Sworn Deputy Ignores the law

Although the meat of this story pertains to our Edgar County ETSB (911 Board), we can’t overlook the fact that a sworn officer of the law is the Chairman of that board. 

For over a year we have pointed out numerous illegal expenditures by that board, of which Mr. Burgin has sat on during the majority of those expenditures.  Although most of the illegal spending has stopped because of our holding them accountable, nothing has been done to those responsible for the illegal spending.  In fact, most have taken an active role in white washing the truth about it, including an Edgar County Deputy, Dee Burgin.  

At what point and time does someone hold these people accountable for spending our money on things that have nothing to do with the operation of the 911 system?  An act that is still taking place to this day!

On the subject of double dipping, Mr. Burgin created a laundry list of excuses for their one employee, Nanette Crippes, who cant seem to come up with any dates she took vacation to work another job, all while getting paid to work for our County ETSB as a salaried director. 

Need we remind everyone that most oaths of office include upholding our state constitution, especially for an officer of the law? 

During Dee’s attempt to intimidate me with a defamation law suit for reporting the facts on his activities in this county, he admitted that he has NOT looked at the record to substantiate claims made by his one employee, Nanette Crippes. He informed me he took her word for it. 

Basically, Dee took the position, based on the perpetrators word, that the perpetrator, Nanette Crippes, did nothing wrong by claiming comp time, sick time, holiday time, and vacation time as how she worked a second job while receiving her pay check as an ETSB employee.  Lets not forget, her husband, former sheriff Tim Crippes is who she went to work for, who ALSO sat on the very ETSB she was supposed to be working for!   

As an officer of the law you would think he would at least ask for the documentation to support such a claim by his one employee.  We did ask for the record and the record tells an entirely different story.

1.  No minutes from the ETSB reflect any COMP TIME was ever approved for Nanette Crippes. 

2.  No one in there right mind would claim sick time as an excuse for her to go work another job but that’s the case with Dee.  County policy forbids such an action and common sense should have raised some type of concern as to the legitimacy of an employee calling in sick so she can work another job.  Any other county employee that did something like that would probably be fired.

3.  The Holiday time was the most interesting as there is not enough holidays in the year to cover all the days Nanette Crippes drew two paychecks for working the same hours.  

That took us to Vacation time.  How can that be used as an excuse when the very employee making that claim has NO CLUE what days she took vacation?   Records reflect that even if she did, she does not have enough vacation time to cover all the days she earned that second paycheck from the county for working the same hours. 

Mr. Burin may be the Chairman of the ETSB but he also is a deputy who is supposed to enforce the law, especially when known illegal activity comes to his attention.  During Mr. Burgin’s phone call to me he made it clear he knows of numerous illegal acts by officials in this county but is afraid to say anything in fear of losing his job. 

Let me give you a lesson in how you keep your next job Dee.  You report and investigate all known criminal action and when evidence supports a crime was committed you take the necessary steps to hold those people accountable to the law.  Your failure to do so means you either can’t or are unwilling to uphold the very oath of office you took. 

You should be removed for refusal and failure to do your job!

It’s interesting to see how Mr. Burgin defends Nanette’s actions of double dipping.  I guess considering he has no problem spending approximately 2 hours on the phone attempting to intimidate me with a law suit while on duty and suppose to be working as a law enforcement officer, he sees no problem with others cheating the tax payers as well.

That leads to a question for the Sheriff!  Under what circumstance is it OK for one of your deputies, while on duty, to call a citizen in this county and threaten them with a law suit?  Such an action is well outside the bounds of his scope of work as a deputy and is a clear abuse of power and abuse of county resources.  If he wants to threaten people, which appears to be a common trait for this person, he should do it on his own time, not the taxpayers!  

Again, Mr. Burgin, you should be removed for refusal and failure  to do your job as well as abuse of county assets, our tax dollars!  

Join the Forum discussion on this post