The federal arbitrator who ordered that Bruce Beeker be reinstated as a Leelanau County Deputy Sheriff last week issued a scathing, 40-page "Essay with Satire" directed against 13th Circuit Court Judge Philip E. Rodgers Jr. and Sheriff Mike Oltersdorf.

In April, Rodgers dismissed a suit against the county and Oltersdorf that had been filed by the Police Officers Association of Michigan, the union representing Beeker and others in the Sheriff’s Office. In his order dismissing the suit, Rodgers characterized an opinion rendered earlier by union arbitrator E. Frank Cornelius as “moronic and wrong.” The judge also said he believed that the opinion must have been written by “somebody recently off their medication.”

Sheriff Oltersdorf fired Beeker in April 2006 for “severe misconduct” after he apparently befriended a woman being investigated for domestic violence. Beeker’s union grievance against the sheriff over the firing went to binding arbitration, with arbitrator Cornelius ruling that Beeker’s firing was unfounded. Cornelius ordered that Beeker be returned to full duty if he was found psychologically fit – which Beeker was after a series of exams.

Beeker has been back on duty in the Sheriff’s Office since August 2007 – but has been relegated to a “desk job” with no law enforcement powers.

Another union arbitrator has since noted that only the sheriff can confer law enforcement power on deputies, and Rodgers has upheld that opinion.

In the 40-page essay released Friday, Cornelius said he intended to demonstrate the Rodgers’ opinion was “erroneous, unfounded in fact and law, unprofessional, destined to be overturned by the appellate courts, and certain to cost the taxpayers of Leelanau County thousands more dollars on top of the thousands already expended to finance what from all appearances is Oltersdorf’s personal vendetta against one of his deputies.”

Referring to a comment made by Rodgers that Cornelius’s opinion as an arbitrator reminded him of “handlers for Bill Clinton talking about Monica Lewinski,” Cornelius wrote: “I submit that he (Rodgers) could use ‘a Lewinski’ to relieve his palpable tension and medication to help manage his anger and focus on fact and law.”

Cornelius also referred to Rodgers’ characterization of the continuing dispute between Beeker, his union and the Sheriff’s Office as being “like a medieval fair.” Cornelieus said he agreed with Rodgers – but only to the extent that “Rodgers is the jester and Oltersdorf the joker.”

Oltersdorf said he had been provided a copy of Cornelius’s essay and found it “extremely bizarre and very irrational.” Oltersdorf said it was not clear what might be motivating Cornelius to write such an essay.

Even Oltersdorf’s political opponent – District No. 2 county commissioner Mark Walter who is challenging Oltersdorf for the Republican nomination for Sheriff in the Aug. 5 Primary – said he was puzzled by Cornelius’s comments.

“I know there are problems in the Sheriff’s Office – that’s why I’m running for sheriff,” Walter said. “But I don’t see how the union arbitrator’s essay criticizing the sheriff and Judge Rodgers will help fix anything.”

Rodgers said he hadn’t read Cornelius’s essay, and has no intention of doing so.

“From what I’ve heard of it,” Rodgers said, “it’s clear that his comments are very much along the lines of what he wrote before. He has no sense of what sexual harassment is, no understanding of the serious domestic violence issues that police officers face every day, and clearly has an unhealthy obsession with sexuality.”

Although Cornelius is not an attorney, he holds a law degree from the University of Michigan as well as a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Washington. Cornelius also wrote a “Readers Forum” piece, which appears on page 5 in this section of the newspaper.

Beeker this week responded to a reporter’s request for comment on Cornelius’s essay, and provided an emailed statement from his home computer.

Beeker noted that Cornelius has presided as an arbitrator since 1983, “and his credentials are well established.”

Beeker wrote: “Mr. Cornelius’ recent essay in support of his position illustrates his contention that Judge Rodgers erred in his decision of April 14, 2008, and cites case law to prove it. The result of this attitude by the judge is that it will certainly cost the taxpayers of Leelanau County thousands more dollars on top of the thousands already expended.”

Beeker continued: “Mr. Cornelius stated the Sheriff’s arbitration presentation was ‘the weakest I have ever seen for discharging an employee with Grievant’s (Beeker’s) experience, talents and commendations. And he further states that ‘Indeed Rodgers opinion (and) defendants briefs…are little more than works of deception. If defendants made comparable misrepresentations to the Michigan appellate courts, they risk sanctions.”’