PSC Commissioner Randy Pinocci arrested on felony witness tampering charges

Montana Public Service Commissioner Randy Pinocci was arrested Friday in Cascade County on two felony charges of witness tampering, after he allegedly refused to return a security deposit to a tenant at his rental property until she recanted her testimony in a separate disorderly conduct case against him.

According to an affidavit filed by the Deputy Cascade County Attorney John C. Brothers, the tenant, identified only by her initials, had given witness testimony to investigators following a July 5 altercation in which Pinocci, 59, allegedly challenged the relative of a neighboring tenant to a fight.

Two weeks later, she texted Pinocci, who was also her landlord, to ask if he wanted her to mow the neighboring lawn, according to the charges. The affidavit quotes a text response from Pinocci that stated in part, “For us to continue a relationship, you’re going to have to recant your testimony with the sheriff’s department.”

Pinocci’s text message allegedly goes on to dispute the woman's version of events, urging her to “get your testimony corrected and will [sic] talk about working together in the future.”

Prosecutors filed the underlying disorderly conduct charge in July after Pinocci allegedly challenged one of his tenants to a fight over a dispute about that person's security deposit. The two "bumped chests" and Pinocci ultimately summoned law enforcement. Both of them were cited with disorderly conduct; Pinocci was arrested in September for failing to appear at a court hearing on that charge.

Prosecutors say that in August, Pinocci told the woman who witnessed the July confrontation he wouldn’t return a $5,400 safety deposit, citing property damages. In a separate conversation the following month, Pinocci told the woman and her roommate “he would not discuss their deposit until (the woman) recanted her testimony to the sheriff’s office.”

If convicted, Pinocci could face up to 10 years in prison and up to $50,000 in fines for each count of witness tampering.

Pinocci could not immediately be reached Friday. One phone number found for the commissioner appeared to be disconnected and another indicated the owner of the account was unavailable.

According to the inmate roster for the Cascade County Adult Detention Center, Pinocci was being held on a $2,500 bond. In a Friday press conference, Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said as of noon he was unsure whether Pinocci remained in custody or had posted bail.

Pinocci has made a statement to investigators, Slaughter said during the press conference, but the sheriff did not elaborate.

"This isn’t a pleasant situation for anybody in our community when a person of trust is arrested in a matter like this," Slaughter said. "We try to be as consistent as we can be, with treating people the same as much as possible and maintain public trust as best we can. Obviously he'll have his day in court, these are allegations."

Currently in his second term on the five-member PSC, Pinocci is a Republican from Sun River who represents District 1, which sprawls from Great Falls and part of Billings to the North and South Dakota borders. He was unopposed in his successful 2022 election to the seat. Previously he also served one term in the Montana House of Representatives.

Commission President James Brown said in an interview Friday that he and the rest of the commission had been unaware of the charges until Slaughter's announcement.

"We’re very disappointed in these developments," Brown said. "Commissioner Pinocci's actions are bringing negative and unwarranted attention to the Public Service Commission and the good work it does on behalf of the citizens of the state of Montana. Of course under the presumption of law, every criminal defendant is presumed innocent, so the commission will wait to see what happens in terms of the criminal charges the outcome of those before determining what if any internal actions the commission may take in relation to Commissioner Pinocci."

Brown declined to elaborate on what those actions might include. Montana law gives the governor the authority to suspend a PSC commissioner “upon complaint made and good cause shown” and can “appoint temporarily some competent person to perform the duties of the suspended commissioner during the period of the suspension.” The governor's office did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment.

Pinocci has been considered a potential candidate for Montana’s eastern congressional district since he filed a federal lawsuit against the Montana Department of Transportation earlier this year. In that filing, Pinocci accuses the state agency of First Amendment violations for its efforts to remove his campaign signs from a previous election cycle. Pinocci’s supporters, according to the lawsuit, rejected the department’s warnings to remove the signs because they "want to encourage him to run for higher office, such as the U.S. House of Representatives."

Montana State News Bureau reporter Seaborn Larson contributed to this story.