4-27-18 former uw-oshkosh officials charged with misconduct

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Department of Justice on Thursday charged two former University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh officials with misconduct in connection with a financial scandal involving five building projects.  DOJ prosecutors charged former Chancellor Richard Wells and former Vice Chancellor Tom Sonnleitner each with five felony counts of misconduct in office. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 3 ½ years in prison. Both men are due to make initial court appearances June 11.   According to criminal complaints against the men, they illegally promised banks that the university would guarantee any debt that the private, nonprofit UW-Oshkosh Foundation couldn’t cover as the organization completed a series of real estate development projects between 2010 and 2014.  The projects included the renovation of a hotel and convention center and a sports complex, and the construction of a new alumni center and two bio-digesters — one in Rosendale and the other on the UW-Oshkosh campus.  The complaints note that the Wisconsin Constitution prohibits the state’s credit from being extended to help any person, association or corporation. The complaints also cite a law that bars state agencies, their officers and employees from creating any debt or liability against the state without prior state appropriation to pay it.

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