As the state buzzed with news of recall petitions being filed against Gov. Scott Walker, three men with ties to Walker were arrested Jan. 5 on embezzlement charges as part of an ongoing criminal investigation by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.
According to the criminal complaints filed by the DA’s office, former Walker Deputy Chief of Staff Tim Russell, Kevin Kavanaugh and Brian Pierick were arrested on a total of 10 counts.
Of the embezzlement allegations filed in the complaints, the largest included charging Russell with stealing at least $21,000 from the Heritage Guard Preservation Society and charging Kavanaugh for embezzling at least $42,232 from the Military Order of the Purple Heart between 2006 and 2009. The money the DA said the two men embezzled originally was intended for veterans and their families, but the reports suggest it may have actually been used to fund Caribbean cruises, wedding expenses and renewing Walker’s campaign website domains.
The criminal complaint said Walker appointed both men during his time as Milwaukee County Executive. If convicted, each could face up to 10 years in prison.
According to Russell’s online court records, his preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23, and he has not announced how he plans to plea. Kavanaugh’s online court records said he is pleading not guilty to the theft and fraud charges. He is scheduled to appear at a court conference on Jan. 30.
The criminal complaint filed against Pierick, Russell’s longtime business and life partner and the original owner of Walker’s initial campaign website, also included a charge of child enticement, or exposing a sexual organ to a minor, on multiple accounts between September and November 2010. The charge is a Class D felony that could lead to up to 25 years in prison.
While Russell is not officially charged with the enticement charge in his own complaint, he is linked as a co-conspirator in Pierick’s complaint. The complaints said that both men made an attempt together to lure a 17-year-old boy into Russell’s van for a sexual encounter. Russell also appeared in a photo with Pierick holding martini glasses that was sent in a text message to a teenage boy, the complaint said.
Pierick’s initial preliminary hearing in Waukesha County Circuit Court was scheduled for Jan. 12, but was rescheduled to Jan. 26 by a request of his recently appointed attorney.
According to a report by the Associated Press, Walker said in a conference call with reporters that he was “disappointed” with the charges against Russell and Kavanaugh and emphasized it was his then-chief of staff who alerted investigators to Kavanaugh’s dealings with the Purple Heart Group’s funds.
Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate released a statement on the day of the arrests saying the arrest and criminal charges announced against close aides to Walker send disturbing signals about the governor’s management and judgment.
“Top aides to his campaign and his current and former administrations have been linked to an ongoing corruption probe,” Tate said in the statement. “And there is strong evidence that he is running Wisconsin as a pay-to-play plantation for corporate special interests.”
*- The Associated Press contributed to this story.*
