TBS obtained a copy of the criminal investigation (link below) into the City Attorney’s Office. The Fond du Lac Police Department recommended a charge of misconduct in public office, a felony under Wisconsin state law.
The report details a surveillance state within City Hall, run by the City Attorney’s Office. At the center of the investigation was former City Attorney Chuck Adams. Adams reviewed emails from a wide range of city employees and residents without their knowledge.
Adams’ cousin works at the Police Department and was facing disciplinary issues. Chuck Adams frequently searched for information regarding his cousin, even accessing internal police department emails without approval.
Adams also searched for a case previously reported by TBS, which led to the election fraud conviction of a long-time Sheboygan Democratic Party activist for stealing a political flyer. The flyer was taken from a Sheboygan resident’s doorknob, stolen from a candidate running against the current Vice President of the Common Council, Zack Rust.
Adams accessed this case by its number, reading emails between the Police Department and the District Attorney’s office. This included reviewing the police report, which contained the names of Sheboygan residents advocating for fair elections.
Why would Adams have a special interest in this case?
Adams was well-known for his advocacy of liberal-leaning candidates. Could Adams have tipped off the local Democratic Party or Alder Rust on the details of this criminal investigation?
Adams frequently searched for “Take Back Sheboygan” or names of local residents he believed to be associated with the site.
Was this motivated by political interests?
Alder Joe Heidemann was mentioned in the report due to concerns that Adams and Assistant City Attorney Liz Majerus were monitoring his emails. Heidemann had forwarded an email from former HR Director Adam Westbrook to his personal email, as it was easier to read on his personal device.
Minutes after forwarding the email, Heidemann received a call from Assistant City Attorney Liz Majerus, asking numerous questions about why he had forwarded the email.
Heidemann has often clashed with liberal leadership on the Council and in City Hall.
Why were his emails being monitored?
It appears that Majerus and Adams were monitoring emails of other city personnel in real time.
Majerus was interviewed and shared that she once had high respect for Westbrook’s legal expertise, but that had changed over time. She admitted some things she did with Westbrook regarding email searches were actions she would not take again.
Adams also viewed emails from City Administrator Casey Bradley without Bradley’s knowledge. The report raised concerns with the IT department in Sheboygan, highlighting a lack of training and infrastructure. This became evident to Bradley shortly after he started in Sheboygan.
Bradley worked to address these shortcomings, and a member of the IT department filed a whistleblower complaint against him. Adams hired an outside legal firm to investigate Bradley without alerting the Common Council. Bradley believed that Adams did not have the authority to investigate him, as that authority rested with the Common Council
Chuck Adams’ son was also employed in the IT department during this time but left for a position in Manitowoc shortly before the investigation began. Chuck Adams would often search his name, his son’s name and his cousin’s name to find emails relating to his family members and himself.
The report reveals dysfunction within City Hall and violations of privacy involving city employees and residents. When Adams was questioned about searching for emails regarding his cousin, he claimed it was due to a winter parking issue. At one point, detectives told Adams they didn’t believe these searches were related to a winter parking incident.
The viewing of emails was connected not only to Adams’ family but also to groups or residents who opposed liberal leadership in Sheboygan.
Do you feel the City of Sheboygan has abused its power for political gain?
All of these breaches of trust happened under the tenure of Mayor Ryan Sorenson. Sorenson claims to be the CEO of the city of Sheboygan. In other cases of misconduct as egregious as this the CEO is ultimately held responsible.
The release of this report also coincides with after Mayor Sorenson won reelection last week. A city resident reported the attorney hired by the Common Council for representation in this matter stated this investigation may be released after April 11 which is Adams last official day with the city of Sheboygan, even though he was removed from his duties on March 19.
This report along with the release of open records from Mayor Sorenson were both released after the election. The open records request TBS reported on yesterday went unfilled for 244 days.
Do you have any trust in your elected city officials?
You can download the full report here.
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