In Starke County, Indiana, a serious issue has come to light. An alleged misuse of nearly $20,000 of taxpayer dollars within the Starke County Sheriff’s Department is currently under investigation. This claim was made by the Indiana State Board of Accounts in their special investigation. The potential repercussions of this misbehavior could lead to even greater financial losses for the county.
Key Figures at the Center
Former Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin and former Jail Matron Pamela McDonald find themselves at the heart of these allegations. McDonald has been accused of multiple instances of misusing county funds since 2019, and in total, it could end up costing the county more than $60,000.The state investigation began in 2023 when the Indiana State Board of Accounts received a formal complaint. The report details various unauthorized expenditures, such as payments through Amazon and PayPal, travel disbursements, duplicate payments, excess compensation, and undocumented fundraisers.The findings of the State Board of Accounts were just released last summer. Starke County Attorney Justin Schramm provided WSBT 22 with a statement, stating that the Starke County Council and Board of Commissioners were made aware of the report in July. It identified areas where the county’s internal controls were ineffective in preventing the mismanagement of funds. The council and board have implemented new internal controls to prevent any recurrence, as safeguarding taxpayer dollars is of utmost importance. They also commended the current Sheriff, Jack Rosa, for his efforts in remedying past delinquencies that were not of his making, as well as the current Matron. They remain committed to improving in the areas identified in the special report. Any criminal proceedings will be referred to the Indiana State Police, the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, and other outside agencies for further action.According to documents from the State Board of Accounts, Pamela McDonald, who served as Jail Matron from May 2018 until she was fired in May 2023, was responsible for reconciling bank accounts and managing the Commissary Fund. In November 2022, she allegedly used the Sheriff’s Amazon account to order a gaming recliner, a mattress, and a bed frame totaling $658.57, which were delivered to her home. In the report, McDonald claimed it was an accident and informed then County Auditor Rachel Oesterreich not to use county funds, but investigators found no record of her repayment.On November 20th, WSBT emailed and left a voicemail to former auditor Oesterreich, who is now the Superintendent of the Starke County Highway Department, to discuss the report, but no response was received.According to the report, between August 2022 and May 2023, McDonald submitted 75 invoices for more than $33,000 in vehicle repairs at Sideline Automotive. Of these, 17 disbursements totaling more than $18,000 were recorded in both the Commissary ledger and sent to the County Auditor for payment, but only two matched the original invoices. Investigators discovered that the invoices were used to conceal transfers from the Commissary Fund to McDonald’s PayPal account, with 19 withdrawals totaling more than $20,000. As a result, her PayPal transactions exceeded the Commissary disbursements by over $2,200.However, McDonald is not the only person under scrutiny. The investigation found that $675 from the Commissary Fund was used to pay registration fees for non-employees to attend the 2022 Indiana Sheriffs Association Conference in French Lick, Indiana. These registrations were for the spouses of former Sheriff Bill Dulin, 911 Dispatcher Stacey Noolan, and Jail Warden Nathan Caudill. An additional $488 was used to cover conference costs for Dulin’s and Noolan’s spouses to attend the National Sheriffs Association Conference in Kansas City that same year.We attempted to ask the former sheriff about this spending, but he hung up on us. WSBT sat down and had a conversation with the current Starke County Sheriff Jack Rosa to discuss the report and to see if any changes have been made within the Sheriff’s department.“We are dedicated to making things better. I mean, I inherited a bit of a mess, and we are just working through it. So, I hope people will be patient, and there will be an improvement and new beginnings,” said (R) Starke County Sheriff Jack Rosa.We also asked if there were any changes made within the department.“Yes, we have implemented a lot of stricter internal controls now. Everything that we spend, we discuss as a group,” said (R) Starke County Sheriff Jack Rosa.The report also includes instances of excess salary and the selling of products made by inmates. WSBT reached out to County Prosecutor Leslie Baker and even visited her office on November 20th to see if either Sheriff Dulin or Pamela McDonald had repaid any of the alleged misused funds, but no answer was received.As of now, no charges have been filed, but Starke County Attorney Justin Schramm informed us that any criminal proceedings will be referred to the appropriate agencies for further action.READ MORE