Columbia County District Attorney Jane Kohlwey, as a special prosecutor, agreed to destroy files that explain how a former Sauk County deputy escaped a felony conviction, a document shows.

The document raises new questions about whether 43-year-old David Riedel received preferential treatment from the Columbia County prosecutor because he was a law enforcement officer.

In trying to track down the document, a call to the Columbia County Clerk of Courts office resulted in the following answer: They don't have it.

Look in the public case file at the Sauk County Courthouse: It's not there.

Ask the prosecutors from both counties for a copy, and one thing becomes clear: The contract that shows what Riedel did to get his felony hit-and-run charge dismissed has disappeared from the public realm.

 

Click the following link to read the deferred prosecution agreement: http://www.wiscnews.com/pdr/uploads/dir/ProsecutionAgreement.pdf

 

Riedel was charged with backing over his then-girlfriend, Sonya Flower, and fleeing the scene after a dispute they had in December 2005 in Wisconsin Dells. The incident left Flower laying temporarily paralyzed in a parking lot as snow flurries began to fall. Flower said she passed out for a while, then woke up feeling numb all over from the cold.

She eventually dragged her body across the pavement to a nearby hotel lobby - teeth chattering - where she got help. Her liver was cut and a blood clot prevented it from bleeding out, doctors later told her. Flower's ribs and arm were bruised.

Riedel reeked of booze the next morning as a police officer interviewed him, court documents show. He admitted to drinking, but said he didn't think he ran over Flower.

Flower says she remembers Riedel yelling something like, "You crazy f------ b----, move," after he ran her over.

Kohlwey was appointed a special prosecutor in the case to avoid a potential conflict of interest because Riedel was a Sauk County deputy at the time.

In February 2007, Kohlwey signed a contract with Riedel and his attorney, Bruce Rosen of Madison, saying the case would be dismissed if Riedel satisfied certain conditions.

What were the conditions? Kohlwey refused to tell the media and the victim, Flower, saying attorneys had agreed to keep the terms confidential. Riedel apparently complied with the terms of the secret contract and his case was dismissed in December 2007.

Officials don't have document

Flower filed a complaint with the state Crime Victims Rights Board, saying state law entitled her to see the terms of the agreement.

She said seeing the agreement might have given her some closure.

"I woke up on a daily basis in severe pain," said Flower, who is about to undergo the second of four surgeries since Riedel backed over her with his pickup truck almost three years ago. "I always asked myself, ‘What did he have to do to get away with running me over?'"

After a hearing on the matter in June, the state Crime Victims Rights Board agreed with Flower and reprimanded Kohlwey.

Kohlwey eventually gave Flower a copy of the contract, which Flower provided to the Baraboo News Republic, sister paper of the Daily Register.

In the contract, Kohlwey agrees to "destroy any and all originals or copies of (the) contract and attached agreement" in her possession once Riedel successfully fulfills all the terms.

Kohlwey responded to an open-records request for the contract, saying she had turned it over to the Sauk County District Attorney's Office. But officials from that office say they don't have it. And it's not in Riedel's public case file at the Sauk County Clerk of Courts Office or the Columbia County Clerk of Courts Office.

That means employers inquiring about Riedel's 2005 felony charge will never know he was forced to undergo an alcohol and drug assessment or write an apology letter to Flower. (Flower says she never received the letter, though Riedel apparently submitted it to Kohlwey's office).

‘Wrong on so many levels'

"I don't think that Jane Kohlwey should have been reprimanded," said Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, a nonprofit group dedicated to open government. "I think she should be fired."

Lueders said certain defendants should not be allowed to strike secret deals, and under no circumstances should official records be destroyed.

"I would suspect that it's illegal (to destroy court documents), but I know that it's improper," Lueders said. "It's just wrong on so many levels."

When law enforcement officers are involved in criminal charges, there is heightened public interest, Lueders said. "People have a right to know whether law enforcement officers are treated differently than ordinary citizens."

He suggested the Wisconsin Department of Justice and the Office of Lawyer Regulation investigate the matter.

Kohlwey did not respond to voicemails or e-mails seeking comment. Neither Riedel nor his attorney could be reached.

Deputy's deal ‘unusual'

Legal professionals familiar with settlement agreements say the deal Riedel got was unusual.

The contract Riedel signed is a tool prosecutors most often use to give young people and first-time offenders a chance to make amends and move on without a criminal record. But such agreements rarely, if ever, include a secrecy clause, experts say.

With most agreements, the defendant enters a guilty or no-contest plea and the case is held open until he or she successfully fulfills the terms of the contract, which can include things such as drug and alcohol counseling.

If the defendant doesn't fulfill the terms of the contract, the contract becomes void and the judge can enter a conviction against the defendant.

Riedel was never forced to enter a plea in open court. His defense attorney, Bruce Rosen, testified before the Crime Victims Rights Board that Riedel would have entered a plea if he had violated terms of the contract, and the judge could have sentenced him.

"The odds of getting (an agreement similar to Riedel's) on a matter as serious as this are pretty slim," said Dan Berkos, a Mauston attorney with more than 30 years of experience as a public defender and prosecutor.

When the agreements are used on felonies, they are normally reserved for first-time or young offenders involved in nonviolent activity, said Berkos, who is also the chairman of the Wisconsin State Public Defender Board.

"Certainly if you're a law enforcement officer, you're going to be held to a higher standard," Berkos said. "It's pretty unusual to me."

Berkos said he is not familiar with how the Columbia County District Attorney Office's operates, but said he wouldn't expect such a deal from prosecutors in Sauk, Juneau, Adams or Monroe counties. He added that there may be circumstances of the case he is not familiar with.

Sauk County District Attorney Patricia Barrett has never offered a so-called deferred prosecution agreement that was not conducted in open court and was not recorded in the public case file in an adult criminal case, she said in response to a list of e-mailed questions.

Columbia County Judge Daniel George said most agreements include a plea up front, and he could "count on one hand" the number of cases he has presided over that didn't.

"I have not had that in any case at all," said Columbia County Judge Alan White, when asked about court agreements that are kept secret. However, he said such an agreement might be appropriate under certain circumstances.

Kohlwey was concerned

In documents filed with the Crime Victims Rights Board, Kohlwey said she felt there were things missing from the investigation conducted by the Lake Delton Police Department that were necessary to successfully prosecute Riedel. She also was concerned about Flower's reliability as a witness, she wrote in response to Flower's complaint.

In November 2007, Kohlwey said preserving Riedel's career as a law enforcement officer was not a reason for keeping the agreement secret.

In testimony before the victims rights board, Riedel's attorney, Rosen, said he didn't want to make Riedel's drug and alcohol assessment public, and that's why he asked for the confidentiality agreement. It would preserve Riedel's law enforcement career, he testified.

Lake Delton Police Detective Sgt. Janet Klipp said she recalls meeting with Kohlwey about the case, but cannot recall Kohlwey asking for any additional investigation.

"I don't recall, it's been so long ago," Klipp said.

Riedel is now working as a part-time officer for the Hillsboro Police Department, said Chief Thomas Richardson.

Flower works for the Department of Justice in Seattle.

She said in the beginning, she had expressed concern over preserving both her and Riedel's careers in law enforcement. But she wanted him held accountable.

"He didn't even get a traffic ticket," Flower said. "I mean, unsafe backing, that works for me."