Charges against four people dismissed

A state hearing examiner has dismissed all charges filed by the Montana Auditor's Office against the former owners of a specialized decorative tile company that was based in Bigfork.

Frederick "Fritz" Keck and his wife, Sydnee, say the Aug. 20 order to dismiss exonerates them from serious securities fraud charges leveled against them by the Auditor's Office in February 2008.

At the time, the Auditor's Office detailed the charges in lengthy press releases, and the Kecks say they are frustrated that similar public notice was not issued by the state after the charges were dismissed.

"We've been in this valley for 26 years and we have friends and I want the record cleared," said Sydnee Keck, who founded and operated Style N' Tile with her husband for nine years.

The hearing examiner's brief order does not explain the reason the case was dismissed, but Fritz Keck said the allegations of fraud were simply untrue "and the state had no case."

The Kecks vigorously refuted the charges immediately after they were made. Fritz Keck asserts that he was prepared for a full-scale legal defense, but the charges were dismissed before he even had an opportunity to present his case.

"We didn't even get a hearing," said Keck, who believes that in itself is evidence of how weak the state's case was.

The original allegations charged that 22 individual investors had been defrauded of $1.5 million since 1998. Also charged at the time were Louise Tidwell and James Coolidge, who assumed management of Style N' Tile in 2006. The recent order to dismiss also applies to Tidwell and Coolidge.

The company was highly successful for years, manufacturing kiln-fired tiles with mural recreations of art work by famous artists such as Van Gogh and Norman Rockwell. The products were sold across the country through Lowe's stores, along with other retail chains and catalogs.

The Kecks no longer were involved in management after a rift developed between them and Coolidge and Tidwell, who had assumed management. The company's business office closed in September 2007.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com