Anchorage Daily News

Michael Wooten, the Alaska state trooper at the center of the Troopergate scandal over whether Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power, is now embroiled in a power struggle of his own -- a custody dispute with an ex-wife.

His 12-year-old son did not return to his mother's home in Washington state as planned at the end of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and Wooten's ex-wife is threatening legal action.

Cynthia Allocco of Vancouver, Wash., was married to Wooten for 4½ years. The couple, who only have the one child, divorced in 1999.

Allocco said if she can't get the court to issue an emergency order for the return of her son, she will ask the FBI to investigate this as a kidnapping.

"Michael Wooten thinks he is above the law," Allocco said Monday after arriving at her lawyer's office in Anchorage. "What I can't fathom is why this man is allowed to get away with so much."

Allocco said her lawyer planned to seek an emergency court order to get the boy returned to his mother.

Wooten told The Associated Press on Monday that the last custody order gave him primary physical custody of the boy, and his son wants to live with him, Wooten said.

"I would really appreciate it if you would let me be a father and raise my kids," he said before declining to comment further.

Wooten and Allocco have equal legal custody of the child. According to a court document, Wooten was granted temporary physical custody in January with the arrangement to be re-evaluated in six months "based on the desires" of the child.

In June, Allocco said the boy decided to return to her in Washington.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, the boy was supposed to spend eight days in Alaska with his father but did not return as planned on Saturday, Allocco said.

"In my opinion, he has basically kidnapped my child," she said.

Wooten gained notoriety during heightened scrutiny of Palin, who was the vice presidential candidate for the Republican Party this year. Investigators sought to determine whether the governor abused her power when firing Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan.

Monegan had said his dismissal was tied to his refusal to fire Wooten, who was involved in a bitter divorce and custody battle with another ex-wife, Palin's sister Molly McCann.

Palin said her displeasure with Monegan was over budget disputes.

Two investigations were conducted but came to different conclusions. One found that she had abused her power in allowing her family and staff to pressure Monegan; the other found there was no probable cause to believe she or any other state official had violated the state's code of ethics.

During the investigations, it was revealed that Wooten had been disciplined under a different public safety commissioner for certain violations, like drinking a beer in his patrol car and demonstrating a Taser on a 10-year-old stepson.

In 2006, Palin told the state trooper security detail that Wooten had threatened to kill her father, Chuck Heath, the previous year because he offered to hire a divorce lawyer for her sister.

Wooten admitted using the Taser on his stepson but denied drinking in his patrol car. He also denied ever being a threat to Heath or the Palin family.

Allocco said she discovered Friday, the day before her son was to return to Washington, that Wooten was seeking to have $933 a month in child support payments stopped.

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