The Post Register appeared to honor the man accused of running a Ponzi Scheme in Southeast Idaho in a front-page article Sunday entitled “Daren Palmer: Revealed”. About three-fourths of the article that ran as the feature storywent through Daren Palmer’s life holding him up and honoring him instead of bringing to light the background of how he allegedly defrauded millions from unsuspecting victims, including close friends.
The article began by calling Palmer a “Financial Wizard” and continued with a near-glowing theme including sections titled:
Trusted Role Model:
“As a volunteer coach for Taylorview Junior High School’s Grid Kid football team from 2003 to 2007, Palmer not only taught his charges football’s X’s and O’s, he was also their mentor, a confidant who helped steer them through adolescence.”
“”My personal opinion — he was the best Grid Kid coach there’s ever been; the kids that played for him loved him,””
Family Man
“After a sightseeing flight over Jackson, Wyo., and dinner overlooking the Snake River in Idaho Falls, Daren led Michelle to the front of the LDS Temple, where he proposed.
The Palmers were married Oct. 4, 1991, in the LDS Temple in Portland, Ore.
They moved to Salt Lake City the following year. Daren studied finance at the University of Utah while Michelle stayed at home to raise the first of their five children.”
Church Leader
“Palmer also became an active leader in the LDS church, initially serving as his ward’s Young Men’s president. About three years before the 2008 fall of Trigon, Palmer was appointed by the stake president to serve as the Elder’s Quorum president for the Castlerock Ward.”
The article even goes so far as to appear to defend palmer by highlighting: “To date, he has not been charged with a crime.”
And wraps up the story with a bit of a sob story for the family:
“Technically, Palmer is free to move about as he pleases, but his life does not now and likely never will resemble the opulent days his family enjoyed before Trigon fell.
He will never recover the trust and prestige that he crafted so carefully. Nor will material possessions come easily. Federal authorities have seized his two Idaho Falls homes, a vacation home in Coeur d’Alene, a half-dozen cars and an apartment complex in Rigby.
That Palmer’s empire had hit bottom became evident in September when an auctioneer sold the remnants of his former life to strangers. Hundreds came out to Palmer’s former warehouse south of Idaho Falls to bid on valuables or novelties the family had accumulated.”
“At the end of the night, the highest bidders took home Michelle Palmer’s jewelry and the family’s recreation equipment. Others walked away with the children’s stuffed animals and Christmas ornaments tucked under their arms.”
This man is accused of defrauding millions of dollars from people, running an illegal ponzi scheme, and attempting to cover it all up. So why does the Post Register feel they need to write a report that looks like it’s trying to make him look like this model citizen? Why not focus on the alleged fraud, the families hurt by Palmer’s actions, and protect the victims of this horrible situation?
Why label him a “financial genius”? What exactly was he a genius of, in the world of finance? He doesn’t appear to have succeeded at anything, other than destroying other’s financial lives?
Family Man? The man is divorced. Trusted role model? Church Leader? It feels like this article is a real white-wash of a man who’s hurt many, many lives.
I love my morning paper, but come on, Roger, what’s the deal here? Does Daren Palmer have ties to people in charge at the Post Register? Because I just cant think of any other reason for such a spin job on an article. So much spin I can smell the rubber tires burning from here.
Next time, maybe, try coming out with an article on the victims of the scheme, how their lives have been ruined, and how people can protect themselves from schemes and scams.
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Gato got runned over by Marcus many moons ago. Be ye daft, 2486? 
Let's have a new poll, alright, Joe?
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
I doubt the Post Register was trying to whitewash this. I agree it’s pretty glowing considering the things it sounds like this man has done. Can someone send me the article? I’d be interested in reading the whole thing.
It was actually ran on Sunday to bury Saturday’s headline about Blake Hall, and get people talking about something else.
Mission accomplished PR.
It would be wonderful if people didn’t bitch just to hear themselves bitch.
1. The article wasn’t “glowing” about Palmer; it was explaining the type of life and lifestyle he was leading while he was lying through his teeth and bilking friends and family out of millions.
2. I happen to know that the article was penciled into the Sunday Front Page slot for more than two weeks, while the article on Hall was, surprisingly for the PR, breaking news. That the plea and sentencing happened to come the day before is called a coincidence.
Did the article mention Darren’s wife has divorced him?
If yes, sounds like they covered the facts at least.
If no, time to boycott the PR. I’m not kidding.
I’ve suspected for awhile now that Roger Plothow and the PR has been co-opted by Frank and buddies. Didn’t Frank or some of his people get on the board of directors? Then they got rid of the two biggest pains in local politician’s backsides? (Dean Miller and Marty Trillhaase).
Now this.
But what are you going to do about it? They control all the local media outlets and own the city, county, and state government officials. What are you going to do about it?
Can anyone tell us why Palmer has not been charged criminally. The article in the PR wants us to think that this guy has some redeeming qualities. Not once in the article did the PR talk about the aspect of criminal violations and what the total amount of time that Palmer can be spending in Jail for defrauding the long list of clients. Why is Palmer wondering around town while Bernard Maloff is sitting in Federal Prison for a lifetime?
Good write-up.
I do think it did say they got divorced in the article. But I’m wondering how that makes any difference or not when it comes to a boycott?
I’d heard the people at the Post Register was involved in politics, but this is the first I’d heard that they own the city, county, and state government officials. \ I guess that makes sense, especially with the paper’s owner, Jerry Brady’s, ties to Boise. Plus, when you own the media, you own the “truth”. Or, at least, the version of the truth the public has access too.
They sure seem to pick and choose who they go after, and who they hold up as heroe’s. That’s probably how they keep the officials in line.
And you take something like this, they decide to polish up a guy who is said to have scammed so many people? What ever happened to responsible reporting? Something feels fishy.
I think this Palmer is a creep. I read the whole article, it’s obvious they were trying to make this guy look like a good guy.
Shame on you Roger Plothow.
When I first read the article I thought it was written from the perspective of how Daren Palmer’s life looked from the outside at the time he was a high roller. I sure didn’t take from it the same deeper meaning that some of you did. But I’m not a conspiracy theory junkie either. So I don’t really buy the crap about Frank V and Roger P and all the local news media being in bed together. You guys really believe all that nonsense, don’t you? Give me a break. Boycott the paper? With some of your attitudes I sincerely doubt you do business with them to begin with.
So what…If you don’t want to read the Post Register then don’t or unsubscribe. They have every right to print legally what they choose. People will always disagree and agree on what the Post has to offer. The Post will not go out of business just because a select few disagree with a story or opinion. Get over it people. The post may be losing the print option, but will still survive the online service they offer. I am all for the post. At least they tell it how it is, and don’t hide behind hidden agendas. Get real, and reading the Post Register is a good way to do it. It may give you a life as well.
How dare the paper publish anything that paints Palmer as anything but the antichrist!!!!!!!!!! (I don’t know how to insert the rolling eyes smiley)
The facts are that he is human. Yes he stole money from a lot of people but that doesn’t mean that every facet of his life is bad. In fact in many other ways he was a good person. This story merely was a semi autobiographical account of his life both good and bad.
Glowing review? The article spoke of a man who spent on wild dreams that had no end, and talked others into investing into those wild dreams. He must have been a snappy dresser with a sharp tongue. He looked and spoke better than just plain good. Everybody liked him and even wanted to be like him. They did exactly what he told them to do. He was a leader in the community! Until he messed up.
Then his lies upon lies unraveled and the truth was revealed. The fact that he’d taken advantage of friends, family and even his church community was made more than obvious. Daren Palmer was shown to be the crook that he is, and the article in Sunday’s paper certainly didn’t flatter him.
Honestly, sometimes I wonder if people can read.
I read the article. It didn’t mention directly that Palmer was divorced, but mentioned that his ex-wife is living in Washington state now.
It was far from ‘glowing’… in fact, it presented Palmer as a typical Ponzi guy. They all are personable, pleasant, people who are able to sell themselves well.
It made mention of Palmer’s coaching ability in the PeeWee football league, but it led with a paragraph of how Palmer treated his son to a basketball championship game in Las Vegas, flying there by chartered jet, with seats in front of Snoop Dog. Given that the expensive over-the-top trip was made on other people’s money made me sick, and I’m sure that was the paper’s intent.
It would help if some of the paper’s critics would actually read it once in a while. The article showed Palmer’s two faces very well.
Wendyjo,
The tone of your couple of paragraphs and the Post-Register article on which you were commenting are worlds apart. Can you read? Seriously?
Finally got to read the article over the weekend. It’s far from glowing. It’s written frmo the perspective of a guy outwardly trying to present a law-abiding lifestyle, albeit an extravagant one, while the truth was he was bilking people. All this talk of a “glowing” article recalled an old Berkeley Breathed cartoon for me, in which Milo Bloom wrote the following about local Senator Bedfellow: “Dripping slime wherever he went . . . ” Seems that’s what folks were expecting from the Palmer article, every sentence. Yeah, he’s dirty. But as has been commented earlier, he’s also a typical con man. Personable. Outwardly upright and above-board. The PR gave us a good glimpse of Palmer.
Bloop, I agree completely. We have a great newspaper and this was a display of how people cover up thier true dealings with a spit polish and lies. They live the high life while destroying their family and friends in the dark corners of the room. They put on a show for everyone to see. I think that’s what the newspaper was trying to do. At the same time, I’d have to say they in this case they didn’t do it very well, or there wouldn’t be this strong of a debate going on.
You’re right. Knowing the intentions behind the rhetorical decisions in the story isn’t as helpful as using stronger rhetoric in the story itself.
Since Palmer hasn’t been charged yet, the PR had to use some restraint in the article’s tone. Facts can’t be disputed, so they just stuck with the facts.
I’m sure there will be a time when stronger rhetoric will be used, but not until the SEC has charged Palmer.
Cut Palmer slack. How do you think his kids feel eveeryone? Or are his kids just like him? Please leave your opinions
Seriously? Are his kids like him? They range from 5 years old to 16 years old so how can they be like him people???? Seriously!!! Yes Daren is divorced. What about the wife, she lived off this money and very well, then she just skips town when things went downhill.
I think everyone wants to speculate but quite frankly noone knows what happened. So until you or anyone else knows the facts 100% then why are we judging, I could open many people’s doors on here and you wouldn’t want your lies and your life plastered all over i am sure.
No one knows all the facts, most things we are hearing are 3rd or 4th party, lets just wait until we know it all, if we ever do. No one really knows about Bernie Madoff, we know bits and pieces, so lets all get a life and move on!!
How would you feel if you were Daren’s child? trust me.. i would know..
Feel about what? I am sure they are hurt, confused, sad, all those feelings but that is for them as a family to do with not the public giving opinions of information they do not know.
So let them deal with this alone and we just worry about our own children who probably have issues in one way or another.