Weekend State News Briefs: Fond du Lac cop charged in accident

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FOND DU LAC - An off-duty Fond du Lac police officer could face charges of drunken driving and hit-and-run in connection with an accident early Friday morning.

The officer was reportedly driving his personal vehicle at about 2 a.m. when he hit a parked vehicle. He is then accused of leaving the scene, but a neighbor who witnessed the accident had called 911. A Fond du Lac squad car pulled over the man in his vehicle, finding front-end damage and a broken headlight. The police department reports it has started an internal investigation. The 12-year veteran of the police force is on paid administrative leave while the case is investigated.

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It was a year ago last Friday. Fourteen Democrats in the Wisconsin Senate took off for Illinois in an attempt to delay passage of Governor Scott Walker’s budget repair bill. Minority Leader Mark Miller (D-Monona) says members of his party had met, deciding a trip to Illinois was the only way to slow down the legislation. Miller says they decided to meet at Rockford’s Clock Tower Inn. He says he was surprised when television reports indicate they were at a resort. Miller says anyone who has been at the inn knows it’s not a resort. The group of Democratic lawmakers ended up staying away from the Capitol for just over three weeks.

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They don’t agree on much, politically, but two members of the Wisconsin congressional delegation are working together on a bill to protect U.S. manufacturers from unfair trade practice’s by countries like China and Vietnam. Republican Congressman Reid Ribble and Democratic Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin are co-sponsors of legislation which would amend a 1930 tariffs law to allow additional duties to be applied in certain cases. Baldwin and Ribble have presented the CHEATS Act, which stands for China Hurts Economic Advancement Thru Subsidies. The two members of congress say the bill could help several Wisconsin companies, including those in the paper industry.

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For the second time in less than a week Wisconsin is home to a million-dollar lottery winner. A ticket worth a cool million was sold in Marshfield for the Mega Millions game. The player matched all five regular winning numbers in the drawing for Friday. That would be good for the 250 thousand dollar prize, but the payout is multiplied by four because the player also bought the game’s multiplier feature. Just six days ago a West Allis woman won a million-dollar Powerball prize.

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A crash on Lacy Road in Fitchburg Friday afternoon has left three people dead and two others injured. All five victims are believed to be young adult men. Alcohol and speed are thought to be factors in the accident reported a little after 5 p.m. The vehicle was reportedly traveling east on Lacy Road at a high rate of speed when the driver failed to stop at a stop sign. The vehicle hit railroad tracks and went airborne before hitting a utility pole. Four people were thrown out of the car, with three of them dead at the scene. One of the injured men ran away, but was found a couple of blocks away from the accident location.

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Former Milwaukee archbishop Timothy Dolan gets much attention and praise for his speech on spreading the faith at Vatican City yesterday. Some Italian media are describing Dolan as having the qualities to be pope someday. Dolan was one of 22 Catholic churchmen who became Cardinals. For decades the leader of the Roman Catholic Church has been Polish or German, but Italy now has 30 Cardinals younger than 80 years old – and those are the ones eligible to vote for a future conclave. The current pope reportedly described Dolan’s speech as, quoting here, “enthusiastic, joyful and profound.”

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A Wisconsin business owner facing federal charges of arson, mail fraud and murder for hire makes a court appearance next week. Prosecutors say 32 year old Mathew Lemberger of Denmark wanted to collect on a 1-point-4 million dollar insurance policy covering his business. He’s accused of conspiring with two other people to set the business on fire, the offering to kill the wife of one of his helpers as compensation for his help. An attorney for Lemberger says he intends to plead not guilty when he makes his court appearance Tuesday.

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A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) says there are no versions of a mining bill which would get 17 votes right now. Those 17 votes are needed for passage. Opponents of plans for an iron mine in northwestern Wisconsin packed a public meeting room at the Capitol yesterday. Republican Senator Dale Schultz of Richland Center says he and Democrat Bob Jauch of Poplar could have a compromise bill ready to go as soon as Monday. Gogebic Taconite wants to build a big open-pit iron mine in the Penokee Hills near Lake Superior. It could mean hundreds of jobs to a depressed area greatly in need of an economic boost. Opponents are worried about the impact of the mining on the pristine streams and forests in the region. Republicans want the job, but not all are on board with the measure which was being discussed yesterday.

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The jury got the case of the Rib Mountain man accused of robbing and sexually assaulting a hotel bookkeeper last night. Tim Grandison took the stand in his own defense yesterday. He faces charges of kidnapping, second-degree sexual assault, armed robbery, obstructing an office, false imprisonment and cocaine possession. Grandison was arrested in October 2010 and accused of robbing the Best Western Midway Hotel. He lived there at the time, working as a chef. Grandison told the court he and the victim planned to stage a fake robbery, then the two of them would keep the money. She says he held her for four hours, taking cash from the bank bags she was preparing to take to the bank, and sexually assaulting her while smoking crack cocaine.

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Former Beloit public works supervisor Tom Kosier has pleaded guilty to federal charges of stealing city property and making unauthorized purchases. Kosier entered his plea in Madison federal court last week and his sentencing is scheduled for May 9th. He allegedly charged up to a million dollars when he bought lawn mowers, water heaters, furnaces and many other others. Federal agents arrested Kosier at a rented vacation home in Maui last August.

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