Introduction:

Every now and then, regardless of your political affiliation, there comes a situation or instance that really makes you question the reliability and honesty of those in positions of power, those responsible for the protection of your rights. Hundreds upon thousands of individuals have fought and died to protect the rights and lives of every American.

Every current and former soldier, including this one, has volunteered to put their lives on the line if need be to defend our nation, lifestyle and beliefs…one of those being a fair judicial system that does not oppress the very people it was established to protect. Running across a rouge individual inside a judicial network is not uncommon given that power leads to superiority complexes…but to run across an entire breeding ground inundated with multiple facets of interconnected individuals working in unison inside a single judicial system is a bit frightening. When a small judicial system is run on the foundation of a good-old-boys club, the risk of abuse and intimidation, along with out-right violations of law, become greater. In some cases, the desires of those within the system takes precedent over the law itself, relegating state statutes to mere suggestions for the desires of those holding a gable or wearing the badge. More and more judicial abuse has been exposed across the country over the past several years; with more and more outrage coming from the public. Some communities take the work ethic of these individuals for granted and assume they are obeying the laws while the abusive and unlawful activities remain hidden. Unfortunately, most individuals are unaware of the true inner workings of government entities until it is exposed through media outlets, by then many lives have been destroyed at the hands of people who should not have been entrusted with the power. 

The situation worsens when the local media (that has Constitutional protection to make the public aware of such cases) is quiet because of ineptness…or share a close relationship with those who should be exposed. Unfortunately all of the above situations can be found in Dodge County Minnesota, and even though not all judicial representatives in the county have succumb to improper actions, enough of the right players have to cause major and improper influence on the legal system. What you are about to read is real; the names have not been changed to protect the public. 

Act I: Minnesota’s Corruption Probability

State Integrity.org grades each individual state of the union on the probability and actual reports of corrupt activity, and Minnesota ranks near the bottom of the barrel. The scorecards are comprised of data-driven analysis, grading each state from a perfect A to a complete failure F. Actual cases, campaign finance, ethic laws, and lobbying regulations are just a few indicator areas used to make a determination on how likely corruption can occur in any given state. Minnesota has been given an overall grade of a D+, but it is the sub categories that tell the real story. What brings the overall grade to a basement level status is the F for judicial accountability, the F for ethics enforcement, and a D- for Legislative accountability. The scorecard project is funded by the Omidyar Network, Rita Allen Foundation, Rockefeller Family Fund and the Wyncote Foundation with partners in the project being the Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity and Public Radio International. The ratings are conducted by journalists in each state who perform research and interviews to comprise an accurate score. The very low ratings Minnesota received are understandable once the revelation is unfolded of a system that refuses to hold individuals accountable for their actions. 

The most startling law (or absence there of) in Minnesota is regarding the legal system when it comes to concerns of corrupt actions and illegal activity being taken at the county level. Outer Boundary Magazine questioned the State of Minnesota Office of the Attorney General to find out what steps the State of Minnesota takes when a rouge county attorney (or those working on his/her behalf) operates outside of the law and violates state law when attempting to gain a conviction. As it turns out, the Minnesota State Attorney General has no authority or jurisdiction over illegal or corrupt activity performed by any county attorney…no matter how severe and grotesque the action may be. In fact, the only recourse any individual has when dealing with a corrupt county attorney, or assistant county attorney, is to report the incident to the same county attorney and hope an investigation into themselves (along with subsequent charges) will happen. Or the victim can approach the County Board with the issue in hopes they would withhold some money from the county attorney’s budget for retribution since county attorneys are elected to their positions. 

The direct impact of corrupt actions aimed at individuals leaves the target with a complete sense of loss and despair, feeling hopeless as potential avenues to highlight the life torturing actions remains blind, impotent and unwilling to probe into the situations without undisputable and unattainable proof from those being suppressed. Whether it is collusion, or past experienced intimidation from the same forces reeking havoc on a victim, it does not negate every journalist’s responsibility and duty, regardless the medium, to expose corruption and illicit activity by any government sector. Outer Boundary Magazine was privy to witnessing an obvious abuse of the legal system in Minnesota and attempted to provide the actual facts for consideration to Dodge County prosecutor ReMine, investigator Rose and attorney Brian Weber with no reciprocating interest…but before we get into the present let’s first visit the past. 

Act II: Don't Kiss and Tell...Else & Professional Misconduct

In recent past history, the Dodge County Sheriff Department has been plagued by self-inflicted credibility damage caused by former Sheriff Jim Trihey and former Investigator Jeremy Gunderson…both had a hand in abuse of power through sex. During 2009 Mr. Gunderson was accused, and subsequently admitted, he was guilty of sexual misconduct with a female drug informant. The informant leveled an accusation that Officer Gunderson starting demanding sexual favors from her after he did not arrest her on a drug bust but instead recruited her to be his confidential informant. Gunderson admitted to the activity in August 2009 after having several recorded phone conversations where he is caught admitting to the sexual indiscretion. In 2010 former Sheriff Jim Trihey ran into a sexual mud hole himself when an employee leveled a charge of sexual harassment and misconduct against him. The subordinate eventually gave in to Trihey’s persistent advances and allowed him to act out his desires. After the employee attempted to end the exploit, Trihey continued to pursue the endeavor prompting the employee to officially file a complaint against the Sheriff. The two individuals who were the object of law enforcement lust had their cases settled and both aggressive law enforcement officials were never brought up on charges. 

Things became even more intriguing when Outer Boundary Magazine received a voice message from former Dodge County Deputy Jeremy Gunderson on March 22, 2014 warning Outer Boundary Magazine "there is current legal lawsuits pending against people on hear-say stuff over hear so just hoping there is not a problem that hopefully will not involve the publication and your newspaper article type thing...um, I hope everything is researched and proof read because if you look on line right now you will see there is an active federal lawsuit pending with some individual that have used propaganda...causing a legal situation already." Outer Boundary Magazine returned Mr. Gunderson's phone call and in further discussion it was relayed to "not to touch the subject because Rose and ReMine are lawyered up." 

Lindsay Louise Van Tassel experienced first hand how a rancid action by the Dodge County legal system can impact a life after she was sentenced to 48 months in prison by a jury on the advice of prosecutor Gary ReMine, who mislead the jury into sentencing her to the four year term. Van Tassel lost control of her car on an icy road when she slid through an intersection after trying to stop, the vehicle rolled and went into a ditch ejecting both Van Tassel and her passenger Aaron Waters (who died from the incident). After the conviction the case went before the Minnesota Court of Appeals where the sentence was reversed because there was not enough evidence to prove any criminal action took place. In fact, the appeals court went further and publicly admonished Mr. ReMine stating “Prosecutors are considered ministers of justice who safeguard the defendant’s rights as well as enforce the public’s rights. In this case, the prosecutor crossed the line between legitimate means and improper methods.” The court elaborated further by adding “He (ReMine) twisted the stipulation to imply that Van Tassel “killed” Waters and he improperly altered the jurors’ understanding of the charges against Van Tassel and their understanding of the underlying evidence.” 

That, however, was not the only rebut against ReMine’s tactics from the Court of Appeals. In March of 2000 involving case K6-98-78 the appeals court reversed a conviction and ordered a new trial because of many issues that happened during the original trial including prosecutorial misconduct on the part of ReMine. In it's ruling the court stated "the prosecutor committed numerous instances of misconduct during his closing argument. We agree." These instances included improper use of Spriegl evidence, injecting personal opinions on credibility, disparaging the defense, inflaming juror passions, and improperly making statements to urge the jury to send a message with a conviction. The court stated "we hold that the misconduct, combined with other trial errors, denied Duncan a fair trial.", "The prosecutor committed misconduct in his closing argument., " This improper use of Duncan's prior convictions constituted serious misconduct." and "A prosecutor's duty is not to seek a conviction at any price but, rather, is to act as a minister of justice.”

Act III: I Want him to be Guilty. The Question is for What?

Families across the country have heated disputes during a probate, normally resulting with siblings refusing to talk to each other and forever holding grudges. In Dodge County it can (and did) lead to frivolous criminal charges and intimidation by the judicial system. The legal system in Dodge County is an extremely small circle of individuals and navigating the internal labyrinth of influence, connections and friends within the Dodge County legal system is a hazard few want to challenge for fear of reprisal from the interconnected individuals. These individuals seem to blur some lines when it comes to enforcing the law, giving the uncomfortable feeling they have sole ownership of the law and manipulate it at times to assemble an outcome they desire. This became astoundingly apparent to Outer Boundary Magazine after a close acquaintance to the publication became embroiled in a devastating legal system that hit the target with everything it had...including false criminal charges.

 If the following case is any indication, some results are achieved by entangling targets in manufactured criminal and legal wrangling, thus destroying reputations and credibility. All parties involved were given written communication from Outer Boundary Magazine in 2012 stating the magazine was looking at the continued actions within Dodge County by the legal system for a future article. Weber & Leth LPC and clients, Gary ReMine, Scott Rose, Dodge County Sheriff's Office, Dodge County Board and even the local print media were all contacted. Outer Boundary Magazine made multiple open record requests from various Dodge County government entities with the only government cooperation coming from the current Dodge County Sheriff Jim Jensen. Outer Boundary Magazine publisher Steve Krueger is a business acquaintance with both the target and the clients of Weber & Leth LPC in this case, which provides a very unique perspective and access to otherwise publicly hidden information by some within the Dodge County legal system.

 In this case of probate gone terribly wrong, it is easy to see parallels between the client interests of Weber & Leth LPC and the barrage of erroneous criminal charges that came raining down on the intended target. Brian Weber and Melanie Leth both fill roles as Dodge County prosecuting attorneys on some cases along side their private law practice. The following sequence of events transpires after Weber & Leth PLC agree to represent a client wanting the target’s property. The full connection between the private law firm and actions taken by those sworn to administer the law solidifies when their client calls the target informing him Weber & Leth LPC intends to bury the target, on their behalf, through civil and criminal actions if the desired property is not given to the client...with Mrs. Leth leading the first frivolous (and dismissed) criminal prosecution aimed at the target. This was the beginning to a series of false criminal charges aimed at the target, with all ends resulting the same way...charges dropped. The continued barrage of criminal accusations were, however, used by Weber & Leth PLC and their clients to damage the target’s image and credibility in court proceedings involving their client’s probate case of contesting a will. 

STRIKE TWO 

One of the attempts at false criminal prosecution came in the form of an alleged credit card fraud. When a back order from a previous purchase order was filled, the supply company (where the order was placed) automatically charged the credit card number on file for a remaining owed balance...which is a very common protocol. Several days prior to the credit card charge, and unbeknown to the supply company, the card holder passed away. Even though the target of the criminal charge did not use or place a charge on the card, Gary ReMine proceeded with criminal fraud charges against the target without ever asking the supply company who actually submitted the charge. A simple and elementary question in an investigation was never asked by the County Attorney’s Office before moving forward. If they would have, the supply company would have clearly informed Mr. ReMine they placed the charge on the credit with no prompting by the target. In talking with Outer Boundary Magazine, the supply company informed the Dodge County Attorney's Office never asked them how the charge was place on the card and who gave the authorization. 

STRIKE THREE 

During the progression of attempting to build any criminal case against the target that he could, investigator Rose attempted to fabricate an insurance fraud against the target. Rose made an effort to besmirch the target by implying in his final report that the target attempted to commit insurance fraud on an account that was not his, and included a statement that alleges he filed an insurance claim with State Farm Insurance for missing jewelry. The problem with Mr. Rose’s story is the target never had an insurance policy with State Farm Insurance and according to the insurance provider, who talked with Outer Boundary Magazine, it is not possible for someone without a policy to file any claim. In fact, it is also impossible for anyone to file a claim on someone else’s policy even if it is a family member. Rose states within his report “he filed an isurance claim with State Farm” and “they (State Farm) have opted not to pursue any investigation” when the facts show State Farm never considered any such action because no insurance fraud ever occurred or was ever attempted by the target…and it is impossible for such an action to happen. 

STRIKE FOUR

 During his investigation into the jewelry theft, investigator Rose dismissed, and never charged, a suspect who admitted to stealing some of the victim’s jewelry, who also returned the jewelry (which was cataloged into evidence), and failed a polygraph test questioning her involvement into the theft of the missing jewelry; instead Rose focused on the target with no evidence the target committed a crime…and the target was denied repeated requests for a polygraph test of his own to help prove his innocence. The list of Scott Rose prejudices on the subject does not stop there as he refused to interview the target and his wife, refused to interview very close relatives who possessed some of the jewelry in question, and ignored the information from a very close family friend and neighbor who was aware of the situation. Scott Rose refused to communicate with anyone who had information that exonerated his intended target. When Outer Boundary Magazine provided proof of innocence and started pushing the issue with the Sheriff Department investigator, Dodge County Attorney’s Office and Dodge County Board…Outer Boundary Magazine found itself as another direct target of the Dodge County legal system. Outer Boundary Magazine was privy to, and presented Scott Rose with direct information that would have immediately exonerated the target, but instead of looking into the supplied information the investigator ignored it and did not contact the individuals who wanted to come forward with the very important information. Instead, Rose and ReMine came after Outer Boundary Magazine with an illegitimate subpoena. 

Act IV: Gag Me with a Subpoena

In December of 2012 Outer Boundary Magazine was suddenly served an administrative subpoena from Assistant Dodge County Attorney Gary ReMine demanding the magazine hand over confidential information and documents to Investigator Scott Rose. 

This demand included taking pictures of privately owned property located within the home of publisher Steve Krueger. The subpoena referred to Minnesota State Statute 388.23 as the authority for such a request which promptly triggered Outer Boundary Magazine and attorneys to examine the stated statute. What became immediately apparent was Mr. ReMine issued an administrative subpoena that violated every paragraph and sub-paragraph of Minnesota Statute 388.23 thus was illegally administered. Statute 388.23 is surgically specific as to who can be subpoenaed by the county attorney and what they may ask for…Mr. ReMine was well outside of the legal boundaries of what the law allows and publisher Krueger concluded the legal paper was drawn up as an intimidation tool used against Outer Boundary Magazine. 

A Minnesota Administrative Subpoena can only be issued by a county attorney’s office and served to electronic communication companies, water utilities, gas companies, electric companies, chemical suppliers, hotels and motels, pawn shops, airlines, bus and taxi companies, financial institutions, freight companies, warehousing companies and self storage, and package delivery companies. The subpoenas are nor allowed to be used on news, print, newspapers, magazines and most other forms of business including manufacturers, retail, product suppliers, restaurants, etc. What makes the incident more frightening is investigator Scott Rose admits in his final report to gathering information from other businesses not covered under the law by using other subpoenas presumably issued by County Attorney Gary ReMine. 

Statute 388.23 also emphasizes that an Administrative Subpoena absolutely cannot be used on private individuals or their dwellings. Regardless of the law, ReMine issued Rose’s demand on publisher Steve Krueger along with his wife and the contents of their dwelling. Scott Rose proceeded to attempt enforcing the subpoena even after Rose, ReMine and the Dodge County Board were informed via certified mail their actions were in direct violation of Minnesota state law. Outer Boundary Magazine contacted Minnesota’s Office of the Attorney General to receive clarification to state statute 388.23 governing the issuance of administrative subpoenas and the circumstances, entities and documents that can be requested by the county attorney. The attorney general did confirm a county attorney is very restricted as to whom they may issue a subpoena to and as to the documents requested: 

“You correctly pointed out that Minnesota Statutes section 388.23 limits the types of business records that may be produced pursuant to an administrative subpoena. The statute also limits the types of business entities that are subject to administrative subpoenas.” - Laura Flanders (Office of the MN Attorney General) 

Outer Boundary Magazine, and publisher Steve Krueger, refused to comply with ReMine’s and Rose’s demands since they clearly violated state law. ReMine and Rose never addressed the questionable nature of the subpoena, but Scott Rose did threaten Outer Boundary Magazine and publisher Steve Krueger with criminal prosecution if anyone involved with the target was informed of the existence of the subpoena. One cannot help but wonder how many instances of subpoenas that violate Minnesota statutes have preceded this one, and how many court cases have been decided on evidence gathered through this same action. It is frightening to see any law enforcement and judicial personnel break and ignore laws in order to trap the population and prosecute individuals under the same laws. 

Scott Rose’s agenda became even more menacing in further communications when he admitted looking into the business structure of Outer Boundary Magazine in Wisconsin (which was not authorized) and made derogatory and inflammatory comments even though the publication is a legal entity operating lawfully under Wisconsin statutes. Rose felt there was a credibility issue the magazine had for following and obeying Wisconsin state statutes. Rose further warned it would not be in the best interest of Outer Boundary Magazine contact him with any further information or questions.

Final Credits: “Look Ma! No Accountability!”

Responsibility and accountability within Dodge County is hard to come by and is almost none existent. If ever there were a instance that clearly depicts the untouchable attitudes within the county's legal system it came on July 7, 2014 from Dodge County Attorney Paul Kiltinen, who for eighteen months chose to ignore the abuse of power and wrongful use of administrative subpoenas coming from his office. At 11:00 in the morning Kiltinen finally addressed the subpoena with Outer Boundary Magazine for the first time. He stated because the magazine was going to bring the ill-gotten subpoena to the public's attention along with the target's attorney that "Both the statement and action create a conflict for this office to respond to you." and further commented that even though he was aware of the official complaint, he took no action because there was not a law firm who contacted him on the subject. Such a statement implies no complaint filed with his office in regards to actions taken by him or his staff will be addressed unless the complainant hires a legal team to file such a complaint. 

He further elaborated by stating "An administrative subpoena is initiated through the sheriff’s department" which flies in the face of Minnesota Statute 388.23 which reads "The county attorney, or any deputy or assistant county attorney whom the county attorney authorizes in writing, has the authority to subpoena and require the production of any records". Mr. Kiltinen's blatant twisting is further exposed by the actual administrative subpoena itself. The letterhead of the subpoena reads "STATE OF MINNESOTA OFFICE OF THE DODGE COUNTY ATTORNEY" with authorization by listed as "PAUL J. KILTINEN DODGE COUNTY ATTORNEY" and includes Gary ReMine's signature, office address, phone number and attorney ID number. Further calls into the Minnesota Attorney General's Office and to Dodge County Sheriff Jim Jensen both confirmed only a county attorney, or their associates, have the legal power to issue an administrative subpoena; a Sheriff's office has no such power or authority and the Sheriff has not seen any subpoenas come across his desk. It was further explained a Sheriff deputy or investigator can ask the County Attorney's office to issue a subpoena and it is the responsibility of the County Attorney or their assistants to make sure businesses the subpoena is being sent to along with the documents being requested is legal and falls within the guidelines of Minnesota statute 388.23, in which Gary ReMine was did not do. 

Furthermore, investigator Scott Rose filled out the subpoena requests under false pretences and filed a final police report riddled with false information about his intended target...including meetings that never took place, credit card fraud that never occurred, and accusing the target of filing an insurance claim with State Farm Insurance that never happened. The entire scenario is either a colossal, collective coincident of judicial incompetence or a collaborative effort to manipulate the system to benefit a client of the most influential law firm in Dodge County in a pending civil case. Every criminal action taken against the target was initiated from the sole accusations coming from Weber & Leth PLC's client with no full investigation follow through and the reluctance to interview the credible witness willing to give verifiable testimony and accounts that contradicted every accusation leveled at the target. These witnesses included elderly aunts to the clients of Weber & Leth PLC. The witnesses even sent certified deposition letters which were ignored and never looked into or interviewed. 

There are only two plausible reasons a county attorney and Sheriff investigator would ignore evidence and witnesses; they are either incompetent, or they are trying to manufacture an outcome...either one is just as frightening as the other. Assistant County Attorney, ReMine has been admonished on multiple occasions for misusing his power and authority by the Court of Appeals…going so far as to knowingly branding a young lady and sending her to prison for a homicide that did not happen. Even more worrisome is Scott Rose (that's right, he is running for Sheriff) publicly showcasing his willingness to influence the jury pool by encouraging people to contact him so he can inform people about a civil case that will be going to a jury trial in the near future. "Scott would be glad to talk to you in person about it (civil case) to clear up any questions you may have. Just email your contact information and he will contact you." Furthermore Scott Rose is listed as a witness in the very same civil trial for none other than the clients of Weber & Leth PLC. Dodge County Attorney Paul Kiltinen refuses to investigate misconduct within his own office and denies any responsibility for the abuse of power involving subpoenas coming directly from his office; instead attempting to lay blame at the feet of a Sheriff who does not have the power to issue such orders. 

It appears as though the judicial ship in Dodge County Minnesota has run ashore and the vessel’s crew has gone pillaging, knowing full well the only people capable of stopping them just got off of the ship along side them.