Two former University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh executives have reached the same deal with prosecutors in connection to a criminal misconduct case stemming from their time in office.
Former Chancellor Richard Wells and former Vice Chancellor Thomas Sonnleitner were sentenced Wednesday in Winnebago County Circuit Court to pay $70,000 each in restitution to the University of Wisconsin System. They’re expected to pay $35,000 by the end of 2020 and complete the payment by the end of 2021. Each man will also pay a $5,000 fine.
Both apologized for their actions in court Wednesday.
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“I was a public servant for my entire working life and I never tried to harm any of the organizations I worked for over the past 51 years,” Sonnleitner said.
Assistant Attorney General Richard Chiapete notified the court of a plea deal last week. At the request of Sonnleitner’s attorney, Winnebago County Circuit Judge John Jorgensen sealed the details of the agreement until Wednesday’s hearing.
As part of the deal, both men pleaded guilty to one felony charge. Four additional charges were dropped, but read in at sentencing.
Jorgensen agreed to the state’s recommendation that each man should pay restitution and a fine. He also decided to restore each man’s voting rights as soon as the fine is paid. Jorgensen said he lives in Oshkosh, and he knows what Wells and Sonnleitner have done to benefit the community. He said he’s never had two more upstanding defendants in his courtroom.
Wells and Sonnleitner were each charged in April 2018 with five felonies for acting in excess of their authority while in public office. The charges stem from misconduct in their dealings with the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Foundation and its creditors. Wells and Sonnleitner pleaded not guilty to the charges in 2018.
A criminal complaint accuses the men of writing letters to UW-Oshkosh Foundation lenders guaranteeing the university would assist the foundation if it was unable to make loan payments. Money from the loans in question was put toward building projects including Oshkosh Premier Waterfront Hotel and Convention Center, the Oshkosh Sports Center and the Culver Family Welcome Center. Neither man is accused of benefiting financially from the projects.
“They clearly did not have the authority to sign these guarantees, and they knew they didn’t have that authority,” Chiapete said at the sentencing hearing.
Wells’ attorney Ray Dall’Osto said after the hearing that he didn’t believe his client’s actions should have risen to the level of criminal charges. Wells agreed to the plea deal, however, because he wanted to put the legal proceedings behind him.
“Former Chancellor Wells wanted to basically stop, not only the bleeding from him, but just the bleeding and press attention and media and public wondering what’s going to go on, but let the university go on and move ahead,” Dall’Osto said.
Unable to repay the loans, the UW-Oshkosh Foundation filed for bankruptcy in 2017.
A federal bankruptcy judge decided in 2018 that the letters from Wells and Sonnleitner were legally binding. As a result, UW-Oshkosh was required to use public funds to repay the loans on the foundation’s behalf.
The men are also defendants in an ongoing Dane County civil case brought by the UW System Board of Regents related to the events outlined in the criminal complaint.
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