WINNEBAGO COUNTY, Ill (WTVO) — The Winnebago County Attorney’s Office found no wrongdoing by Sheriff Gary Caruana and Chief Deputy Rick Ciganek after a retired Deputy Chief, Dominick Barcellona, who is running against Caruana in the fall, filed a complaint alleging the department violated purchasing laws in the Motorola radio purchases.
According to the State’s Attorney’s office, the purchase process was lawful, transparent, and handled correctly. The Winnebago County Board unanimously approved the $2,625,336 radio purchase, funded through the Public Safety Sales Tax fund balance under a budget amendment introduced at the February 19 Finance Committee meeting.
“This confirms what we’ve said all along, this was done the right way and out in the open. The claims made by Mr. Barcellona were politically motivated and entirely dishonest. They misrepresented a routine process that was reviewed, approved, and supported at every level,” said Sheriff Caruana…