The Ohio Inspector General today released a report of investigation finding wrongdoing and omissions by two Ohio wildlife officers and their supervisor at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
The case began with a photograph of a group of deer hunters posted on a website. As part of the promotional website for a company which sells mineral supplement for wild deer, the photograph showed several men displaying deer harvested from a hunt, and included Ohio Wildlife Officer Allan Wright and his supervisor David Warner. The investigation revealed Wright, his supervisor Warner, and a third Ohio wildlife officer, Matthew Roberts, were harvesting deer for themselves while claiming they were on duty, collecting regular pay and, in some cases, overtime pay.
Brown County Prosecuting Attorney Jessica Little announced the Brown County Grand Jury indicted Roberts and Warner for Theft in Office and Tampering with Records. Warner was also indicted for Dereliction of Duty. In October 2011, Wright was terminated from employment at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for other unrelated violations. This past May, Wright entered a plea of guilty to charges in a federal district court, which included an agreement to cooperate with future investigations. Wright was sentenced in federal court July 17.
Ohio Inspector General Report of Investigation file number 2012-CA00009 is now available at:
http://watchdog.ohio.gov/Investigations/2012Investigations.aspx
