(Spirit Lake)– A complaint filed in Dickinson County District Court against a former Spirit Lake Police Chief charges him with non-felonious misconduct in office and theft in the fourth degree.
The complaint names former Police Chief Dan Thomsen, who now lives in Milford. It was filed Monday in Dickinson County District Court by the Iowa Attorney General’s Office on behalf of the Dickinson County Attorney.
The complaint accuses the former Police Chief of misappropriating funds on numerous occasions exceeding a total of two-hundred dollars but not exceeding five-hundred dollars. It also accuses Thomsen of “failing to report to the proper officer the receipt or expenditure of public monies”.
Both charges are serious misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of 250 to 1,500-dollars.
A court appearance was set for 9:00 a.m. April 1st.
The charges stem from a state audit of Spirit Lake’s finances from July 1st, 2001 through June 30th, 2003 and of selected transactions from December 1st, 1997 through January 30th, 2001 and the year ended June 30th, 2004. Among other things, the audit made reference to disbursements from unauthorized checking accounts that were separately maintained by the Police Department. Other city officials claimed they had no knowledge of the accounts.
Citing a conflict of interest, Dickinson County Attorney Rosalise Olsen turned the audit report over to the Attorney General’s Office for investigation.
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