About the last thing a corrections officer needs is a criminal record. Inmates and wardens alike may have it in for him. Christopher Dehn, a former officer at Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin, knows this unwritten rule too well. His dilemma is that he’ll have six months in the county jail to contemplate it. Dehn, 36, over a two-year period, embezzled tens of thousands of dollars from AFSCME Local 3394, which represents workers at the very corrections facility where he will serve time. He’d worked there from October 1999 until March of this year, when authorities discovered missing funds, concluding he was the culprit.
Dehn pleaded no contest, citing a need to cover gambling debts. His six-month sentence, handed down by Columbia County Circuit Court Judge Daniel George, may seem on the light side, especially given that it contains a work-release provision. But it could be extended by another six months if he fails to meet probation conditions, which includes payment of up to $30,000 in restitution to the union. (Wisconsin State Journal, 11/17).