance and motorized gurneys but instead used the money to cover Newport Ambulance’s personnel and business expenses.

Newport Ambulance CEO Steve Groom declined to comment when the litigation emerged, but appeared to address it in the statement to the Miner.

Groom said ambulance crews are on standby, but that its office staff is still hard at work.

“We have terminated a tax service for not doing their job in a timely or efficient manner and replaced them with a legal firm out of the Spokane Valley area. Their primary task is resolution with the IRS and recovery of missing grant funds caught up in wrongful altered ego tax levy’s (sic),” the statement said.

Groom said the IRS levied $173,398 from Newport Ambulance’s checking and billable accounts over the last nine months. He adds that the sum is likely to increase under further analysis.

Groom was sued in August by the Washington Department of Labor & Industries for unpaid taxes, according to Pend Oreille County Superior Court records. He faced similar litigation in 2007, records show.

Groom said a complaint against a “revenue officer” is being pursued through the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. The officer is accused of fraud, waste and abuse, according to Groom, who added that the company has reached out to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) for assistance.

“Our local services have us optimistic this can be resolved and have us back on the road. Several of our employees have said they are ready to return to service when available,” Groom said in the statement’s conclusion.