Trusted with millions, now former Milwaukee Co. employee faces felony charges
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- He was trusted with millions of dollars in Milwaukee County funds. Now, a former Milwaukee County employee is facing six felony charges -- and potentially years behind bars.
The following charges were filed against 55-year-old Dennis Dietscher on Monday, August 18th: Public official accept bribe (two counts), misconduct in public office (two counts) and false swearing (two counts).
Dietscher was arrested on February 19, 2014 for allegedly pocketing money that was supposed to go to repairs for the county.
"On behalf of the county, I work very closely with the insurer and claims adjusters to make sure we are in good position before this all happened," said Dietscher.
That was Dietscher in January, speaking about Milwaukee County's ability to repair damage from a fire at the courthouse. At the time, Dietscher was the safety coordinator for the county. A month later, he was arrested and accused of using county money for personal gain.
Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele issued the following statement on the charges:
“I never have and never will shy away from continuing to try to clean up Milwaukee County government. Taxpayers should know that we take their trust seriously. Anyone who works for me who violates that trust will face appropriate consequences.”
In the criminal complaint, it says Dietscher would choose a contractor to do work for the county where he developed a close relationship to Belfor Property Restoration Group. From 2009 to 2012, Belfor received millions of dollars from the county for work potentially profiting more than $3 million. The complaint says in return, Dietscher would get work done at his house.
Prosecutors say he also had work done on his father's property in another county -- and received free meals.
Dietscher is alleged to have made a false entry on his statement of economic interests and falsely swore that he complied with the county's code of ethics.
A person at Dietscher's home said he had no comment on the charges.
If convicted, Dietscher faces up to six years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
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