Judges, former officials: More of the highest-paid public employees in Vanderburgh County

Jon Webb, Evansville Courier & Press

May 1, 2023 at 5:06 AM·4 min read

EVANSVILLE – Last year, Nick Hermann and Dave Wedding left two of the highest-paid public jobs in Vanderburgh County.

Wedding, the retiring Vanderburgh County Sheriff, and Hermann, the former prosecutor who was defeated in the Republican primary, made more than $330,000 combined in 2022.

It was enough to put them alongside judges and a University of Southern Indiana professor in the bottom half of the 20 highest-paid public employees in the county.

The Courier & Press published the top 10 last month. It was dominated by local education administrators such as USI President Ronald Rochon and Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. Superintendent David Smith.

All figures are taken from Indiana Gateway, a database of public money and salaries in Indiana. The list only includes public employees, which means administrators at the University of Evansville, a private institution, aren’t included. Private business leaders don’t qualify, either.

If we missed anyone who should have been included, let us know.

11. Zane Mitchell

Job: Dean of the Pott College of Science, Engineering and Education at USI

Compensation: $173,319

Former Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Nick Hermann.

12. Nicholas Hermann

Job: Former Vanderburgh County prosecutor

Compensation: $167,590

Hermann was ousted from the prosecutor's office after 12 years on the job when Diana Moers defeated him in the May 2022 primary. She went on to beat Democrat Jon Schaefer in the general election.

Hermann entered the campaign shrouded in multiple scandals.

In August 2021, the county and state paid $75,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit against him brought by a former prosecutor's office employee. The employee accused Hermann of making unwanted advances, handcuffing her, and displaying a firearm while they were in a hotel room alone at a 2013 conference in Chicago. Hermann denied any wrongdoing.

There were also questions about spending practices in the office. Two months before the election, the Courier & Press reported that official prosecutor's office credit cards were used to purchase lingerie and more than $10,000 in staff lunches, among other expenses.

And since Hermann left office, the office's former nonprofit, My Goals Inc., has also come under scrutiny. It was ostensibly a nonprofit for at-risk youth funded by forfeiture cash. But according to bank statements obtained by the Courier & Press, that money was used for thousands of dollars in random spending, with purchases going toward everything from fast food to women's clothing to hypnotists.

Three people were authorized to access the account: Hermann, Evansville police detective Brian Turpin, and former prosecutor's office aide Regene Newman.

In a statement, Hermann called the purchases "unauthorized." Turpin didn't return previous requests for comment from the Courier & Press. Newman left the prosecutor's office in 2021 to become the business director for Vanderburgh County Community Corrections. After the spending was made public this spring, she was fired.

Even though they believe VCCC finances weren't affected, Judge Wayne Trockman and current Sheriff Noah Robinson have since asked for an "evaluation" to make sure there are no improprieties.

The state and Vanderburgh County both contributed to Hermann's compensation, with $162,590.23 coming from the former and $4,999.80 from the latter.

Vanderburgh County Circuit Court Judge David Kiely.

13. David Kiely

Job: Judge, Vanderburgh County Circuit Court

Compensation: $166,890

Kiely is one of the defendants in a federal class-action lawsuit against ABK Tracking. He, the company and Vanderburgh County at large are accused of conspiring to "extort" money from poor residents.

ABK had an exclusive, no-bid deal with Kiely, who oversees the county’s probation department and is friends with ABK president Danny Koester. The company and its practices were the subject of a Courier & Press investigation. The paper's work is frequently cited in the lawsuit.

In January, the Vanderburgh County Community Corrections Advisory Board voted to replace ABK as its electronic home detention provider. That has since sparked an internal investigation of the board to ensure Trockman and VCCC Director James Akin didn't unduly influence the board before the vote.

More: Former prosecutor to investigate Vanderburgh County board's move away from ABK Tracking