Federal District Court Judge Fredrick Kapala refused to dismiss a second case brought by two men fired by McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren, this time the one brought by Scott Milliman.
Scott Milliman and Zane Seipler attended the Bill Prim for Sheriff fund raiser with Newt Gingrich.
Milliman was fired by Nygren for testifying in a required deposition in the case of now-reinstated Deputy Zane Seipler.
In his testimony, Milliman, to put it in the words of Monday’s decision, “alleged
- excessive force used by other deputies
- retaliation that Milliman and other deputies faced for reporting unlawful conduct
- Nygren’s involvement in ‘ticket fixing’
- Nygren’s acceptance of bribes
- Nygren’s involvement in a fraudulent scheme to procure SBA [Small Business Administration] loans and then share the proceeds while permitting the loans to go into default
- ‘general corruption’ within the Sheriff’s Office”
“Milliman also accused Nygren of soliciting him to commit two murders on Nygren’s behalf and of receiving payment to smuggle illegal aliens into the country.”
Retaliation up to and including firing are alleged by Milliman in his request for reinstatement and damages.
The Judge dismissed three of six counts, gave permission to explicitly name Undersheriff Andrew Zinke in another count and denied permission to include, along with Nygren, Zinke, John Miller, Steven Schmitt and Ken Nielson in two deprivation of First Amendment rights counts.
The Court also refused to rule out the possibility that Milliman might be reinstated in his job as Sheriff’s Deputy.
“Defendants boldly state, without further explanation or citation to any particular portion of the complaint, that ‘reinstatement would not be reasonable or feasible under the facts pleaded in the complaint,'” the decision reads.
“The court is not persuaded,” the next sentence reads.
“The command structure at the MCSO could change in the interim during this litigation…Nygren is an elected official who could be voted out of office, or choose to retire, prior to any order of reinstatement being issued…that portion of defendants’ motion is denied.”
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Article one is here.
Article two is here.
Article three is here.
Good for them.
I hope for ALL concerned that this gets done quickly.
I, for one, cannot imagine either winning, but even if they did, would you want to return there to work after being fired based upon what they have both said happens at the department?
To MY mind, this is about money; lots of it.
Since I obviously back Nygren and Zinke, take the above with the grain of salt needed.
Tax Payers?
Open your pockets; hands are reaching into them.
AZ – your comment is such a surprise!!!
Read FEN – he got the FOIA stating that Milliman was fired for his testimony!
These guys are fighting
If you do not think that smells, you have serious issues.
Good to see Zaney and Scotty are buddies again.
I do recall Zaney made some pretty serious allegations against Scotty back in the day.
Good to see they’ve buried the hatchet!
Go Get Em Guys!
And, Nygren thought he was above the law.
Thanks guys, for taking a stand to protect the rights of everyone.
Our greatest hope is that Nygren, Zinke and all of their participants spend the rest of their lives in Federal prison. They have certainly earned it.
FYI-don’t know why what I stated is such a surprise.
I don’t KNOW anything, any more than any of you KNOW anything.
All of our ramblings are just that, ramblings and guesses on what we THINK is the truth.
Nygren has an endless bank account that the tax payers are paying for.
Yep your right this is about money. If he had any integrity, he would reinstate those officers.
Instead, he continues to fight in Federal court at the expense of the tax payers.
Nygren has been reaching into the tax payers pockets for years to pay for his indiscretions….I applaud the officers for taking a stand and fighting for their rights and the rights of others.
We are sick and tired of Nygren and Zinke and the fact that they continue to use the courts to throw their temper tantrums.. GROW UP!
You may think you know the truth, but everyone else knows the truth.
It is time to cast our votes and have Nygren and Zinke permanently removed from office.
You got that right, Duncan!