Owner of 'Clean and Sober' Housing Arrested for Selling Meth and Heroin

Oof, talk about an awkward drug bust. Timothy Arthur Rehberg, 50, the owner of a chain of nonprofit drug counseling and housing centers in Washington State, was arrested last week for selling meth and heroin from his business office, authorities reported.

The mission of his company, I.C. Clean People Recovery Housing Inc. in Everett, Washington, was "to help anyone quit drugs/alcohol and provide a safe, clean and sober home for them,” according to licensing records on file with the state. The company’s license to operate residential drug recovery centers is apparently now listed as inactive.

Rehberg had an extensive rap sheet leading up to his arrest. According to a criminal complaint filed last week, he was already under house arrest and wearing a court-ordered ankle monitoring bracelet when he was arrested on Tuesday by Seattle police and federal agents, after a three-month sting operation. And court records show that he had a restraining order filed against him due to a past domestic violence conviction. Rehberg was also convicted of manufacturing marijuana in 1993, and had at least eight prior convictions for assault, forgery and weapons violations.

As far as how he was able to secure a license for the treatment facility given his records, no one in the Secretary of State's office was available for comment.

According to the criminal complaint, Seattle police busted Rehberg after an undercover source had purchased meth, heroin and marijuana from him on four separate occasions, over the course of a month beginning in early January. Authorities say they found about a pound of crystal meth, a quarter-pound of heroin, “small quantities” of pot, oxycodone and methadone, and a .38 caliber revolver in the company’s main office. Due to prior felony convictions, Rehberg was prohibited from possessing firearms.

Rehberg was ordered to appear before a District Court in Seattle next week, where he will face felony charges on account of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin.

According to local news source My Everett News, this arrest was actually the second time that meth has been linked to a "clean and sober" house in Everett in a little over two months.