by Tony Palmeri
January 24, 2001
About 4 months ago, I was in conversation with a friend when the topic of the Milwaukee County DA investigation of the Pagel matter came up. "Why do you think the investigation is taking so long?," he asked. "I can think of two reasons," I said. "Either the DA is doing an incredibly conscientious job on a difficult case and is making sure that he crosses every t and dots every i, or he's planning on sweeping the officers' actions under the rug and hopes that if he waits long enough a whitewash decision won't be greeted with as much anger." At the time, I was half-joking when I stated the latter reason. But after reading newspaper coverage of the Monday press conference and speaking to Mr. Donohoo myself today, I'm starting to believe that the joke is on us all as Oshkosh citizens.
On Monday morning, I e-mailed the Milwaukee County DA's office asking for a copy--if one existed--of the press release that accompanied the Monday press conference. I received this response from the secretary via e-mail and a phone message:
The below message was dictated by Robert Donohoo, Chief Deputy District Attorney of Milwaukee County, but sent through the E-Mail of secretary Kathleen Lesniewski. In response to your fax of Monday, January 22, 2001, regarding the press conference that was held on Monday, January 22, 2001, in regard to the Pagel case, there was no written press release.
I then sent another message:
Thank you very much for your response and phone call. Now I have another query: Are the results of Mr. Donohoo's investigation available in written report form for the public? As I'm sure Mr. Donohoo can appreciate, his findings have sparked reactions in Oshkosh ranging from relief to outrage, and there are many people who want more information as to the nature of the 10 month investigation. If you could find out for me what materials will be made available without having to make a formal open records request I would much appreciate it.
Thank you very much for your attention to this matter.
At about 2 p.m. on Wednesday, I received a phone call from Mr. Donohoo. He explained to me that he does not have a written report to release about the matter, nor does one exist. I asked him if that meant that there would be no records to turn over should an open records request be made, and he informed me that the open records law does not apply to the actions of the District Attorney's office. He said that his 45-minute press conference in Oshkosh on Monday was the extent of the communication that would be released on the matter. He also claimed that while he made some personal notes for himself during the investigation, he did not compose any report related to the matter.
Now, pardon my ignorance of the way our legal system is supposed to work, but does something seem odd here? An investigation can go on for 10 months, presumably include interviews with dozens of parties to the conflict and examination of hundreds if not thousands of pages of relevant documents, and the investigator prepares no report of findings? The people of Oshkosh are not entitled to examine the basis of Donohoo's reasoning or examine the documents he examined to reach their own conclusions?
I closed my conversation with Mr. Donohoo by telling him that it has now become clear to me why television "investigative" programs like "60 Minutes" and "20/20" regularly go after stories like the Pagel event. Apparently, it takes the threat of a national television expose to get to the root of matters like the Pagel affair. Donohoo responded by saying that he has appeared on "60 Minutes" three times.
Maybe it is time for a fourth appearance?