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Possible Criminal Investigation Into No-Show Employees At Jackson County Sheriff's Office

Sam Zeff
/
KCUR 89.3

Jackson County Sheriff Darryl Forte says there may have been a crime committed when two former civilian employees didn’t come to work.

In a story first reported Monday by the Kansas City Star, Forte said he recently discovered that two part-time workers hired by former sheriff Mike Sharp were being paid for little or no work.

A sheriff's office source tells KCUR the pair reported directly to Sharp, so no one knew what they were doing.

Forte tells KCUR he has turned over the information to outside criminal investigators. He wouldn’t say who the outside agency is.

“It’s at the beginning stages right now, so I can’t really share too much information,” Forte says.

Such investigations would typically be handled by the Missouri Attorney General or the FBI.

A FBI spokesperson would neither confirm nor deny that an investigation was underway, and a spokesperson for Attorney General Josh Hawley wouldn’t comment.

Forte was appointed sheriff after Sharp resigned in Aprilafter admitting to a sexual and financial relationship with a sheriff's office civilian employee.

Sam Zeffis KCUR's metro reporter. You can follow Sam on Twitter @samzeff.

You deserve to know what your taxpayer dollars are paying for and what public officials are doing on your behalf – I’ll work to report on irresponsible government spending in the Kansas City area and shed light on controversies that slow government down. And when you hear my voice in the morning, you know you’re getting everything you need to start your day. Email me at sam@kcur.org, find me on Twitter @samzeff or call me at 816-235-5004.
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