Late last summer, South Bend Mayor Peter Buttigieg's chief of staff, Kathy Roos, was accused of using a city employee to make improvements to her home, an allegation she denied. After an internal investigation, city officials referred the matter to the Indiana State Police for further investigation. Outgoing St. Joseph Co. Prosecutor Michael Dvorak petitioned the circuit court late last month to appoint a special prosecutor, a filing that had been under seal until this week. Indiana's former Inspector General David Thomas has been named special prosecutor in the case according to the South Bend Tribune.
The Tribune says Dvorak made the decision to request the special prosecutor after reviewing the State Police's investigation to avoid the appearance of impropriety. It's unclear what that impropriety entailed, particularly since Dvorak's term as prosecutor ended only days later. Kenneth Cotter took over as prosecutor on January 1. Both Dvorak and Cotter are Democrats. The accused works for a Democratic mayor. Party affiliation alone doesn't disqualify a prosecutor. Thomas told the Tribune he expects to receive the case files this week and begin reviewing them next week.
3 comments:
I am sure Thomas will do nothing as usual!
Dvorak did the right thing. Had he kept the case, everyone in St. Joe County would have claimed that he was going after the Mayor's Chief of Staff because his son (Rep. Ryan Dvorak) wants to be Mayor. Any prosecution of Roos by Dvorak (or Cotter, who was Dvorak's Chief Deputy) would be seen as political.
Yes, LamLawIndy, but EVERY investigation by David Thomas is tainted by politics. He knows no other way.
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