The Vermont State Police has opened an investigation into the possible unapproved transfer of taxpayer funds from the Town of Woodstock to the Village of Woodstock to help pay for legal fees surrounding the demotion of former Police Chief Joe Swanson, the Vermont Standard has learned.
“The Vermont State Police can confirm an investigation is underway regarding an allegation of possible financial improprieties involving the Village of Woodstock,” said Adam Silverman, chief spokesman for the VSP.
“The complaint initially was made to the Woodstock Police Department, which consulted with the Windsor County State’s Attorney’s Office due to a potential conflict of interest. The complaint then was referred to VSP’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations, which is standard protocol,” Silverman told the Vermont Standard on Tuesday afternoon.
Interim Village Police Chief Chris O’Keeffe confirmed that his department received two independent complaints a few days apart from local residents concerning financial issues.
Among the people who could be potential witnesses are municipal manager Eric Duffy and the village trustees, who both have oversight of the Woodstock Police Department. Also, selectboard members for the town could be interviewed about the transfer of their municipal funds to the village.
Attempts by the Vermont Standard to reach Duffy for a public comment were unsuccessful.
Duffy reportedly is on vacation this week, and chief of staff Stephanie Appelfeller and Fire Chief David Green were fielding calls for the manager. Both were asked for a comment by the Vermont Standard, but neither responded by the Wednesday morning deadline.
O’Keeffe said the complaints were nothing he would or could investigate if his own boss was involved.
The selectboard and Duffy are expected to continue discussion about the legal costs during a public meeting at 6 p.m. Monday.
The board agreed at its July 7 meeting that the village administration would provide the board by Sunday the financial reports concerning the legal costs. The selectboard said it had a firm expectation that no extension would be entertained, according to the meeting minutes.
Attorney General Charity Clark did not respond to phone calls, texts, or email messages from the Vermont Standard this week.
Silverman said upon receiving the referral, “Vermont State Police assigned detectives and initiated an investigation to determine whether any wrongdoing or misconduct had taken place.”
He said the state police “formally opened the investigation on July 10, and it remains active and ongoing.”
For more on this, please see our July 23 edition of the Vermont Standard.
