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Ex-police chief won’t be charged

ELKHORN — Former town of Delavan Police Chief Andrew Mayer will not be charged by the Walworth County District Attorney’s office for alleged criminal acts.

Earlier this month, Town Chairman Wayne Polzin requested Mayer be prosecuted for theft, misconduct in office, obstruction and party to impersonating a police officer.

District Attorney Phil Koss reviewed the request and declined to take further action.

“I am concerned that the credibility of these charges would be tainted by the appearance of politics,” Koss wrote in a letter to Polzin.

Mayer, who was fired in October, is running for a seat on the town board. If the town board knew of the allegations, it should have, and could have, requested prosecution before Mayer announced his candidacy, his attorney said.

“It was such a ridiculous thing for Polzin to do,” attorney Thomas Halloran said. “To walk over with that stuff now, when he knew all along there was nothing there … Even if it seemed there was something there, it would be more appropriate to do it closer to when it occurred.”

Mayer said the request smacks of dirty politics.

“There was nothing to the allegations in the first place,” he said. “I’ve said all along, I have done nothing wrong.”

Polzin said the town board ordered investigative reports be turned over to Koss in December, before Mayer was a candidate. He was not sure why town attorney Steve Wassel never turned in the reports.

According to a summary of those reports developed after an internal investigation, Mayer allegedly:

-- Withheld information from another police chief who was investigating Mayer for reportedly driving drunk last May.

-- Paid a former administrative assistant Carol Hansen for hours she didn’t work and added hours to her timecard without authorization.

-- Drove a police car to Illinois for personal business.

-- Allowed Hansen to carry a holstered gun while performing security duties—including during a visit by President Bush to Walworth County—even though she no longer was a sworn officer.

Koss, in his letter, said he would have a difficult time proving any of the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt and that the allegations never rose to the level of a crime.

Koss also noted that Polzin made the referral and not a police officer.

“Whether or not there are legitimate issues, it certainly would cause an average juror to have reasonable doubt,” Koss wrote.

Polzin believes Koss missed the boat and should have charged Mayer.

Polzin said he gave the allegations to another attorney for review and said he would pay for that personally if he had to. He also is considering taking it to the Attorney General’s Office for review.

“I just decided that I wasn’t going to take his word for it,” Polzin said. “That ain’t the first time he has screwed up as the DA, and it probably won’t be the last. There were things in (the investigative material) he did not consider.

“He picks and chooses what the hell he wants to do and doesn’t want to do.”

Koss said he would not “dignify (Polzin’s) comments with a response.”