Dann Disciplines Agents Critical of Heck

Things haven't been going well for Montgomery County Prosecuter Mat Heck lately. He was recently accused of violating a federal law against pressuring subordinates to contribute money and time to political campaigns and now he's getting grief from agents of Marc Dann's Bureau of Criminal Investigations saying that his office bungled a marijuana case.

The Dayton Daily News picks up the story from here:

It all started when BCI Agent Dwight Aspacher sent a two-page letter April 24, accusing Heck's office of dropping the ball on the prosecution of three men accused of growing marijuana and tampering with evidence.

"I have to ask myself, was justice served properly in this case? I think not," Aspacher wrote to Heck. "I truly feel that your office has failed the citizens and law enforcement agencies in Montgomery County in regards to this case as well as other cases I have been involved with, in Montgomery County."

On May 24, Heck apologized to Aspacher because his staff failed to get input from BCI on the case. Heck copied Dann, a fellow Democrat.

Can you guess what happened next?

Here's a hint: it wasn't an investigation to determine whether or not justice is actually being served in Montgomery County...

The agent and his supervisor, Charlie Stiegelmeyer, were placed on paid administrative leave. A flurry of emails were passed between high-level staffers in Dann's office. Dann sent six himself on the subject and was furious at these guys for having the audacity to question Mat Heck.

Ultimately, both the agent and his supervisor had to write notes of apology to both Heck and Dann in order to keep their jobs.

One other thing that the Laura A. Bischoff column doesn't get around to is the fact that both Heck and Dann are Democrats. You don't think politics had anything to do with all of this do you? Nah...not with Marc Dann and the guy who stands accused of pressuring his staff to do politics.