Complaint Against Dearborn County Prosecutor Aaron Negangard

The following is a complaint that I filed with the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission against Dearborn County Prosecutor Aaron Negangard. I copied the complaint to the FBI and other officials and media outlets. I included a copy of the "To whom it may concern letter" with the complaint. I hope you enjoy the following information.

June 16, 2010

Re: Dearborn County, Indiana violations

To Whom it may concern:

The attached letter to the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission is a complaint against Dearborn County attorney/prosecutor, F. Aaron Negangard. I copied the complaint to several different entities because the actions of Prosecutor Negangard and other Dearborn County officials stretch beyond the scope of the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission. Not only do Mr. Negangard’s actions constitute behavior not becoming of an Indiana lawyer, Mr. Negangard, and/or other Dearborn County officials/lawyers, may have committed civil rights violations, color of law violations involving federal stimulus funding, criminal intimidation and harassment, and more. Due to the complexity of the situation, I am unsure of the proper channels to report such a broad range of unethical and/or illegal conduct of, potentially, a number of public officials. I am also concerned about potential acts of retaliation from Mr. Negangard and his affiliates as I have already been subjected to retaliatory acts after drawing public attention to the behavior of these individuals on the internet. I feel I have been placed in the crosshairs of a few Dearborn County officials, especially after I posted a video of two Dearborn County police officers harassing me in the Dearborn County Courthouse after I requested to review public records. (Please see the YouTube video titled “Dearborn County Police Harassment” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOMuv0JXH7A).

I have attached a few members of the local media to the complaint in the hopes that they will be able to help protect other private citizens from abuses by the Dearborn County, Indiana government. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. I am able to produce much more evidence (documents, audio and video recordings, etc…) of abuses in Dearborn County, Indiana outside of the Aaron Negangard complaint. Feel free to visit www.danhelpskids.com and www.danbrewington.blogspot.com for more information.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Respectfully,
Daniel P. Brewington

____________________________________________________________________________

June 16, 2010

Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission

30 South Meridian Street, Suite 850

Indianapolis, IN 46204-3520

Phone (317) 232-1807

Re: Complaint against Indiana Attorney Aaron Negangard

Dear Members of the Commission:

The following complaint may be uncharacteristic of the usual complaints that are filed with the Commission; however the circumstances leading up to this complaint are less than ordinary. I ask for the Disciplinary Commission to conduct inquiries and/or conduct an investigation of the matter. Given the secretive nature of the ongoing investigation/harassment by Aaron Negangard and the federally funded Dearborn County Special Crimes Unit, and Prosecutor Negangard’s refusal to file charges against me, I did not have a venue or the means necessary to gather more information for this complaint.

On October 8, 2009, I was contacted by Detective Mike Kreinhop, of the Dearborn County Special Crimes Unit[1] (SCU), regarding an investigation of my “writings.”[2] When I returned Detective Kreinhop’s call, he informed me that he wanted me to come in for questioning but he refused to tell me any specifics of the alleged complaint or who made the complaint against me. Detective Kreinhop would only tell me that an attorney brought the issue to the attention of Prosecutor Aaron Negangard, head of the federally funded Dearborn County SCU, and Prosecutor Negangard instructed Detective Kreinhop to conduct an investigation. I informed Detective Kreinhop that I would not participate in any interviews unless Prosecutor Negangard was willing to explain why I was being investigated by the SCU. The following day, Cincinnati lawyer Robert G. Kelly called Detective Kreinhop and left a message requesting Detective Kreinhop return his call regarding the alleged investigation of Dan Brewington. Detective Kreinhop failed to return Mr. Kelly’s call until two weeks later. Detective Kreinhop explained to Mr. Kelly that he was not going to discuss the issue with Mr. Kelly, nor would he meet with Mr. Kelly in Dearborn County unless I was present. Mr. Kelly informed Detective Kreinhop that I would not be talking to the Dearborn County SCU if the SCU refused to discuss the nature of the investigation. Even though my lawyer informed Detective Kreinhop that I would not be participating in the “secret” investigation, on November 2, 2009, Prosecutor Negangard instructed Detective Kreinhop to drive to my mother’s house in Norwood, Ohio, to speak with me when my lawyer was not present. Despite speaking with me for over three hours, Detective Kreinhop was adamant about the fact that he was not allowed to discuss why Aaron Negangard initiated the investigation or who filed the complaint. Following the unannounced meeting with Detective Kreinhop, I did not hear anything else about the investigation until June 9, 2010, when the Judge hearing my child custody case announced that he was recusing himself. Dearborn Circuit Court Judge James D. Humphrey claimed there was an ongoing investigation of me that pertained to him.

Though Detective Kreinhop, Prosecutor Negangard, and Judge Humphrey would not give an explanation of the “secret” investigation, I would assume the investigation is related to my internet writings where I publicized my experience and concerns while dealing with the family court system in Ripley and Dearborn Counties. Judge James D. Humphrey assumed the role as Special Judge in my case[3] when Ripley Circuit Judge Carl H. Taul recused himself after engaging in numerous ex parte communications with child custody evaluator, Dr. Edward J. Connor[4]. [Documentation of Dr. Connor’s conduct can be found at www.danhelpskids.com] It was around that time I began sharing my story on the internet. Despite there being no protective order, Dr. Connor refused to provide me with a copy of his evaluation case file per his contract claiming that he would not release the file because I was representing myself and Judge Humphrey refused to compel Dr. Connor to release the file per IC 31-17-2-12. While refusing to give me access to the evidence behind Dr. Connor’s report, Judge Humphrey allowed Dr. Connor to testify during the first day of the final hearing on May 27, 2009. Nearly two and a half months later, without warning, on August 18, 2009, Judge Humphrey terminated my parenting time with my three and five year old daughters.[5] I continued to speak publicly about my situation especially as my two young daughters had never gone more than four days without seeing either parent before they were abruptly stripped of their father. On September 22, 2009, Judge Humphrey stated that he did not have the jurisdiction to enforce the divorce decree because the matter was with the appellate court.[6] Approximately two weeks later, Detective Kreinhop informed me that I was under investigation.

Aaron Negangard would not allow Detective Kreinhop to tell me what attorney made the complaint with Prosecutor Negangard. Since neither my ex-wife nor I were residents of Dearborn County and the divorce case was out of Ripley County, the only people involved who lived in or worked in Dearborn County who would fall under the jurisdiction of the Dearborn County SCU were opposing counsel Angela G. Loechel and Judge James D. Humphrey. It would be unethical and/or illegal for Ms. Loechel or Judge Humphrey to file a secret criminal complaint against me without removing themselves from the case. It appears that Prosecutor Negangard either pursued the complaint for someone out of his jurisdiction or he pursued the complaint for Attorney Angela Loechel, who is still involved with the court case. Apparently, Prosecutor Negangard informed Judge Humphrey about the investigation within the past couple weeks as Judge Humphrey just recused himself last week.

Please see www.danhelpskids.com and www.danbrewington.blogspot.com for more information and documentation about my situation. If I wrote any threatening or slanderous material I would have likely been sued and/or arrested. If I would have threatened a judge, it would have warranted a federal investigation/trial. I feel Aaron Negangard’s actions in using the SCU to investigate me are retaliatory in nature for challenging the Dearborn County Court system and for challenging the ethics of Dr. Edward J. Connor, who is regularly appointed by Dearborn Courts in both civil and criminal trials. If you search “Dearborn County Police Harassment” on YouTube.com, you will see a video of two Dearborn County police officers trying to force me leave the Dearborn County Courthouse after I requested to review public records in the courthouse. The male officer said I was not allowed to be in the Dearborn County Courthouse if I did not have any business there. When the female officer came down the stairs from the direction of Judge Humphrey’s office, she said “We’re done” three different times and the officers left without making me leave. I do not know what the officers were “done” doing and I am unaware if the police officers were under the instruction of Judge Humphrey or the head of the SCU, Aaron Negangard.

It has been nearly a year since I have seen or spoken to my children. On a number of occasions I have publicly encouraged an indictment and/or arrest by the SCU because it would give me the opportunity to find out why I am being investigated and it would give me the opportunity to present a case to demonstrate that I have not broken any laws and my actions and writings are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution. It saddens me that Prosecutor Negangard is aware that my actions are well within the limits of the law, yet he continues to hinder my efforts to be a father to my children by interfering with my court case.

Since the filing of the final decree, I have resided at my family’s home in Norwood, Ohio for financial and safety reasons while I continue to publicly challenge my case and the government officials who have gotten involved because I have found that some Dearborn County Officials have a propensity for taking retaliatory measures.[7] I have contacted the Ripley County Sheriff’s Department and the Norwood City Police Department and at no point in the SCU’s investigation have Aaron Negangard or anyone else from the SCU attempted to contact the law enforcement agencies where I resided. The Norwood City Police Department had no knowledge of Aaron Negangard sending Detective Mike Kreinhop to Norwood, Ohio to speak to me while knowing that my lawyer would not be present.

I want to apologize that I am not able to produce more information but Aaron Negangard would not release the nature of the investigation. My case is currently in the Indiana Court of Appeals; Case No. 69A05-0909-CV-0542. If you reference the records before the Appellate Court, please note that there was erroneous information submitted by the attorney for the appellee, Leanna Weissmann. Ms. Weissmann stated that there was an order prohibiting me from posting information about the proceedings on the internet. This information is in fact false. Ms. Weissmann made the claim and then encouraged the court to review a website that was created roughly six months after the final hearing in the divorce. Ms. Weissmann also argued that the trial court was correct in ruling that I have supervised visitation with my children. There is no such ruling. Judge Humphrey ordered no visitation. Due to the complexity of the entire situation and questionable nature of some of the individuals involved, I wanted to address Ms. Weissmann’s false statements to prevent any further confusion.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Respectfully,

Daniel P. Brewington

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[1] In a letter to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, Former Dearborn County Attorney, G. Michael Witte, described the Special Crimes Unit as a federally funded “multi-jurisdictional task force to address serious felony crimes in Dearborn County, Indiana.” A large part of the SCU’s federal funding comes from the Federal Recovery Act of 2009.

[2] Detective Kreinhop’s voice message can be found on YouTube by doing a search on “Mike Kreinhop” or by typing in the following URL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es-rsxCI9gg.

[3] Ripley Circuit Court Case #69C01-0701-DR-007

[4] Dr. Connor first contacted Judge Taul on February 21, 2008 to inform Judge Taul that Dr. Connor’s child custody evaluation contained what Dr. Connor described to be numerous “errors and oversights.” Despite Dr. Connor’s admission to “numerous errors and oversights” in his report and Judge Taul’s recusal, Judge Humphrey denied me access to Dr. Connor’s file and then terminated my ability to see my children.

[5] Please note that there were no allegations of abuse, sexual misconduct, neglect, drug or alcohol abuse, adultery, injury to the children, etc… There were no reports from or involvement by the police, social services, pediatricians, etc… Feel free to contact Ripley County Sheriff Thomas Grills for more information.

[6] Despite serving nearly two full six year terms in the Dearborn Circuit Court, Judge Humphrey claimed he was not aware that Indiana Appellate Rule 39 gives the trial court the authority to enforce a judgment while the case is in appeal. Appellate Rule 39A: Effect of Appeal. An appeal does not stay the effect or enforceability of a judgment or order of a trial court or Administrative Agency unless the trial court, Administrative Agency or Court on Appeal otherwise orders.

[7] See the Dearborn County Commissioner meeting notes at www.dearborncounty.blogspot.com/2010/06/15-june-2010-dearborn-county.html. After inquiring about the release of public records, a woman was blindsided by a seemingly disgruntled county commissioner, Jeff Hughes, when Mr. Hughes called the woman back to the podium and began to ask her questions about an unrelated issue regarding fencing around the woman’s pool. The woman stated the fence was approved when the pool was built and she had a certificate of occupancy from the building department. She also stated that her insurance company approved of the fence. Mr. Hughes’ inquisition was an attempt to intimidate the woman because she requested public records. This is the same kind of intimidation tactics that I have faced in dealing with Aaron Negangard and the SCU.