A former St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office deputy spoke exclusively with WDSU Investigates to bring change to a sheriff's office under scrutiny.The former deputy described the agency as “intimidating, secretive, untrusted, unfair and a good ole boys club.”The former deputy did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation. "There's always been some types of red flags,” the former deputy said. “No one had an opportunity to speak on it. No one wanted to speak up for the fear of losing their jobs. I think there are other people involved in this." The department is facing questions after three former high-ranking deputies were arrested.WDSU Investigates uncovered that the investigation dates back almost five years, according to new arrest records. Records obtained by WDSU Investigates show that Rodney Madere, former chief deputy, is set to receive more than $200,000 a year for his pension, all while facing charges of payroll fraud, theft, abuse of office and obstruction of justice.Madere's attorneys declined to comment. WDSU investigative reporter Aubry Killion tracked down former Captain Derek Pertuis and former Sgt. Zain Stillinger, the two other ex-employees, just as they bonded out last month and dodged our cameras and questions. Pertuis and Stillinger are accused of abuse of office, theft and public payroll fraud. WDSU Investigates uncovered new documents outlining the charges. The records show more than a dozen witnesses are named. The new record obtained by WDSU Investigates states:"In February of 2024 Sgt. Plaisance was tasked with conducting a criminal investigation into numerous alleged internal thefts carried out by former employees of the St Charles Parish Sheriff's Office. Sgt. Plaisance was made aware of several suspicious purchases made over the years through Fleet or the Electronics and Graphics (E&G) division, going as far back as 2019. All further information pertaining to this investigation will be included in a supplemental report."An attorney for the sheriff’s office declined to release the supplemental report, saying those supplemental reports are also exempt from disclosure. WDSU asked the former deputy if the arrests were a ticking time bomb. “Yes, the former chief was pushing his time there. He could have left,” the former deputy said. "I think it came back and bit him." Through a public records request to the Louisiana Sheriffs Pension & Relief Fund,WDSU Investigates uncovered the following information:"Of the three names listed, only one, Rodney Madere, Jr, is in pay status. He receives a monthly retirement allowance of $16,669.57. His final average compensation was $16,746.46. He had just over 34 years of credited service in the LSPRF. Mr. Madere had a less than 2 month period of employment with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff, and the remainder of the 34 years of credited service was with the St. Charles Parish Sheriff.""The other two names, Derek Pertuis and Zain Stillinger are separated vested members who have not reached the normal retirement age of 55 years, but for the purposes of the LSPRF are considered deferred retired. As neither has applied for any benefits from the LSPRF, we have not calculated a final average compensation or determined a monthly retirement allowance. Those will be determined when each reaches normal retirement eligibility at age 55 years and submits an application for retirement. Mr. Pertuis had a prior membership in the Municipal Police Retirement System (MPERS) but transferred that membership service to the LSPRF after employment with the St. Charles Parish Sheriff. Mr. Stillinger has LSPRF membership service with Terrebonne Parish Sheriff and St. Charles Parish Sheriff."WDSU Investigates also uncovered a letter from longtime Sheriff Greg Champagne. It was sent to St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office employees one day after the arrests; "Yesterday, we had the unpleasant task of arresting 3 former employees of this agency. Talented and experienced investigators within our ranks have diligently and methodically conducted this investigation over the past several months. It is a painstakingly slow process to conduct properly. I am grateful to them and appreciate their work.""While this matter may be seen by some as a black eye for our agency, I believe it shows that we have the courage, integrity, and ability to clean our own house. As much as we can hope that everyone behaves appropriately, human nature often proves otherwise. It can be disappointing and frustrating at best. We will get past this sad episode, and I believe come out as a stronger and more ethical law enforcement organization. Please, hold your head high and be proud of what we are even under adversity. I am!""Thank you all for your continued dedication and quest for constant improvement, both individually, and as a whole."Rafael Goyeneche, with the New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission, says Champagne owes the public an explanation."His silence is deafening,” Goyeneche said. “You're seeing a disturbing pattern here." The sheriff has declined multiple on-camera interviews with WDSU Investigators, referring public records requests to their attorney. Goyeneche says action should have been taken immediately after the letter was sent to the sheriff last year.“The letter referred to tools that had been purchased by the sheriff's office that weren't in the possession of the sheriff,” Goyeneche said. “We know that there were ATVs that were the property of the sheriff's office that were at this camp in Mississippi. There are allegations in here that sheriff's department, a printing department, was making counterfeit tickets."Goyeneche said those tickets were for parking passes at Louisiana State University football games.When WDSU Investigates asked LSU for comment, it referred us back to the sheriff's office.Goyeneche said to take a close look at the date on that ticket, which was 2019. “So you're talking about potentially four or five years’ worth of counterfeit tickets,” Goyeneche said. “You're talking about creating signage that was used at the tailgate using sheriff's department manufacturing capabilities in their mechanical shops to repair cars, personal cars of some of these ranking deputies."Goyenche also pointed out other items of concern. "You're talking about using sheriff's department personnel and assets to build barbecue pits that were used for tailgate parties. You're talking about using gasoline in sheriff vehicles to attend away ballgames." Goyeneche says a skid-steer was reported stolen and recovered by the sheriff's office. According to Goyeneche, it was apparently at Madere's family camp in Mississippi.Madere's family member is on the list of witnesses in the report WDSU Investigates obtained.The sheriff's office attorney says the people listed as witnesses are not accused of any crimes.According to the allegations in this letter, the skid-steer was repaired and the costs for repairing it were paid by the sheriff's office. The cost was $20,000 of taxpayer money.“The owner said, 'I don't own it anymore because the insurance company paid me for it,'” Goyeneche said. “What we don't know is, did the sheriff's office inform the insurance company that skid-steer had been recovered and offered it to them? If not, to me, is malfeasance in office."Goyeneche says the big question is why the arrests took so long. WDSU Investigates dug into the timeline of the case.“It's a betrayal of their oath of office,” Goyeneche said. “It's a black eye for law enforcement in general." Goyeneche said the letter appears to have been sent to the sheriff in May 2023. In June 2023, Goyeneche said some of the missing equipment that was mentioned in the letter started to reappear at the sheriff's office.Qualifying dates for the race for sheriff were in August 2023.“The sheriff was running for reelection," Goyeneche said. “The sheriff's daughter was involved in the election, the fact that the sheriff was serving the National Sheriffs' Association — if any of those were factors in this, that's another reason why the sheriff's office should have recuse themselves from this case and asked another entity to come in and conduct this investigation."Champagne ran unopposed and later won. Also, in August 2023, Pertuis was honored to receive a proclamation on behalf of Champagne. Then in October, a post on the sheriff's office Facebook page shows a community event. According to the post, they were entertained with music from DJ Zain Stillinger. That same month, a new chief deputy is named in a post on the sheriff’s office page. That post states:"Sheriff Champagne is pleased to announce the appointment of the Chief Deputy of the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office effective October 30, 2023. Chief Deputy Madere, Jr. is retiring and will assist in the transition for approximately the next three months."The case has also caught the attention of the state auditor. State Auditor Mike Waguespack says they got word of the allegations in late October.Waguespack said that in November, a CPA firm investigated further and found no merit to the allegations in December. WDSU Investigates asked Waguespack what he thought about taxpayers' concerns regarding the case. “Well, look, these things happen across the state of Louisiana in various silos,” Waguespack said. Waguespack said the system worked and defended the sheriff. "Don't think if there's an audit conducted on an annual basis, that we are going to catch every bit of fraud or misappropriation. It's not going to happen,” Waguespack said. In December 2023, Waguespack said he and Champagne talked about the allegations."I remember us running into each other and having a conversation,” Waguespack said. “He indicated to me as soon as things settled down with his new chief criminal deputy in place they were going to do a deeper dive. Taxpayers are very lucky and very fortunate that their sheriff did a deeper dive, and he's holding his people accountable. The important thing is there's a mechanism in place, and that he followed through with, and he held these people accountable.”Records show Madere and Stillinger resigned from the sheriff's office in February of this year. Pertuis was terminated from the sheriff's office in March."Why those individuals were able to remain on payroll for another nine months,and then it took another five months for them to charge him with a crime, that is unacceptable," said Goyeneche. "I think that they slow-played it. I don't believe that they covered it up. I think they realized they couldn't cover it up." There are other names listed in the letter. It's unclear if any additional charges are coming. "Everything is hushed tight when everything is going on this is public information,” the former deputy said. "I would like to see more transparency. It was either you were either in the good ole boys club or system, or you weren’t. That is just what it was; you either were liked or you weren't. One way or another, you were going to have a good shot at having a career there, or you were out the door at some point.” National Sheriffs' Association executive director Jonathan Thompson issued WDSU the following statement:“Sheriff Champagne is an outstanding sheriff and has been a great leader for NSA and we have every confidence he'll take whatever action is appropriate.”Thompson said Sheriff Champagne is the immediate past president. Sheriff Champagne issued the following statement."Recently, the St. Charles Sheriff’s Office has done something not often done – we have taken on the difficult task of cleaning our own house. Since the recent arrests of 3 of our former officers, we have received numerous requests for information, including requests for the details of the investigations. As we have replied many times, we are unable to discuss the details of these cases. Criminal cases must be decided in the courts and not in the media or court of public opinion. Commenting on the details can only serve to jeopardize the prosecutions.""Experienced law enforcement officials and prosecutors know that building a solid criminal case can take many months. Information from all sources must be studied carefully, and facts must be sifted from rumor.""Although we would like to respond to several erroneous conclusions regarding this investigation, we cannot do so at this time. When the cases have reached their final disposition, it will become evident that we conducted these investigations honestly, efficiently, reasonably, and methodically.""Despite these recent arrests, the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office remains an excellent law enforcement agency. Crime continues to fall steadily year after year. Our employees are dedicated and committed to their duty. We also utilize a nationally recognized leadership training model that is available to all employees. New applicants continue to want to join our agency.""With the hiring of a new chief deputy in October 2023, we have stepped up our efforts to improve the trust of our employees so that they can all have confidence that our hiring and promotional processes are indeed fair and objective—based upon merit, not favoritism. While we can never make everyone happy, we are taking all necessary steps to ensure that negative cultures do not again infect our organization.""We wish to thank the citizens of St. Charles Parish for their overwhelming support during this unusual and challenging time for all the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office employees."