WATFORD CITY, N.D. (AP) - A judge has declined to dismiss criminal charges against the McKenzie County sheriff that accuse him of misusing his office credit card.
South Central District Judge Sonna Anderson refused a dismissal motion Tuesday during a hearing in Bismarck. She didn’t offer a reason for the decision, saying: “I’m not going to dismiss the complaint.”
Sheriff Gary Schwartzenberger is accused of making excessive charges on his office credit card during a trip to the 2015 Western State’s Sheriff’s Association Annual Conference in Las Vegas. Those charges included his wife’s airfare, an upgrade fee to a convertible rental car and a golf outing.
Schwartzenberger later paid for the charges, but a criminal affidavit alleges the charges were made in violation of a county policy.
Defense attorney Tom Dickson called the criminal allegations baseless and contends there was no written policy.
“(He) is being prosecuted on these trumped-up charges because, while popular with the people who voted, he is unpopular with the other county officials whose power and access to taxpayer-funded frivolity are challenged by this presence,” Dickson wrote in his motion to dismiss the case.
Assistant Attorney General Paul Emerson argued in his response that Schwartzenberger knew of the policy from his experience as a deputy.
“The charges in this case weren’t paid for by the defendant on his personal credit card, as he surely knew they should be, with reimbursement sought from the county,” Emerson wrote.
Schwartzenberger is scheduled for trial on May 16. He faces a maximum penalty of a year in prison and $2,000 in fines.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.