Former Jefferson County Drug Task Force Supervisor Charged with Theft and Misconduct 

MADISON — Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced today that Timothy Madson, a former Jefferson County Sheriff's Department sergeant and supervisor of the Jefferson County Drug Task Force, has been charged with one felony count of theft and one felony count of misconduct in public office. An initial appearance has been scheduled for January 7, 2013, at 1:15 p.m. in Jefferson County Circuit Court.

According to the Criminal Complaint, Madson served as the supervisor of the Jefferson County Drug Task Force from 2003 until late 2011. During that time, Madson filled out multiple expense reports claiming hundreds of case-related expenses during the course of his employment. As a result of these expense claims, Madson received more than $20,000 in reimbursement from task force funds. Madson's expense claims were in excess of any claims made by the case officers on the task force. On his expense forms, Madson attributed those expenses to case-related work, but based upon statements from other officers on the task force, Madson was the supervisor and wouldn't have performed work on cases that required reimbursement. Madson was in charge of disbursing funds from the task force accounts to the investigators and also was responsible for approving expense claims, and therefore was in a position to fraudulently claim expenses himself and receive those funds in excess of his lawful authority.

The theft count is a class G felony, punishable by a fine of not more than $25,000 or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both. The misconduct in public office charge is a Class I felony, punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than three years and six months, or both.

A criminal complaint is a document accusing a person of a violation of criminal law. A defendant enjoys a presumption of innocence. The prosecution must prove its allegations at trial beyond a reasonable doubt.

Assistant Attorney General David W. Maas is representing the State. This investigation was conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice -- Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) at the request of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.