Wolffs sue DOJ to stop residency investigation

MADISON, WI — A Grand Chute Town Board member under investigation for not actually living in the town when elected sued the state Department of Justice to block that probe. Ron Wolff and his wife–Tina–filed the suit in Madison Federal Court back in March of 2022 against Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Jay Yerges, his supervisor–Administrator Tina Virgil–18 other D-C-I employees and six members of the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Department. Many of the original documents in the case have been sealed–but those that are available to the public include the search warrant that was sealed by an Outagamie County judge shortly after state agents raided Wolff’s properties in the town of Nichols and in Grand Chute. There are also statements from Yerges in support of that warrant, where the Special Agent claims Wolff admitted to not living in Grand Chute when elected, and offered to resign his seat. Yerges adds that he and his partner attended the next Town Board meeting–where Wolff continued to vote on matters. He was re-elected to the Grand Chute Town Board last month. The Wolffs originally claimed that the agents used excessive force during the raids–but that claim is being dropped. A trial in the lawsuit is scheduled for August 21st.