Darlene Wink
Darlene Wink is a former staffer of Governor Scott Walker (R). She was convicted as a result of the first of the John Doe investigations related to Walker.
Wink served as Walker's Constituent Services Coordinator while Walker was Milwaukee County Executive.[1] She was also the First Vice Chairperson of the Republican Party of Milwaukee County.[2]
John Doe investigations
Two John Doe investigations were launched by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm (D) into the activities of staff and associates of Governor Scott Walker (R). These investigations and the events surrounding them have been described as "the most tumultuous political events in Wisconsin in generations—perhaps in history."[3]
Prior to becoming governor of Wisconsin in 2011, Walker spent eight years as Milwaukee County Executive.[4] While in that position, Walker started an annual event, Operation Freedom, which provided active duty military personnel, veterans and their families free admission to the Milwaukee County Zoo.[5]
In 2007, the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) took over administering the funds associated with the event. In 2008, Wink discovered funds were missing from the 2007 event receipts and brought this to the attention of Walker's chief of staff, Tom Nardelli. The case was turned over to the Milwaukee County district attorney’s office in 2009. On April 23, 2009, Nardelli met with the district attorney’s lead investigator, David Budde. Nardelli informed him of his belief that the funds had been taken by Kevin Kavanaugh, the treasurer of MOPH at the time of the event.[6][7]
Though prosecutors had Kavanaugh as a potential suspect in the 2007 missing funds case, no investigation into the missing funds took place until over a year after the funds were initially reported missing. On May 5, 2010, Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf asked for the authority to launch a John Doe investigation into the missing funds. He asked for the John Doe on the premise of determining where the funds originated (i.e., sponsors and donors of the Operation Freedom Event). His request was granted by Judge Neal Nettesheim, who had been appointed the John Doe judge.[6][8]
On May 13, 2010, Wink admitted to Dan Bice, a columnist at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that she had been posting positive comments about Walker on the newspaper's online site. Within hours of making the admission, she resigned from Walker’s office.[9][10] The investigation was then expanded to include investigating Wink for doing campaign work on county time. The following day, her county office was searched, and computers and documents were seized.[6][11]
In August 2010, the investigation was expanded again, and affidavits were submitted for search warrants for Wink’s home and Internet.[12] Based on Wink's emails, search warrants were issued for email services of Walker staff members and the work computer of Tim Russell, another Walker staff person.[13]
In October 2010, Bice blogged that a John Doe investigation was being conducted into Walker donor William Gardner and Darlene Wink.[14]
In December 2010, after Walker won the election, the investigation continued with more search warrants and subpoenas. Wink's attorney, Christopher Wiesmueller, had his offices searched on December 6, 2010.[15] The next day, search warrants were executed on Tim Russell's house and real estate office.[10][16][17]
On January 26, 2012, Wink was charged with two misdemeanor counts of political solicitation by a public employee for organizing a fundraising event for Walker in 2009.[18]
Wink cut a deal and pleaded guilty to the two misdemeanor counts of political solicitation by a public employee. She was sentenced to one year of probation, 50 hours of community service and a $1,000 fine.[19][20]
During sentencing, Landgraf called Wink "fundamentally a good person who made some mistakes." He also stated that Wink cooperated in cases against Tim Russell and Kevin Kavanaugh, who were both convicted of stealing the missing funds.[19]
See also
- Wisconsin
- Scott Walker
- John Doe investigation
- Timeline of John Doe investigations related to Scott Walker
- John Doe investigations related to Scott Walker
Footnotes
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Darlene Wink," accessed May 19, 2015
- ↑ State of Wisconsin Circuit Court Criminal Division Milwaukee County, "Criminal Complaint," January 25, 2012
- ↑ State of Wisconsin Circuit Court Milwaukee County, "Petition for Commencement of a John Doe Proceeding," August 10, 2012
- ↑ Election 2010 AP Election Guide, "Scott Walker," accessed February 24, 2015
- ↑ Free Republic, "Operation Freedom: Milwaukee County Zoo," July 1, 2005
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Milwaukee Division, "Eric O’Keefe etal v Schmitz etal," accessed February 23, 2015
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Authorities seize computer of Walker aide," August 23, 2010
- ↑ Wisconsin Reporter, "John Doe I judge says he’s not responsible for John Doe II," June 10, 2014
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Walker donor broke political contribution rules," May 19, 2010
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedUSDCED - ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Walker staffer quits after admitting she posted Web comments while at work," May 14, 2010
- ↑ State of Wisconsin Circuit Court Milwaukee County, "Affidavit in Support of Search Warrant - Darlene Wink," accessed August 6, 2010
- ↑ State of Wisconsin Circuit Court Milwaukee County, "Affidavit in Support of Search Warrant - Wisconsin Statutes 968.375," August 12, 2010
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Investigations target Walker donor, aide," September 27, 2010
- ↑ United States District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin, "Christopher Weissmueller v Neal Nettesheim," November 3, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Reporter, "Disparate treatment: Civil rights lawsuit claims conservative speech trampled," February 11, 2014
- ↑ State of Wisconsin Circuit Court Waukesha County, "Case Code 30701," accessed February 23, 2015
- ↑ State of Wisconsin Circuit Court Criminal Division Milwaukee, Wisconsin, "State of Wisconsin v Darlene J Wink," January 25, 2012
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Ex-aide apologizes to governor during sentencing for county crimes," January 10, 2013
- ↑ Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, "State of Wisconsin vs. Darlene J Wink," accessed February 24, 2015