YORK -- Two weeks after a York County commissioner launched a recall effort against County Attorney Bill Sutter, the other three people who work in Sutter's office released a five-page, single-spaced account of their concerns about his behavior over the last 13 months.
And, as of Wednesday morning, Attorney General Jon Bruning is investigating the allegations by Deputy County Attorney Candace Dick and two office assistants about a hostile office atmosphere, lack of attention to prosecution duties and other possible problems.
The letter�was read into the record of the Tuesday county commission meeting.
It included 18 alleged behavior issues and�profanity-laced statements by Sutter that the signers said contributed to tension, low morale and disruptions in work flow.
The first one�involved a situation in which Sutter was asked by Bruning's office to file charges in a child pornography case, and Sutter�allegedly told Dick: "I don't really care what people do in their own homes as long as nobody gets hurt."
Bruning's legal team later decided to file charges from Lincoln.
In�interviews�in York�on Wednesday, Dick elaborated on her strained work relationship with Sutter and the written allegations.
"You have to do what's right," she said.
Sutter denied most of the allegations and vowed to remain in office.
"I'm going back to work," he said. "I'm the county attorney, and I'm going to be the county attorney until somebody tells me I'm not the county attorney."
Sutter, a 68-year-old York native, came back to his hometown in 1987 from a Lincoln law office and represented clients mostly in civil matters until former County Attorney Tim Sieh asked him to take the No. 2 slot in his office last year.
When Sieh resigned mid-term, the commissioners appointed Sutter to the top job. He won a four-year term as an unopposed candidate in November.
Dick, 37, who had been in private practice in Sutton, joined the prosecuting team in April.
She said she started to notice problems in her dealings with Sutter a few months later.
Over time, she said, the stress of working with him made her and associates Crystal Vavra and Jamie Martells physically ill.
At one point, she said, Sutter called her "stupid" and used a profanity at the prosecutor's table in the courtroom.
Sutter flatly denied saying that. "I have never told any of my help they were stupid," he said. "I have never done that in my 44 years as a practicing lawyer."
In a 45-minute session at his house, he went through the allegations.
On Aug. 30, for example, the statement from his staff said he declined to look at pictures Dick tried to show him from a child pornography case.
According to the statement, he said: "I probably shouldn't see those, I wouldn't want them to fall into the hands of some of my friends."
According to Sutter, "I didn't look at it because I don't like to look at pornography."
Elsewhere on the list are allegations that�Sutter failed to register sex offenders, neglected to respond to calls in his capacity as county coroner, called local law enforcement officers morons and idiots and slept or played Solitaire in his office.
"I would have expected them to be working on cases in the office," Sutter said, "but obviously somebody has spent a lot of time in the office writing down things about me."
Dick said she eventually decided to take her concerns to commissioners.
"None of us wanted to do this," she said. "None of us wanted to be in this position. Nothing was done with evil intent."
She stepped forward because "the office can't function this way and the people in the county should care about that, because they write our paychecks."
In a prepared statement, Bruning said the allegations against Sutter "are disturbing at best and warrant further investigation."
Pressure�on Sutter to resign came after commissioners looked over the results of an outside investigation by another attorney.
With a long list of staff complaints now added to the investigative outcome, county board Chairman Kurt Bulgrin said, "public trust is eroding ... for the county attorney."
Petitions aimed at his removal could be circulating as soon as mid-month. Bulgrin reiterated Wednesday that he will be among the York County citizens seeking signatures.
"He can make this a lot simpler," he said of Sutter, "and he can resign at any time."
Source: http://journalstar.com/news/local/article_ca5a8f10-5cf7-5dd9-bb13-8b925b0f7f2d.html
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