County treasurer accused of choking girlfriend 
The Associated Press
05/30/98 11:38 AM Eastern

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) -- Snohomish County Treasurer Bob Dantini has been
accused of choking his girlfriend and threatening to kill her after she
allegedly hid his cocaine. 

Through his lawyer, Dantini has pleaded innocent to a fourth-degree assault
charge and denied any involvement with illegal drugs. 

The dispute stems from a pair of calls to emergency dispatchers early
Thursday by a 27-year-old Lynnwood woman with whom Dantini, 47, has had an
off-and-on relationship for several years. 

Responding to the call from Dantini's house, deputies arrested him, booked
him into jail and confiscated a "small brown vial" of cocaine the woman
told them she took from Dantini's pants pocket and hid in her car. 

An affidavit filed Friday in Snohomish County Superior Court said the vial
was found inside a shoe in the car, where she told deputies she put it. 

Dantini, released on his own recognizance Thursday, "adamantly denies he
was in possession of or has used any controlled substances," said James
Trujillo, his lawyer. 

Trujillo also said Dantini was acting in self-defense after the woman got
"extremely upset" over a relationship he had while the couple was separated
for three months recently.