By Mike Donoghue, Senior Correspondent
Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer is under investigation by the Vermont State Police for questions about department spending, officials said.
Adam Silverman, chief spokesman for the Vermont State Police, confirmed a tip received by the Vermont Standard concerning the investigation.
State Police Major Jeremy Hill, head of the criminal division, also said the investigation was in its preliminary stages, so there was little to share about the case.
Hill said state police — as standard protocol — have assigned detectives from outside Windsor County to investigate.
Palmer told the Standard Tuesday he had not been interviewed by state police.
The Vermont Standard did confirm that the original tip came to Vermont State Police on its anonymous tip line.
The investigation comes — by coincidence or otherwise — as two top-ranking deputies departed the sheriff’s department.
Capt. Paul Samataro, the chief deputy, and Lt. Tom Battista, resigned their department commissions on July 23, Palmer told the Vermont Standard.
He said the department agreed to continue to cover health insurance for Battista for two months, and he recently has been hired by Chester Police. Samataro will be paid until Oct. 1, Palmer said.
Samataro of Wilmington and Battista of Springfield did not respond to phone and text messages from the Vermont Standard.
Samataro had worked in Windsor County for more than a year after being employed by the Windham County Sheriff’s Department.
Battista, a 20-year police veteran, was initially employed by former Windsor County Sheriff D. Michael Chamberlain. Chamberlain, who served 40 years as sheriff, initially wasn’t going to run for election in 2022, but said he changed his mind when voters asked him.
Battista and Palmer squared off in August 2022 in the Democratic primary election, which Palmer won. Palmer went on to defeat Chamberlain, a Republican, in the General Election and opted to keep Battista on his payroll.
Windsor County State’s Attorney Ward Goodenough said this week he was aware of the general complaint. He said he has asked Bennington County State’s Attorney Erica Marthage to be the independent eyes and ears for the state police. Goodenough wanted to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Marthage did not respond to multiple inquiries from the Standard.
Issues about sheriff’s spending have been an ongoing concern throughout the state through the years. It has surfaced in several Vermont counties because the state law is vague.
Under Vermont law, the 14 sheriffs operate their departments as part public and part private. The state and county provide minimum funds, and the sheriffs need to raise money to cover many routine expenses, including buying and equipping their police cruisers.
The County Sheriffs need to make up the rest through public and private contracts that they negotiate. They are allowed to keep up to five percent for their expenses.
The Vermont legislature has yet to address the weird dynamic, even with periodic complaints.