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Kenosha County Eye

Village Of Somers Officials Tight-Lipped On Sudden Departure Of Court Clerk

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Somers Municipal Court Clerk Francine (Fran) Dibble
47 of Kenosha

Village of Somers officials are not talking about why long-time Municipal Court Clerk Fran Dibble suddenly announced her resignation last week. The last few years, she has been involved in several scandals. Dibble, who is now divorced, started a romantic relationship with Somers Village President George Stoner (D) who is 25 years her senior. Their relationship started long before her divorce was final, according to our sources.

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Clerk Fran Dibble (47) and Village President George Stoner (72)

Dibble was a loyal girlfriend to the Village’s top elected official – even in her official capacity. She was questioned by an investigator in the early summer of 2020 for a criminal allegation that she forged court records to help Stoner land a conviction for a citation he ordered to be issued. The citation was issued to his political opponent 3 days after he announce he would be challenging stoner and was litigated for 3 years in Municipal court . Village Prosecutor Victoria Oleniczak told the investigator that “she determined that two sets of exhibits purporting to be originals were filed with the court.” She admitted that one set of court records was forged by Dibble. Ultimately, Walworth County DA Zeke Wiedenfeld decided not to criminally charge Dibble for the forgeries. Other employees questioned the relationship between Dibble and her superior, who is a quarter-century older than her. This improper relationship may have lead to her resignation, but officials won’t tell us.

Somers Municipal Judge Bob Kupfer

To further muddy the waters, Municipal Court Judge, Bob Kupfer was Dibble’s divorce attorney, with a second apparent conflict. Kupfer ended up finding Stoner’s opponent guilty. Upon appeal, now-retired Judge Bastianelli reversed Kupfer’s ruling. Kupfer has had an open complaint to the Wisconsin Judicial Commission for two years. Investigations into judicial misconduct are private so we aren’t able to learn what stage the investigation is in. Kupfer was alleged to have researched the case independently, and engaged in ex-parte communications with others. Ex Parte communication is when a Judge discusses a case with one party, with the other party not being present. We have requested Dibble’s disciplinary file to determine exactly why she resigned.

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Author

  • Kevin Mathewson

    Kevin Mathewson is a disciple of Christ, husband and a father to two wonderful children. Mathewson was born and raised in Lake County, IL and worked as a police & fire dispatcher from 2005 to 2010 in Round Lake Beach, IL. Mathewson moved to Kenosha County in 2006, later being elected to the position of Alderman of the 8th District in 2012 and 2016. Mathewson is a private investigator, security contractor, journalist, and photographer. He enjoys spending time with his family, watching movies, camping and boating. His favorite amendment is the second, followed closely by the first. He loves his country and community.

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3 Responses

  1. This type of behavior by public officials in Kenosha is the norm. Thank you KCE for shining the light on it.

  2. What is it with Somers ? That Cardinali clown, and that knucklehead Larry something or other …
    Stoner has also had issues.

  3. Eastern Kenosha County has a treasure chest of tainted ‘Civil Servant’ stories for a Hollywood producer to harvest into a brand new TV Soap Opera.

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