PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. – Ozaukee County’s former coroner Timothy Deppisch is accused of falsifying mileage records to receive thousands in reimbursement from the County for trips to funeral homes he never took.
Timothy Deppisch served in the role from 2016 until 2022, when the position shifted from a part-time elected office into a medical examiner role appointed by the County’s Board of Supervisors. The shift occurred after officials had questioned Deppisch’s “attendance at committee meetings, support staff, current structure, accountability, additional cost, and scope of work” during a public safety meeting in March of 2022. Then-Sheriff Jim Johnson had voiced his support for the change, believing it would create “creating “accountability and professionalism” to the office.
The investigation began when Deppisch’s time as coroner ended in 2023, when new appointee Luke Warnke noted “a large amount of travel reimbursement” for trips to funeral homes outside of Ozaukee County for cremation permits in December of 2022, according to a criminal complaint.
Deppisch claimed he was using his personal vehicle to drive to funeral homes outside of Ozaukee County in order to receive the allotted travel reimbursement of $0.625 per mile. However, when contacted by investigators representatives for 14 different funeral homes and cremation services providers said Deppisch had not been to their facilities during that month, with some indicating he had sent documents via fax instead of delivering them in-person.
The complaint also indicated Deppisch claimed he conducted at least two visits to Piasecki Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Kenosha, though a witness told investigators at no point had Deppisch visited the location in-person.
The duties of the coroner position included issuing death certificates and cremation permits which required the personal viewing of corpses and “making careful personal inquiry into the cause and manner of death”.
In total, Deppisch received $10,561 in mileage reimbursement during 2022, or about $880 a month, according to expense vouchers obtained from the Ozaukee County Finance Department by investigators. Investigators also determined Deppisch had collected at least $76,920.83 in mileage reimbursement between 2017 and 2022.
Deppisch faces two Class I Misconduct in Public Office felonies, each carrying a maximum sentence of three-and-a-half years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.
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