Reward increases by $1 million on 20th anniversary of Tom Wales murder

Monday marked 20 years since federal prosecutor Tom Wales was gunned down in his Queen Anne home.

The case remains unsolved, but now there are two new efforts to break it.

The reward just went up by a million dollars, and area prosecutors will now oversee the investigation.

Those announcements were made as members of the Wales family gathered with current and former U.S. attorneys to plant a tree in his memory in Thomas Wales Park.

“This case is solvable and prosecutable,” said Amy Wales, his daughter.

Investigators have long believed Tom Wales was targeted because of his work, which would make him the only assistant U.S. atttorney to be killed in the line of duty.

“The commitment (to solving the case) is as strong today 20 years later as it was day one,” said Don Voriet, the special agent in charge of Seattle’s FBI office.

Over the years, federal investigators disclosed the Tom Wales murder was likely a contract killing.

The investigation has long focused on an airline pilot Tom Wales prosecuted for fraud.

This weekend, The Seattle Times reported the FBI now theorizes the pilot worked with a Mexican drug cartel to recruit a hit man.

“If you know something, come forward. We feel we’ve made very good progress on the case, but we’re always looking for more information,” Voriet said.

To generate tips, rewards for information about the murder on Monday grew by another million dollars, to a total of $2.5 million.

Also Monday, the Department of Justice announced it is moving oversight of the investigation to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Western Washington, which had been recused because many people there worked with Tom Wales.

“This case belongs here because this is where the crime occurred. Our recusal from the case made sense for many years, but after 20 years we’re happy to have new people on it, new eyes,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas Brown.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan is a former U.S. attorney who knew Tom Wales.

“This shows the Department of Justice isn’t going to leave anyone behind,” Durkan said.

The DOJ, the FBI and the Seattle Police Department continue to actively work this case.

If you have any information, call 1-800-CALL-FBI or email walestips@fbi.gov.

Tipsters who remain anonymous will still be eligible for the reward.

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