State Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager and Deputy Attorney General Dan Bach signed agreements yesterday with the Wisconsin Ethics Board acknowledging they broke the law by using state vehicles for personal use.
In the agreement, Lautenschlager and Bach agreed to pay $672 and $512 respectively to reimburse the state for the personal miles. In addition, both have agreed to pay $250 penalties for the violation, said Roth Judd, Director of the Wisconsin Ethics Board.
According to Judd, Lautenschlager claims to have misunderstood the statutes regarding personal usage of state vehicles despite signing documents four times that classified commutes as personal use. Lautenschlager claims that she was informed early in her appointment that she could count commutes as business miles.
Chris Lato, spokesperson for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, expressed concern that the actions by the board amounted to little more than a \slap on the wrist.""
Lato said the calculation of Lautenschlager's illegal personal use, 1,969 miles, is hard to believe because it amounts to only one round trip to her home in Fond du Lac per month.
Lato also took issue with the leniency of the board when dealing with someone who signed documents later found to be false.
""She repeatedly, over and over again, signed paperwork that claimed she did not owe any money when she knew full well that she did, that, to us may rise to the level of felony misconduct in office,"" Lato said.
