Alderman Witkowiak intends to present this statement this coming Monday before the Judiciary and Legislation Committee, pertaining to the voter fraud issue to be discussed.

 

 

 

Last week I had a conference with the District Attorney John Chisholm and the Chief of Police at the City Attorney’s Office.

 

Also there was the Assistant Chief of Police Habeck, Assistant District Attorney Landgraf, and Police Captain Hagen.

 

I expressed my serious concerns about the efficiency of voter fraud investigation relating to the 12^th aldermanic district in the spring of 2008 election.

 

I have distributed a copy of those specific questions to some persons here today.

 

My concerns were in part heightened by a front page headline story in the Journal Sentinel a couple months ago in which allegations of police foot-dragging were made by the DA’s office.

 

Also, a Wall Street Journal article revealed allegations by former Milwaukee Detective Mike Sanvick that he was banished in mid-course from pursuing related cases.

 

These two articles were likely read by over a million people.  They, and the City, deserves a full explanation and I have pushed for it despite several difficulties.

 

I came away from last weeks meeting less than satisfied.  Captain Hagen spoke, in my estimation, in a circular fashion about how hard it is to investigate these type of cases.   “It takes time, time, etc….”

 

Two years and several months after this fraud occurred, THERE ARE STILL OPEN CASES !!

 

That is unacceptable. 

 

I challenge the Police Chief to relate to this committee other cases still open after two years and several months.  Cases where sufficient evidence has been presented.  Cases other than unsolved murders or ongoing matters of organized crime.

 

In the case of 2008 voter fraud, the Police and the DA’s office was provided with evidence of fraud. 

 

These cases would not have challenged Sherlock Holmes.

 

Former Detective Mike Sanvick told the Wall Street Journal he was pulled from the related voter fraud cases by the Chief of Police.

 

The Chief did not deny this at the meeting.  Sanvick was sidetracked, I gathered, because of a report he released that was considered too political.  Originally the Chief indicated Sanvick was not curtailed at all.

 

Sanvick, an expert at this type of investigation who worked closely with other law enforcement agencies, was apparently kept within the related police unit doing voter fraud work but was put on a tight leash. 

 

That leash lead to this unacceptable delay. Another investigator, I was told, had to be brought in and first trained. 

 

There might be other reasons too for the delay.   I would like to know.

 

There is also the open question of what happened with Detective Mike Perez, who worked with Sanvick, but was also re-routed from these fraud cases.

 

I tried to have Mike Sanvick appear here today.  I was first told a couple months ago he would be happy to appear.  I was then told by the DA’s office (where he was employed after his recent police retirement) that he would appear but should be subpoened.

 

It was agreed he would come to an earlier scheduled J & L Committee but called and said he had a dental appointment.  It was rescheduled to this date.  I was told last week he no longer worked for the DA’s office so they could not help have him here today.

 

I have in my district elderly people who struggle to get to the polls to vote, often in the winter.  I will do everything in my power to make sure their votes count and are not cancelled by a fraudulent vote.

 

End.