Continued discord within the Leelanau County Sheriff’s Office came to light this week along with results of a Michigan State Police investigation into whether Sheriff Mike

Oltersdorf, Undersheriff Scott Wooters and Jail Commander Cheryl King have engaged
in unlawful wiretapping and eavesdropping on employees’ personal telephone calls.
State Police Lt. Amos Horton conducted the investigation. He told the Enterprise this week that he could uncover no evidence of illegal activity by Oltersdorf, Wooters or King.

“We received a complaint, we looked into it, and I’ve received word from the state Attorney General’s office that there was no criminal violation,” Horton said. “So, at that point, we’re done.”

Horton added that although the sheriff and his top leaders had clearly “eavesdropped” on employees’ routinely-recorded phone conversations, there was no “wiretapping” or other illegal activity involved.

“I hope for everyone’s sake that everything going on in that department will be worked out soon,” Horton said.

Oltersdorf said he met Monday with state police representatives to review their investigation report. The complaint that precipitated the investigation had been filed by Sgt. Jim Kiessel and Sgt. Mike Lamb of the Leelanau County Sheriff’s Office, according to Horton’s report.

The report itself was provided to the Enterprise by Patrick Spidell of Leelanau County who serves as business agent for both the Command Officers Association of Michigan (COAM) – the police sergeant’s union – and the Police Officers Association of Michigan (POAM) – the union representing sheriff’s deputies.

The POAM is currently suing Leelanau County and Oltersdorf over a union grievance filed on behalf of Bruce Beeker – the deputy Oltersdorf fired in April 2006 for “severe misconduct” but who was returned to duty in August 2007 following a union arbitrator’s ruling. Circuit Court Judge Philip E. Rodgers Jr. earlier this month dismissed the union’s case against the county and the sheriff, but another union grievance is pending, and Beeker remains on the payroll in a “desk job” in the sheriff’s office.

Kiessel and Lamb initially contacted FBI Special Agent Robert Birdsong of the FBI’s Traverse City office to look into their concerns about “what they believe to be illegal third party eavesdropping being conducted” by the sheriff, undersheriff and jail commander, according to Horton’s report. Horton said he took over the investigation in January and heard complaints from the two sergeants that they had been called into Wooters office to hear computerized recordings of themselves engaging in phone conversations with other department employees, sometimes making comments critical of Wooters and Oltersdorf.

Some of the recorded phone conversations related to issues regarding Beeker. Other recorded phone conversations among sheriff’s office employees concerned union matters including the Beeker case as well as criticisms of the department’s top leadership.

In a prepared statement, the sheriff noted that “all phone lines within the Dispatch Center, Jail Control room, Inmate visiting, Inmate housing and Administrative wing of the Sheriff’s Office are recorded and have been for over 20 years. Internal policy informs employees that ‘there is no expectation of privacy with respect to electronic mail and voice messages.’ It further states that the Agency reserves ‘the right to access, review, copy, modify or delate any information, files, including personal, transmitted or stored in any IT (information technology) system including voice and E-Mail messages.’ Employees are also put on notice that agency telephones are to be used for ‘official business only,’” according to the sheriff’s preared statement.

“Is it a coincidence that all of this is happening just before an election?” Oltersdorf asked a reporter rhetorically.

Oltersdorf is running for the Republican nomination for sheriff in August and, if re-elected in November, will begin a fourth term.

“It’s clear that the union is pretty upset with me because I won’t cave into their demands in the Bruce Beeker case,” Oltersdorf said.

On Monday, union agent Spidell sent a letter to Oltersdorf, putting him on notice that the union was aware of the allegations of “eavesdropping and wiretapping of employees’ personal telephone calls.”

“The Union hereby serves notice upon the Sheriff that we will protect and enforce the rights of the employees in these matters,” Spidell wrote. “There will be no threats or retaliation for lawful concerted activity on the part of Union employees. … Employees are concerned about the potential for harassment, intimidation or even retribution. We also understand that the investigators have talked with you about these concerns,” the union agent told Oltersdorf.

Spidell also provided the Enterprise with an article from a union publication outlining how the Iosco County Undersheriff had been convicted of eavesdropping on union employees.

“It’s too bad that Judge Rodgers hooked his wagon to Sheriff Oltersdorf in the court case regarding Bruce Beeker,” Spidell said. “I don’t know how all of this will turn out, but it is certainly creating a great amount of consternation between the sheriff and his employees.”