Email tampering? The city of Kenosha the subject of a criminal investigation

KENOSHA (WITI) -- The city of Kenosha is the subject of a criminal investigation, and allegations of email tampering. Earlier this year, Kenosha police looked into accusations that a contractor was inappropriately accessing city employees' email accounts. Now, FOX6 News has obtained documents that reveal top police officials were split over what to do following their investigation.

Documents leaked to FOX6 News show that last summer, there were concerns about then-contractor Tig Kerkman.

At the time, he worked for Comsys -- which handled tech support for the city.

Those concerns prompted an investigation by Kenosha police.

In a review dated March 19th, Deputy Chief Daniel Miskinis looked into allegations of Kerkman archiving police emails on a separate server.

The Kenosha Police Department has its own server for archived emails.

The report concludes that Kerkman deliberately intercepted emails and deleted public records.

Miskinis writes that the alleged conduct "warrants criminal investigation."

Next, the report lands on the desk of Kenosha Police Chief John Morrissey.

In a letter from Chief Morrissey to the CEO of Comsys, Morrissey writes: "This ultimately becomes an employer/employee issue, unless there is a clear finding that it was done for criminal purposes. I do not find that to be the case in this review."

However, Morrissey approved a previous decision to suspend Kerkman's access to multiple city networks.

Despite his limited access, Kerkman began a new job on May 1st. He's now the IT Director for the city of Kenosha.

Two weeks later, the Racine County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant and confiscated computer equipment from the Kenosha Municipal Building as part of an ongoing investigation.

On Monday, June 2nd, the Kenosha Common Council voted to terminate its contract with Comsys.

The attorney for Comsys says it was in retaliation. The business owner worked with police during the initial investigation. He says "the city is looking to punish a potential victim and witness to a crime."

It's an allegation the city administrator denies.

City Administrator Frank Pacetti declined an interview with FOX6 -- but did send us documents with the findings of Chief Morrissey, as well as the city's formal response to the allegations made by Comsys.

FOX6 News also reached out to the Kenosha's business attorney, Kenosha's police chief and deputy chief and the Kenosha's Director of IT -- but did not hear back.