SHERIFF ACCUSES DEPUTY OF HIDING DARE FUNDS IN SECRET ACCOUNT

Nine months after resigning as a Cedar County deputy, a Cedar County
sheriff candidate has been accused by current sheriff Aaron Spillman
of using a secret bank account for 11 years for drug education donations.

In a Tuesday, July 1, press release, Spillman said he "developed
concerns" regarding how former deputy Dean Leon Dwerlkotte managed
Drug Abuse Resistance Education funds from 1996-2007.

Spillman later said no charges likely are to be filed.

"I was doing this in the way I was told," Dwerlkotte said Wednesday,
July 2, after hearing of Spillman's accusations regarding his
financial management of the DARE program, funded entirely by donations.

Dwerlkotte and Cedar County chief deputy David Starbuck are seeking
Spillman's position in the August general election primary. Spillman
did not seek re-election to the office he has held since 1997.

Starbuck said he knew nothing of Spillman's press statement beforehand.

Former sheriff Joe Shearrer hired Dwerlkotte as a dispatcher in 1991.
He was promoted to deputy in 1992 and served as patrolman and DARE
officer until September 2007. Spillman promoted him to sergeant in 2001.

Dwerlkotte left the sheriff's office in September 2007, days after
giving 14 days' notice of his resignation Friday, Sept. 14, 2007.
Dwerlkotte was relieved of all duties before the two-week period
ended and now is a Polk County sheriff's deputy.

DARE bank account

Spillman's dispute over the DARE account begins with the program
Dwerlkotte began conducting in 1995. Dwerlkotte said he presented
programs at area schools, including Dadeville and Everton, while not
on duty for the county and received no program funding.

Dwerlkotte said donations were made and Shearrer instructed him to
set up a DARE account in both Dwerlkotte's name and the Cedar County
Sheriff's Office.

"I created the account using my Social Security number, and the
statements were mailed to the sheriff's office," Dwerlkotte said.
"After Aaron (Spillman) took office, I was never told to change the
account; there was no mention of it."

Shearrer said Monday, July 7, he did not remember the exact details
from 11 years ago.

"I was audited when I was sheriff, and there were not any problems,"
Shearrer said. "I don't know if they (the sheriff's office) changed
their way of doing things or not."

Dwerlkotte said bank statements were mailed to the sheriff's office
until 2000 when bank officials said, because his identification was
on the account, statements must be sent to his home address. Bank
statements from 1996-2000 show they were mailed to the sheriff's
office at the courthouse, while later statements went to Dwerlkotte's
post office box.

Account ordered closed

Spillman said he told Dwerlkotte when he assumed office in 1997 to
close the account and process it through the county treasurer.

Dwerlkotte said no such directive was made.

When asked about the differing stories, Spillman said Dwerlkotte "is lying."

When asked why there was no follow-up until after Dwerlkotte left in
2007, Spillman said, "I didn't know he hadn't done what I'd told him
to do until he wasn't working here any more."

Subpoena for records

Cedar County prosecutor Michael Ash issued a subpoena signed by
Associate Circuit judge Joe Phillips Sept. 28, 2007, seeking records
within 30 days from Liberty Bank in Stockton, where Dwerlkotte kept
the DARE account. The subpoena was served on Liberty Bank's
Springfield offices on Oct. 17; the bank gave the records to the
prosecutor that day.

The same day the subpoena was issued, Spillman sent a letter to
Dwerlkotte requesting bank accounts, financial records, a check book
and DARE money.

A day earlier, Dwerlkotte had submitted all information to Cedar
County clerk Peggy Kenney and county commissioners. Kenney said after
Dwerlkotte submitted the records, Spillman asked for them. Kenney
said she has not seen the records since giving them to Spillman.

Kenney said the records and sheriff's office equipment were given to
her and the county commission when Dwerlkotte was no longer employed
because Dwerlkotte wanted a third party involved.

Ash said the subpoena was served, but was not filed because
Dwerlkotte had submitted the information being sought by his office
and the sheriff.

Ash later retracted that statement and said the information was
provided and was in his possession.

Press release timing

When asked why he issued a press release more than nine months after
Dwerlkotte left the sheriff's office, Spillman said he was waiting on
a return of information from the subpoena.

When asked why he did not follow up on the subpoena he had requested
the prosecutor seek in September 2007, Spillman said he figured the
information wasn't available.

When asked why he didn't follow up on the information request,
Spillman said, "I didn't see a need until the auditors asked me for
the records. Folks may think something about the timing, but that's
all there is to it. I looked into it after the request."

Kenney said the auditor's request is not part of a special
investigation, but routine information to be provided by all
departments during an audit.

State audit

A team from the Missouri State Auditor's office is conducting a
scheduled four-year audit in the courthouse of Cedar County offices.
Lead auditor Pam Tillery said she could not comment directly on the
audit until after the findings are released in late 2008.

"We make it a policy not to make any comments on an audit until after
the findings are published," Tillery said. "And since this is an
election year, those findings won't be released until after the
general election."

When asked why he waited more than nine months to make a statement
about the issue, Spillman said he had done nothing more about it
until the audit team made its record request.

Spillman said, even though DARE account statements came to his office
until 2000, anyone in the department could get the mail then.

"Joe (county treasurer Joe Levi) goes to the post office and picks up
the mail and takes it to the county clerk's office where it's
separated for the various offices," Spillman said. "Anybody who picks
up the mail could get that stuff."

Kenney said such a mail delivery system was in place for a time, but
each county office now has its own post office box. She said she
could not verify Spillman's statement.

DARE expenses

"I didn't have much to do with the DARE program," Spillman said. "As
far as I knew, supplies, such as books and things of that nature,
were coming from the state."

Dwerlkotte said the program was his own, and he himself supervised it.

"I started the program for the county," Dwerlkotte said. "I started
out in a couple of schools in 1995 and when Leland (former Stockton
police chief Leland McMasters) was here, he took care of the Stockton schools."

Dwerlkotte said when McMasters left, he also took over Stockton and
expanded the program.

"For all of the years that I did this program, it was on my own time
and effort, except one year," Dwerlkotte said. "When I went to the
schools, it was on my time, not the county's. Take a look at any
other program or DARE officer, and what they do is on duty time."

Dwerlkotte said donations were put into the DARE account he created
in 1996, and those funds were used for supplies and expenses, but
said he had records of it.

"I've got copies of everything I turned over," Dwerlkotte said. "If I
wanted to hide anything, I wouldn't turn it all over and leave the
fund with $1,100."

When Dwerlkotte turned in all paperwork, the amount in the DARE
account was $1,147.55, which was deposited into the county fund for
DARE programs Nov. 11, 2007.

Treasurer Levi said the $1,147.55 was the only deposit to the DARE
fund in 2007, and $520 in donations were made to the fund in 2006.

"I'll tell you what I think," Levi said. "I don't think Leon did one
thing wrong. Now, he may have not deposited the money in the right
account, but he had receipts and documentation for everything. I
would honestly say not one penny of that money is missing."

Dwerlkotte serves 17 years

Dwerlkotte said he knew of no problems between himself and the
sheriff until shortly before he left the department.

"I worked all that time, and had only one blemish on my record that I
know of," Dwerlkotte said. "That was because I didn't arrest someone
when I found them. It was a fellow wanted, I think, for non-support.
I went to his home right at dinner time and he had just gotten home
from work. He was dirty and had dinner on the table. I gave him an
hour to eat and get cleaned up - but that was a common practice. Why
not let the guy eat at home and we wouldn't have to provide a meal at
the jail?"

Dwerlkotte said he received a two-day suspension for his actions.
"But other than that, I don't think I had anything on file," he said,
referring to his personnel record.

Spillman disputed that, saying Dwerlkotte had several instances of
counseling during his time with the department, but gave no details.

"There were a couple of times I should have terminated him," Spillman said.

Asked why he did not terminate Dwerlkotte, Spillman said he thought
he had handled the personnel situations correctly. Spillman said
Dwerlkotte also had problems with Shearrer before Spillman took office.

Dwerlkotte said he had hip surgery in 2007.

"The sheriff had some concerns with my ability to do my duties,"
Dwerlkotte said. "But that situation is taken care of."

Dwerlkotte said Polk County sheriff Steve Bruce knew about the
surgery and had no concerns about it when he hired Dwerlkotte last fall.

Dwerlkotte said when he returned from medical leave, he was on
restricted duty working inside the sheriff's office. Spillman said he
was to be demoted to a non-commissioned position as evidence clerk.

Locker inventory

"He never did tell me why he wanted to do that," Dwerlkotte said of
the change in duties, "just that it was going to be done. Then I
asked for a complete inventory of evidence before I took the job."

Dwerlkotte said he wanted the inventory done before he was placed in
charge, so he could not be held accountable for evidence entered
before he took the position.

Dwerlkotte said Spillman refused the request, so he then went to the
county commission to tell them he asked the sheriff for the
inventory. Dwerlkotte said he didn't know why the request was refused.

Spillman said no such request was ever made. "I told him in writing
what I wanted him to do," Spillman said.

A copy of a memo given to Dwerlkotte dated Sept. 7, 2007, notified
him of the reassignment as a non-commissioned employee as evidence
clerk under the direct supervision of chief communication officer
Holly Peach. The notification also directed Dwerlkotte to turn in his
weapon, all equipment and his commission card.

When asked why an inventory wasn't done before a change in officers
was made, Spillman said the evidence inventory was in disarray, and
that is why a true evidence clerk was needed. "If it wasn't a mess,
why would I need an evidence clerk?" Spillman said.

The sheriff later presented the county's evidence book, into which
confiscated and recovered items are hand-written, saying an inventory
was available, so an additional inventory was unnecessary.

"That was just his (Dwerlkotte's) way of trying to get out of it,"
Spillman said.

County commissioners verified Dwerlkotte had concerns and requested
an inventory before he would accept the evidence clerk job.

Resignation

Dwerlkotte submitted his resignation Friday, Sept. 14, 2007. "I
worked a couple of days the next week," he said. "Then one day I was
told my services wouldn't be needed any more. I never was told why I
didn't need to finish my two weeks."

Dwerlkotte's last paid day with the Cedar County Sheriff's Office was
Sept. 28, 2007, according to Kenney, who said Dwerlkotte also turned
in the DARE account paperwork and his equipment items Sept. 27.

Items missing

Spillman said several county-owned items for which Dwerlkotte signed
out of the sheriff's office, or there are purchase receipts for items
that have not been returned at this time. Those items, according to
the sheriff, include video tapes, a computer printer and discs, a CD
player and other items valued at about $470.

"I've requested the prosecutor send a letter to find out where these
items are," Spillman said.

Dwerlkotte said all items belonging to the sheriff's office had been returned.

Dwerlkotte said he had the Polk County position lined up when he
submitted his resignation. "I think he (Spillman) was trying to push
me out, but I wasn't going to quit until I had a new job lined up."

Sheriff Bruce said of Dwerlkotte, "Leon has been an excellent
addition and officer. He is very professional; he is friendly,
courteous, well respected and does his job well. There have been no
problems at all during his time with this office."

Political timing

Dwerlkotte, upon reading the statement issued by Spillman,
immediately questioned the timing. "It seems like it's political,"
Dwerlkotte said. "Why else would he wait until now to make such statements?"

Norther commissioner Byron Hamilton said, "If Leon did anything
wrong, why wait until now to say something about it? Why didn't he
(Spillman) issue these statements when he (Dwerlkotte) left the
sheriff's office? It seems to me like politics."

Spillman said the timing has nothing to do with politics, but
everything to do with submitting information to the auditors. "It may
not look like it, but this has nothing to do with anything except
making sure the public knows what's going on," Spillman said.

"I don't know anything about it, and I really don't want to know
anything unless there's something filed," Starbuck said of Spillman's
press release. "I just want to campaign on merit of who I am and what
I want to do."

Dwerlkotte agreed, saying, "David and I stood on my front porch and
agreed we want to run a clean, honest campaign."