HARDIN CO.— Contrary to recent rumors on the street, reports that former chief deputy Tom Maynor has been “let go” from state’s attorney Tara Wallace’s office are not true, Disclosure has confirmed.
Maynor was relieved of duty as chief deputy and from the Hardin County Sheriff’s Department April 30.
Newly-elected sheriff JT Fricker has told Disclosure that the decision to relieve Maynor was strictly budgetary.
Tom Maynor
“There seems to be some people trying to make more out of this than what it is,” Fricker told Disclosure. “It was a financial decision that began saving the county money immediately.
“The letter signed by myself and Tom specifically says this was in no way a disciplinary decision.”
Part of the savings with the current setup include the deputy who took Maynor’s place on the roster, Bobby Deppin, drives his own car back and forth to work.
Deppin lives in Saline County as did Maynor, who did drive his cruiser back and forth from Harrisburg to Elizabethtown everyday.
Now Hardin taxpayers are not footing the bill for the additional gasoline and wear and tear on the cruiser.
According to sources, Deppin is also not working a full 40-hour week, as was Maynor.
Those hours are being absorbed by Fricker who, according to sources, is on-call 24/7 and works an average 12-hour day.
When asked about his hours, Fricker told Disclosure he doesn’t like talking about himself because he considers the work of his department a group effort with everybody pulling together, doing what it takes, to get the job done.
State’s attorney’s take
After a little back and forth on the definition of “employed,” state’s attorney Tara Wallace told Publisher Jack Howser that Maynor was still working for her office but was not getting paid.
Well, actually, he is paid $1 but Wallace said, but “a dollar is equal to just about no money in my book.”
Wallace said she has checked on rumors that Maynor has been “let go” from several police departments for one serious infraction or another but nothing concrete has surfaced.
“Tom has worked hard for this office and is coming in now for little or no pay to finish up the cases he was handling,” Wallace told Disclosure. “I have checked with authorities myself and have been presented no proof of wrongdoing on Tom’s part past or present. I have never made decisions on rumor and don’t intend to start now.”
Wallace’s support of Maynor has not wavered since rumors surfaced in early April.
Dupo incident
According to an article appearing in the Wednesday, March 6, 2002 edition of the Belleville News-Democrat (which is available online), Maynor, while employed by the New Athens police department, was at the American Legion Hall on Fifth Street, Dupo as “part of a (February 16, 2002) Valentine’s Day party crowded with off-duty police officers” when a couple of the cops “slipped into the ladies room with a digital camera.”
Maynor along with St. Clair County Deputy Matt Jany were later arrested and charged with misdeameanor Disorderly Conduct for “going into the girls bathroom and taking obscene pictures of girls,” according to court documents; Maynor was also charged with misdemeanor Assault for allegedly threatening Dupo firefighter James Smitt, who was serving as bouncer at the party.
Witnesses said Smitt wasn’t the only one Maynor mouthed off to; Legion Commander Jim Wolf advised Maynor and harassed his bartender, Irma Gould, when she found them in the restroom and ordered them out.
To add insult to the situation, when Maynor and Jany left the building, one of them (patrons couldn’t identify which) showed his ass—literally, by dropping his pants all the way to the floor before shuffling out.
The Dupo police chief, Doug Keys, present at the party, disagreed with the arresting officer and covered for the two, stating that they “didn’t actually go into the restroom with the digital camera, just stood outside taking pictures of their dates who were inside.”
However, that completely contradicts Gould’s statement that she went in and found them there, which was the thing that actually lead to the allegations and charges.
Maynor’s case (number 02OV0000803) was later plead down to a simple Disorderly, and he went on to work at another police department because no one took action at that time.
Another incident in Dupo had made the papers two years prior, when Maynor was being scrutinized for “impeding an investigation” into an incident that involved one of his friends in the village.
To read the entire article, which appears in the current (May-June 2013) print version on stands now, simply sign up for an online membership and get your e-Edition, or visit any of our vendors, including those in Hardin: The Rose Hotel in Elizabethtown or Harbison’s at Karber’s Ridge.
Unconfirmed reports of political friction
There are unconfirmed reports of a bit of a political tussle between sheriff Fricker and prosecutor Wallace.
Neither could confirm reports of difficulty between their two offices.
(Publisher’s note: We would advise watching this story as many details are currently being held by Disclosure pending confirmation).