Tim Ryan, tryan@shawanoleader.com
The Shawano County Sheriff’s Department on Wednesday responded to reports of nearly $600 in missing jail money recently brought to light at a county committee meeting.
Supervisor Deb Noffke raised the issue at a May 5 meeting of the Administrative Committee, citing two incidents in which money put into safe-keeping after inmates were booked disappeared from the county jail.
Both incidents took place in 2012 and had not previously been publicly disclosed.
Last year, a separate incident involving $1,000 in missing bond money was also investigated. That incident was publicly discussed at several committee meetings and in closed session by the County Board.
Noffke, at the May 5 Administrative Committee meeting, questioned why supervisors were “under a gag order” when it came to the other two incidents.
“Everybody knows about the missing $1,000, but we’re under a gag order on the rest of it,” she said. “I’m thinking the public’s right to know trumps any little closed session.”
The committee brought in Corporation Counsel Tony Kordus to address the question.
Kordus told the committee that supervisors were free to publicly discuss the fact that jail money went missing, but not details of the investigation that were discussed in closed session.
According to the Sheriff’s Department, the county’s Finance Committee was made aware of the missing money shortly after each of the two incidents.
The first occurred on Jan. 7, 2012, when $244.56 that an inmate turned over to jail staff went missing. The Finance Committee was informed on Jan. 16, 2012, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
The second incident took place on Aug. 11, 2012, and involved $351.74 belonging to an inmate. According to the Sheriff’s Department, the Finance Committee was told about the incident a few days later, on Aug. 16.
The Administration Department was also notified about both incidents shortly after they occurred, according to the Sheriff’s Department, but no specific date was available.
The Sheriff’s Department responded to questions from The Shawano Leader about the incidents via an email that was drafted after meetings involving Sheriff Randy Wright, Jail Administrator Steve Borroughs and Kordus.
According to the email, an internal investigation of the two incidents “did not reveal the cause of the loss, or the person(s) responsible for the loss, if any.”
The email went on to state that “various members of the (County) Board” were aware of the results of the investigation.
The inmates in both cases were reimbursed for the loss, according to the Sheriff’s Department. No explanation for the missing money was offered.
“It would be irresponsible for this office to engage in speculation at this point, without any evidence to support the theory,” the email stated.
According to the email, the jail has handled nearly $1 million in inmate money since January 2009 and processed more than $1.7 million in bond money.
“While the jail is not happy with the loss of even one penny and pursues perfection on a daily basis, the jail’s record is overall undeniably quite impressive,” the email stated.