(Photo by Nathan DeBruin for Kenosha County Eye)
The disgraced former Village of Pleasant Prairie public works director John Steinbrink, Jr was in court today for a status conference. Steinbrink was charged last year with seven felonies related to corruption, enough to put him behind bars for decades. In the six-page criminal complaint, Steinbrink, Jr was is facing charges of one count of Theft – False Representation between $10,000 and $100,000 and six counts of felony Misconduct in Public Office – Excess Authority. The former carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, and the latter, 3.5 years each.
(Photo by Nathan DeBruin for Kenosha County Eye)
In court today, defense attorney Richard Smith told Judge Milisauskas that the discovery has been coming to the defense in “drips.” He said there was a lot of discovery in this case and he now thinks he has all of it. “I believe Mr. Steenrod wants to do some additional investigation to determine if he can in fact go forward with some of these charges,” said Smith. “I’m asking for another status date.”
(Photo by Nathan DeBruin for Kenosha County Eye)
“I need to have some discussions with some members of the Pleasant Prairie public works department and the finance department and that’s actually scheduled for later today at 2:45 in the afternoon,” said Steenrod. Steenrod told the court that after his meeting with the village, the parties will know if the case will be a plea deal or a trial.
(Photo by Nathan DeBruin for Kenosha County Eye)
Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Anthony Milisauskas told the parties “I’m giving you one more adjournment so we will reschedule it for 60 days, and at the next court hearing I would like to know whether there are going to be some plea negotiations or a trial because it’s very hard to get a trial.”
Steinbrink is due back in court on May 4, 2023 at 4pm.
63 Responses
I’d anticipate some kind of plea deal. The cancer has been excised. He has no prior criminal record. With all of the violent criminals who need to be behind bars this mope, while not making excuses for him, isn’t one of them. Obviously he needs to pay back what he stole and should have some punishment. To his credit, he was one of the people who helped coordinate building the Kenosha Dream Playground. Maybe a good dose of community service work.
Really? Lol! You are going to base his character and horrific actions on having a small input on building a Kenosha Dream Playground? Pretty sad defense and low standards you have for someone who did what he did that effected SO many employees, families,and tax payers in Pleasant Prairie!
“horrific actions”
Ok snowflake ?
Years ago, the mayor of Kenosha (Kehl) received a 5 year prison sentence for embezzling 5 grand. Yet this scumbag has the right connections to get a slap on the hand from embezzling hundreds of thousand of dollars? That is what’s wrong with this government. All about who you know.
Kehl is a former Sheriff who had just been elected Kenosha County Executive when it came out that he had accepted an illegal $5K campaign contribution. That’s what I remember. He did get sentenced to prison for it, though. It’s still insane that this guy might get a slap on the wrist for 20 years of sketchy or illegal acts.
Hmmm has anyone looked into the Kehl family lineage? The former Sherriff’s son, (Kenosha county Executive) Allan Kehl, has a child with Jill Sorensen who is Bobbi & John Steinbrink Sr’s niece (aka Jrs first cousin) Seems corruption stays in the family…and maybe Jr learned a few things from uncle Kehl…nepotism and corruption at its best!!
Too bad the Dream playground fell apart due to Steinbrinkspoor engineering skills!!
Actually it was a manufacturer’s defect.
It was MacGill Construction from Elkhorn and MJD. Kevin should remember as the city council OK’d a lawsuit if necessary.
You’re an asshat. He stole millions, and his “good deeds” to help with the playground was part of his cover up. He’s a dirty bastard that deserves prison time.
You keep writing that “he stole millions” without proof.
He’s a jerk. He’s shady. He stole. He misused village property and staff. He was deceitful. He lost his job. And he’s being prosecuted. He deserves to be held accountable and that includes repaying what was misappropriated.
If you read the criminal complaint carefully they aren’t entirely specific on some of the allegations. For example, the wood chipper could have been sold for more but how much more? Who says so? Where was the valuation done? Was a valuation done? Same with many of the other charges.
Taxpayers should be pissed but it should also be directed at the piss poor investigation. It only takes probable cause to issue a charge but you need proof beyond a reasonable doubt to convict at a trial.
The Racine DA did a slipshod job of putting this together. It looks like there was no forensic accounting done. And no expert valuations. A good prosecutor would have done the homework before a charge is issued. That’s what is done in white collar cases. You have all your ducks in a row before you proceed. Unlike a shooting where you have to make decisions within 48 hours you have the luxury of time to build a solid case.
And for all the people who complain about his father he’s running unopposed next month.
Go fuck yourself. Maybe if you were an employee and lost everything you might see things differently.
How do you know I am not? The guy is a schmuck. But there’s no evidence that he stole millions. Convictions are based on evidence, not blabbering from a profane nincompoop.
The chance has NOT been excised, he is just the cancerous tumor that has been removed. The real cancer is John SR, Pollocoff and Goessl who are still there running the show. Those 3 are the true cancer, allowing Jr to steal, violate laws and mistreat employees for decades! This is all BS. Just like Alex Murdock, the Steinbrinks have influence in this little corner of the world. Unfortunately Jr will get a plea deal since nobody at VPP has the balls to push this to trial since Sr, (daddy)continues to manipulate and use his power of influence of VPP as board president. Steinbrinks family is laughing all the way to the bank, once again…
Any plea deal, if there is one, comes from the prosecutor, not the village. Depends probably on how much work the prosecutor wants to put into the case. Already one charge was dismissed because of the prosecutor’s lack of diligence.
Did you run against sr.? No.
Did you?
How to stay out of jail while going to jail.
Big John is working overtime to get the kid off both are scumbags! Are they going to repay residents for having workers do labor for the family compound?
Go to the meetings and ask. We should all be asking a lot of questions but their meetings are at a time when people are still working.
The judge is pushing a plea. This case has already been decided. Three years probation and he pleas no contest. He keeps his pension and rides off into the sunset. Too bad because this is fraud.
Not fraud it is stealing and intimidation.
exactly right, they know the outcome already, what we are seeing and hearing is all stage play ..
The games the corruptions. goes all the way to the top .
At least he wore the right glasses but no hearing aides. What a dumbass. Too many adjournments in this case. Did he finally get fingerprinted and his stupid photo taken?
Maybe his future is no longer, “so bright he needs shades”?
He looks old. Wow
Old?! How about road hard and put away wet!looking good slimfast!
o I’m sure a plea will happen DADDY has been able to sugar coat it and probably get pleasant prairie to back off you know this guy is going to walk with some BS plea deal, Like always. the Steinbrink’s have used the town of PP as their pocketbooks for years. Corruption will never end in this town, So very sad.
john jr you were an overrated jerk in high school and are still the same Jerk. Hide behind your dad’s name and status. I say you should pay the price !! and do the time !!!!
im not real sure about this judge yet < He seems to side with DA on everything
Looking at Kenosha judges I believe all but one is liberal
The U.S. locks up more people than any other country and yet we have astronomical crime rates. I agree with the first comment that Steinbrink, jr. does not need to be locked up. HE needs to pay for his crimes. As taxpayers why should WE pay? It’s time our judges start making people like this PAY themselves for what they’ve done. Seize assets. Make them work it off. They should pay, not us. This isn’t some lib rant. They want to let dangerous people off and put on probation people who should be locked away.
We have higher crime rates because of our lack of a homogeneous, intelligent, universally productive society. Most of the world catch up with us except for places where they simply kill you for cut off parts of you as punishment, since much of the world countries are losing their identities and have no moral blue hanging them together, either. What you are saying without saying it that people with the wealth to pay back what they have stolen perhaps some fines, are free to go with whatever they want to do
Fines and community service work are punishment.
The Steinbrinks (and the rest of the nepotistic VoPP “family”) are Kenosha’s version of the Murdaughs.
Add Kerkman to the list also
“The discovery is coming in drips for his defense” quote. Hence there is no defense for his actions and his crimes. What else is there to discover?
DNA evidence? A smoking gun? A psychological profile for an insanity plea? A secret server or laptop which will prove he is innocent?
If the prosecution said that it needed more time for discovery that would be great, meaning that they are still investigating all the crap he did for 20 plus years. Feel free to fill in the blanks of things they are not charging him with or would have gotten any one else fired from there job. It is hard to change the facts and the evidence of the case, all they are doing is delaying this case in order to keep it out of the papers, and so it is not a topic of discussion in the Village.
The Village should be demanding a full investigation and full prosecution on all charges, and not seeking a plea deal, since the Village is suppose to work for the tax payers not the politicians and there sons.
Amen.
The age of no accountability.
If you are on the top or bottom of the economic scale your free to go.
So much for a life of living by the rules.
The defense lawyer is entitled to discovery and can get into trouble if he doesn’t press for all of it. You’d think they would have had everything put together before they charged the case.
Sorry but, Pleasant Prairie taxpayers don”t have any input with Steinbrink Pollocoff and croonies running the show, everything is done behind closed doors like hiring a yes man who works for the gang as village Administrator who would take the job is they were sane the whole state knows about Pleasant Prairie follies? We need an outside investigation as to where our tax dollars go!!
The Racine DA, not the village, makes the plea bargains.
Discovery is the information the prosecutor must share with the defense in a criminal case. The discovery the defendant must share is far more limited.
My guess is that that they are trying to come up with a number for restitution.
Given the nature of the crimes (non-violent) coupled with his non criminal record, I would say that if he pleas, he may do a very short stint in prion, a time of probation, restitution and community service. Save prison for the real bad guys-keep him out and embarassed the rest of his life.
A long while ago, Jr was the crown jewel of the family, even tho he was a babbling idiot! Sr and Pollocoff gave him the red carpet treatment at VPP, taking him from truck driver to dept head within a very short time, with taxpayers paying for his education and coworkers taking his engineering tests, securing his future. Richard (youngest) Steinbrink got the same treatment working for the village for years, but his dumb ass was too high on drugs to succeed at anything so he was exhiled to Texas to start a cell phone business, Speakeasy Telecommunications. He too flipped dump trucks, totaled vehicles and stole supplies, and nobody reported his bs, while others were fired! This family is corrupt and I’d bet that Richard is also stealing from the federal govt for false contracts, just like Jr did. Corruption at its finest!! Remember when Sr was a state rep? I’m sure his family benefited from that stint as well…
I read the criminal complaint. Now I can see why discovery may be delayed. They don’t appear to have an exact amount that he misappropriated so I suspect they are trying to come up with it.
Probation. Make restitution up front. Fine. No public employment. 1,000 hours unpaid community service work (which works out to six months). Make him pay.
All department heads need to go. From Goessel, Shnell, Smetana, to Greeno, Hupp, and Hennessey. Clean up the departments and let’s start over. Everyone had a hand in this mess. It’s time to get rid off the enablers.
This sounds like an insider
Insider. Yeah, people that work and experience Jrs crap.
What exactly dud Greeno do?
Is he paying his attorney in Menards rebates?
Good one!
May be you all could have another farm breakfest at you place to pay back the money , since you took most of the profits when you had it there before …
The libtards have their judges. The banana republicans have theirs. No judges for the rest of us.
Dumbest comment this far…
haters gonna hate. you can’t lie, this system is rigged against the average Joe Middle Class.
Part of any sentencing should include Junior changing his name to Brandon since there are so many similarities.
So what happened????
I’m just waiting for Bristol to get caught up in their dirty policies and shady practices. It’s coming, wait for it
So what happened at the May 4th hearing? I haven’t seen or heard anything!
please give update on case outcome’
Please advise as to
Outcome of case
Would like to know what it going on.
Re