Mayor, police chief and clerks all arrested in small Iowa town

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https://nypost.com/2021/02/14/mayor-police-chief-and-clerks-all-arrested-in-small-town/







Mayor, police chief and clerks all arrested in small Iowa town

The mayor, police chief, city clerk and a former city clerk of a small Midwest town were all arrested for allegedly abusing their power — with crimes including stealing money, falsifying records and strong-arming civilians, officials said.

In one instance, a resident in Armstrong, Iowa — population 840 — was attacked by one of the defendants with a stun gun to shake them down for money, authorities said.

“Mayor Greg Buum, police chief Craig Merrill, city clerk Tracie Lang, and former city clerk Connie Thackery were charged with felony and misdemeanor offenses in a 21-count joint trial information approved by the Emmet County District Court,” the Emmet County sheriff said in a statement.

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office filed charges on Feb. 11 after a multi-year investigation uncovered allegations of theft, felonious misconduct in office, tampering with records, assault with a dangerous weapon and falsifying public records, according to the release.


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In the first charge of ongoing criminal conduct, Mayor Gregory Wayne Buum, 69, Police Chief Craig Juan Merrill, 43, City Clerk Tracie Jean Lang, 57, former City Clerk Connie Marie Thackery, 66, are accused of committing wrongdoing for financial gain, according to court papers obtained by Law&Crime.

Authorities claim Buum and Merrill misappropriated checks totaling more than $10,000 and that, together with the city clerk, the mayor and Lang made a false entry in the public record regarding money in that amount. Buum and Thackery are also accused of misappropriating funds, resulting in a charge for theft in the second degree. The two assault charges against the police chief stem from him allegedly using using a Taser on someone.

The Emmet County Sheriff’s Office says this is the result of a multi-year investigation with help of the Division of Criminal Investigation, and following a special investigation by the Auditor of State. They claimed wrongdoing included misappropriating city funds, presenting fraudulent public records, using a Taser on a civilian for a pay, and falsifying ledgers to hide embezzlement.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/mayor-police-chief-clerk-and-former-clerk-of-iowa-town-all-arrested-in-corruption-case/ar-BB1dHAOI