After an investigation into claims of improper compensation made by the county controller in Mercer County, no criminal charges will be filed, according to District Attorney Pete Acker.

The investigation was to look into extra compensation that Mercer County Controller Stephen Sherman signed off on for two employees for their work on a special project to implement new software - to the tune of $6,000.

It was compensation that Mercer County Commissioner Tim McGonigle says he was not aware of. 

A department "under the supervision and control" of the commissioners then asserted Sherman could have embezzled this money, according to Acker.

Despite this, in a scathing final report, Acker concluded that no criminal charges should be filed against any individual involved. This decision was based off of interviews with multiple people involved with the case.

He also concluded that there was no evidence that the $6,000 paid to the two employees was embezzlement, as it didn't show any indication it was for Sherman's benefit.

There is, however, "extensive" documentation to establish that the two employees actually worked the additional hours outside of normal business hours to be paid this money, the report added.

"Some of the hours were worked at all hours of the day and night in an effort to get done what needed to get done," the report states.

However, it found that the money being disbursed was done so in violation of the Sunshine Law and county code. This is because proper notice was not given to the public to attend a meeting when this pay was discussed and decided.

"There was not a situation in which an emergency meeting could be held. There should have been notice to the public, the decision should have been made in an open meeting...," the report states.

Acker goes on to say that this issue still hasn't been addressed because of this investigation, which he believes is a mistake. During this process, Acker says he suggested the salary board review these payments with proper notice given.

He again recommends that this issue gets corrected.

The report concludes by saying "We have far more serious cases to prosecute; we are trying 4 homicide cases between now and September."

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