New allegations against Spokane mayor

SPOKANE, Wash., May 24 (UPI) -- Fresh allegations of misconduct are being reported against the embattled mayor of Spokane, Wash.

Mayor Jim West has been accused of abusing his position of public trust to develop sexual relationships with boys and young men. A preliminary public corruption inquiry has been launched by the FBI, as has an independent investigation by the city of Spokane.

The new allegations regard incidents in which West allegedly pulled down the pants of boys at a Boy Scout camp during the late 1970s and fondled a teenager during a search for marijuana in 1977, the Spokane Spokesman-Review reported Wednesday.

State Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn, also accused West of making an inappropriate sexual comment about her 18-year-old while he was working in the legislature in 1990. "West told me, 'I want to do to your son what no mother would want to know,' " Roach said.

"Mr. West denies each and every one of these allegations," said the mayor's private attorney.

Despite calls for West to resign, he has vowed to serve his entire term, which ends in December 2007.