Bice: John Doe prosecutor scores $800,000 pension payout from Milwaukee County

It's not been all bad news for Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney David Robles, one of the lead prosecutors in the lengthy John Doe investigations of Gov. Scott Walker.

State Attorney General Brad Schimel recently recommended disciplinary action against Robles, among others, in a recent court filing on leaks in the lengthy and complicated secret probe.

In his 91-page report, Schimel argued nine individuals associated with the John Doe investigations should be held in contempt for not following court orders. Robles is the only Milwaukee prosecutor called out by the Republican attorney general, even though both probes of the GOP governor and his allies started with Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, a Democrat.  

What the report doesn't say is that Robles recently retired from his job with the county.

As part of his retirement package, he received a lump-sum payment of $811,148 from the county — the second highest so-called "backdrop" bonus paid out in Milwaukee County this year. The check went out on Sept. 7. 

No other public workers in Wisconsin are eligible for these payments. 

The highly controversial backdrop program, initially pitched as costing little or nothing, pays bonuses to county workers who agree to work past their retirement date. In exchange for taking the upfront payment, retirees see a small reduction in their monthly retirement checks.

The political fallout from the lucrative pension deals forced out former Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament, who was replaced by Walker in 2002.

Now Robles — who spent years investigating Walker — benefits from the program that helped lead to Walker's political ascent. 

Along with his lump-sum payment, Robles is also receiving monthly retirement checks totaling $59,805 a year. The county credited the senior assistant prosecutor with nearly 35 years of government service. 

Robles declined to say how he spent or plans to spend the cash from the one-time payment, saying it's a "personal matter" between him and his family. He was paid nearly $122,000 in his job as a prosecutor.

"I'm appalled at two levels," said state Sen. David Craig, a Big Bend Republican. 

The conservative politician said he opposed the backdrop program because of its abuse of government resources. The Journal Sentinel reported in January that since its inception in 2001, this pension perk has been paid out to more than 2,200 former county bureaucrats to the tune of $294 million.

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Another $19 million more has been paid to nearly 100 retirees so far this year. 

The largest payout in 2017 was a $1.15 million check to a former accounting supervisor with nearly 41 years of government employment. At least four others have received lump-sum checks for more than $1 million under the program. 

Craig, one of the chief critics of the John Doe probes, said he was upset that one of these backdrops was going to Robles. He said all the prosecutors in the cases showed, at a minimum, poor judgment throughout the case and ended up violating the constitutional guarantee of free speech. 

Calling the secret investigations a partisan witch hunt — something Chisholm and others dispute — Craig said he believes the whole team of prosecutors, not just Robles, should be held in contempt. And Robles, he added, shouldn't be walking away with any pension bonus.

"It's ludicrous," Craig said.

Reached earlier this month, Robles held his tongue when asked about Craig's comments. He was also mum, for now, about Schimel's report recommending that he be held in contempt.

"I can't comment at the present time," said the retired prosecutor.

The first John Doe investigation led to charges against six individuals with links to Walker. No criminal charges were filed in the second John Doe case. 

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.