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Felony Investigation Targets Rhinelander Administrator Guild; 27 Pieces Of Evidence Seized In Search

Rhinelander City Administrator Daniel Guild is the subject of a felony investigation involving several agencies, documents obtained Friday show.

The documents, a pair of search warrants, show investigators seized 27 pieces of evidence during a lockdown of Rhinelander City Hall on Thursday.  Follow the links below to view the warrants.

The Oneida County Sheriff’s Office executed the warrants on suspicion that Guild committed two felonies, Tampering with Public Records and Misconduct in Office.

Credit Ben Meyer/WXPR
Oneida County sheriff's deputies enter Rhinelander City Hall on Thursday, executing warrants in the felony investigation.

Officers from Oneida, Vilas, and Marathon counites, as well as the Wisconsin Department of Justice, closed down City Hall for more than five hours on Thursday as they executed their search.  The evidentiary items seized include documents, flash drives, and cell phones.

In an email to Rhinelander Mayor Chris Frederickson and City Attorney Steve Sorenson on Friday, Alderman Lee Emmer requested Guild be kept off city property.

Credit WXPR
Alderman Lee Emmer.

“I do not think Daniel Guild should be allowed in City hall and especially on City computers,” Emmer wrote.

Emmer and Alderwoman Dawn Rog requested a discussion of Guild’s status be placed on Monday’s Common Council agenda.

Neither Guild nor any other person has been arrested or criminally charged in the case.

Documents show the investigations into Guild fall into two potential felony categories: Tampering with Public Records and Misconduct in Office.

On the tampering side, the investigation stems from a Sep. 4 complaint to the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office made by Gregg Walker, the owner of the Lakeland Times and Northwoods River News.  Walker said the city told his newspaper, in response to an open records request, that personnel records relating to former Public Works Director Tim Kingman were lost.  Guild also told the Common Council on Sep. 9 some of 

Credit WJFW
Former Rhinelander Public Works Director Tim Kingman.

Kingman’s records were missing, according to Rhinelander Police Chief Lloyd Gauthier.

Kingman was fired by a split vote of the Common Council in June.

Multiple witnesses said Kingman’s records were kept locked in Guild’s office.  In his capacity as City Administrator, Guild was the legal custodian of the records. 

According to state statute, it was Guild’s job to keep them safe and preserve them.  Such records must be kept for seven years.  Failing to do so is a crime.

The misconduct investigation goes back even farther.  On March 4, Investigator Robert Hawn of the Price County Sheriff’s Office was assigned to assist Oneida County.  He looked into emails sent to and received from Guild by the League of Wisconsin Municipalities.

Hawn’s investigation concluded with a recommendation of charges for Tampering with Public Records and Notices.  Hawn found that Guild had released an altered email in response to another open records request earlier in the year.

“As part of this release of documents, the City of Rhinelander released a copy of the email chain containing the altered email,” wrote Oneida County Sheriff’s Captain Terri Hook in the warrant.

Credit Ben Meyer/WXPR
Rhinelander City Hall, as seen Thursday during the lockdown and warrant execution.

In the email to the League of Wisconsin Municipalities (LWM) on Jan. 31, Guild inquired about the process for removing George Kirby from the role of Common Council President.  A day before, four council members and Mayor Frederickson had drafted a letter to Kirby asking him to step down from the role after he refused to participate in a council meeting.

In Guild’s original email to LWM, Guild used first-person pronouns like “we” and “us” to express the desire for guidance on removing Kirby as Council President, although Guild has no formal power to influence council leadership.

But in the altered email that was later released, Guild removed those first-person references.

Investigator Hawn’s recommendation of charges was delivered to Forest County District Attorney Chuck 

Credit Ben Meyer/WJFW
Forest County District Attorney Chuck Simono.

Simono, who was asked to act as a special prosecutor in the case.  However, on Nov. 8, Oneida County District Attorney Michael Schiek requested Simono transfer the case back to him.  Schiek said he had additional information on the case.

Despite this request, Simono drafted a letter on Monday, saying he would not charge Guild criminally.

“The slight change in wording does not remotely give rise to any appearance to injure or defraud as the content of both messages are essentially the same,” Simono wrote.

“Please note that the changing of such emails, especially given your public position, is always suspect and opens the door to greater concerns regarding your conduct and the work within your office,” he wrote to Guild.

Credit Ben Meyer/WXPR
An Oneida County squad car leaves Rhinelander City Hall during Thursday's investigation.

Despite that conclusion, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Friday that Simono did, in fact, transfer the case back to Schiek for review.  That means Schiek will have the ultimate discretion over whether to charge Guild criminally.

The review of the records seized via Thursday’s search warrants will likely take weeks or months, the sheriff’s office said.  An arrest before that is unlikely.

To view the warrant against Guild for Tampering with Public Records, click here.  To view the warrant against Guild for Misconduct in Office, click here.

Credit Ben Meyer/WXPR
City workers hang holiday decorations outside Rhinelander City Hall Thursday as police execute search warrants inside.

Ben worked as the Special Topics Correspondent at WXPR from September 2019 until November 2021. He now contributes occasionally to WXPR. During his full-time employment, his main focus was reporting on environment and natural resources issues in northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula as part of The Stream, a weekly series.
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