Attorney general’s office clears Madison County sheriff

Published at 12:36 pm, February 2, 2016 | Updated at 1:35 pm, February 2, 2016

Stephan Rockefeller, EastIdahoNews.com

REXBURG — The Idaho Attorney General’s Office has cleared Madison County Sheriff Roy Klingler and his employees of wrongdoing stemming from allegations of misuse of concealed weapons license fees.

Last year IdahoReporter.com reported Madison County Sheriff Roy Klingler spent more than $60,000 in concealed weapons fee revenue on a used car, tile and carpet for offices, and guns for deputies. The office bought guns and the car months after persuading county commissioners to increase concealed weapons permit fees by 38 percent.

Letter from AG’s office

Klinger explained that numerous counties around Madison were charging more for the permits, so naturally applicants came to Madison looking for deal. This increase in applicants cost the Sheriffs office more money. That is why it was agreed to raise the fee to where it is now, to cover cost, Klingler told EastIdahoNews.com on Tuesday, Feb. 2. “You have got to understand that I am completely against the permits, but we can’t lose money on something that we have no choice to do.”

Dan Roberts of Madison County sought a formal investigation into the sheriff’s office’s decisions in spending concealed weapons permit fees.

“It seems we have reached a stalemate, as the sheriff has said he has no culpability, the commissioners have washed their hands of it, and the people looking into it want answers,” Roberts told the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance in August 2015. “I think the only way for that to happen is an independent investigation by the Attorney General’s Office.”

After the attorney general’s office investigated Roberts’s complaints, Klingler’s office was cleared of all three.

“There was no allegation or evidence uncovered indicating inappropriate or criminal activity,” Deputy Attorney General Paul R. Panther wrote in a Jan. 22 letter to Roberts.

The letter also mentions that in October Madison County changed the way it handles the accounts holding the concealed weapons permit fees. The funds are now handled by the Madison County clerk, and expenditures must be authorized by the County Commission, rather than directly by the sheriff’s office.

“In light of the corrective action then and the lack of evidence of criminal conduct, we conclude that no further action on this allegation in warranted,” Panther concluded.

Roberts called the attorney general office’s findings a victory.

“While the sheriff and elected officials might be celebrating the attorney general’s preliminary decision to not pursue an actual investigation, the citizens of Madison County celebrate the actual win towards government accountability,” Roberts told EastIdahoNews.com.

Sheriff Klingler’s response to investigation

“Our thoughts are basically as they always have been: We did not do anything wrong, we did not do anything unethical, or anything that we shouldn’t have. We fully believed that the outcome from the attorney general’s office would be what it is. We have nothing to hide, we have said that from the beginning and the attorney general agrees.”

Klingler on constitutional carry

“I personally purposed legislation before the continual carry even came out. I have said for years that we should not have these permits. I have recently stated that I am in support of (Idaho State Rep.) Ron Nate pushing this constitutional carry. I purposed this to the sheriff’s association. We had 22 sheriffs vote against it and 18 vote for it. At that point we didn’t take it any further. That was me purposing that. I can promise you I’m the most Second Amendment sheriff in the state.”

Dan Roberts’ full statement to EastIdahoNews.com

While the Sheriff and elected officials might be celebrating the Attorney General’s preliminary decision to not pursue an actual investigation, the citizens of Madison County celebrate the actual win towards government accountability. I am sure the tone is being taken of “we did nothing wrong.” This could not be further from the truth. Committing perjury verses withholding all the information needed for the commissioners to make a sound decision to increase fees is not a fine line to walk and without saying. Telling the commissioners you need to raise the fees because of what your left hand NEEDS to spend the money on and then spending the money after they are raised with your right hand on what you WANT, all the while the commissioners have not approved anything may not rise to a criminal act, but certainly warrants the attention of all tax payers. At no time did anyone involved in the gathering of information for this investigation ever except nor did they want to see anything other than what was done. That is the access to the concealed weapons permit funds or any other funds and fees removed from the sole proprietorship of Sheriff Klingler and placed into the preview of the commoners’ oversight, as they are actually in charge of fiscal responsibility of tax payer money. This entire action combined with the growing distrust of government nationwide should serve as a staunch reminder to our local elected group that more than a fair share of citizens are paying attention to all of the actions taken by those officials. It is sad that it had to be taken this far in order for the leadership to do the right thing in accordance with the law and proper accounting and spending methods prescribed by the Idaho State Code. In the future such actions can be averted by commissioners and elected officials actually listening to the voice of the people instead of doing what they want until it is front and center as an issue that is forced to be examined further by an outside agency.”

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