Kenosha County Executive Samantha Kerkman Spends $10,000 Tax Dollars Fighting KCE In Court To Protect Her Friend

Copied!
County Executive Samantha Kerkman (R) and Former Salem Lakes Trustee Ted Kmiec (D)
(Facebook – Money Via Photoshop)

In March of this year, KCE had to sue Kenosha County. We wanted body-worn-video footage from the Sheriff’s Department of the embattled former politician Ted Kmiec. Kmiec was reporting to Kenosha County Deputies that I planted video cameras, and bugged his home. The Sheriff’s Department admitted verbally and in writing that it was possibly a mental health issue.

Paid Advertisement
Samantha Kerkman And Her County Attorneys Joey Cardamone and Jenny Kopp
(Photos by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)

Kenosha County has terrible lawyers called Joey Cardamone and Jenny Kopp. They don’t know the Wisconsin Public Records law, so they gave the Sheriff’s Department advice to deny me the footage. After I sued, Kopp admitted that she had no knowledge on this issue, and asked Kerkman to hire outside counsel. Samantha Kerkman authorized the County to hire a very expensive law firm. This would cause one to think – “If Kopp doesn’t know anything about public records, why would she give the Sheriff’s Department ANY advice?”

Paid Advertisement

So I sued and Kerkman gave a blank check, so to speak, to a Waukesha-based law firm. Two seasoned attorneys and a paralegal worked feverently to block my access to the body-worn-camera footage of a politician – against little old me, a college dropout. The case settled out of court. I am not legally allowed to discuss the conditions of the settlement – but the confidential settlement document is a public record.

Paid Advertisement

We asked Kerkman many times why she really didn’t want us to have the footage. She didn’t respond. I wanted to see just how much Kerkman spent of our money to help a friend – just $9 short of $10,000. Here is a copy of the bills to the county:

Paid Advertisement

Author

Copied!
LATEST NEWS

Kenosha Man Accused of Fleeing Crash, Resisting Officers After Cocaine Discovery

Kenosha, Wis. — A Kenosha man is facing multiple felony and misdemeanor charges after a violent and chaotic incident earlier this week that put officers and the public at risk, according to court records. Kaden J. Gayheart, 23, made his initial appearance Wednesday afternoon before Court Commissioner William Michel II. Michel set Gayheart’s bail at $7,500 cash, which he posted Friday. He is now out of custody pending further proceedings. According to a criminal complaint filed

Read More »

Pleasant Prairie Man Charged with 28 Counts Including Racketeering After Retail Theft Crime Spree, Held on $25,000 Cash Bond

Pleasant Prairie, Wis. — A man already facing numerous retail theft charges in Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties is now charged with 28 criminal counts in Kenosha County, including Racketeering under Wisconsin’s RICO statute, following an extensive, organized retail theft operation that endangered workers and defied court orders at every step. Camari O. Russell, 26, was arrested in Lake County, Illinois, and extradited back to Wisconsin to face new charges stemming from repeated thefts at the Pleasant

Read More »
MORE TOP STORIES

Kenosha CNA Accused of Assaulting Elderly Resident at Care Facility

Kenosha, Wis. — A Kenosha woman stands accused of abusing a 73-year-old man at a local care facility where she worked, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kenosha County Circuit Court. Jahnix A. Medina, 27, was charged with one count of physical abuse of an elder person, intentionally causing bodily harm, a Class H felony. If convicted, she faces up to six years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both. According to the complaint, officers

Read More »

Maine Man Accused of Violent Robbery in Kenosha; Bail Set at $10,000

Kenosha, Wis. — A Maine man is facing felony charges in Kenosha County after allegedly assaulting a woman and robbing her of a necklace in a violent altercation last fall. On Wednesday, Court Commissioner William Michel II set bail at $10,000 cash for Lewis A. Covington, 32, who is charged with robbery with use of force and substantial battery—both with domestic abuse enhancers. According to the criminal complaint, the incident occurred on October 12, 2024, when

Read More »

Village Administrator Lawyers Up Amid DNR Wetland Investigation

Salem Lakes, Wis. — The Village of Salem Lakes’ top administrator is under scrutiny after the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) launched an investigation into potential illegal wetland disturbances on municipal property. The property in question is zoned C1. Lowland Resource Conservancy (C1) zoning is intended to prevent the destruction of valuable natural resources, including wetlands, shorelands, and areas subject to flooding. This is among the most restrictive zoning in the County. Cassandra Hiller, the

Read More »

Kenosha Alderman Accused of “Playing Cop” Again, Raising Concerns Over Overreach: Video

Kenosha, Wis. – Alderman Rollin Pizzala is facing renewed scrutiny after being spotted once again engaging in actions that appear to be outside the scope of his duties as a city legislator. On Thursday afternoon, a tip-off to Kenosha County Eye (KCE) reported Pizzala actively patrolling the 43rd Avenue neighborhood north of 60th Street, raising concerns among residents about his actions. Pizzala was reportedly “inspecting” properties in the area for code violations, such as property maintenance,

Read More »

Racine Officer Shoots Armed Suspect During Home Invasion: Investigation Underway

Racine, Wis. — An officer with the Racine Police Department shot and injured a suspect during a tense encounter inside a residence Tuesday night following a reported armed home invasion. The incident occurred in the 1100 block of Hamilton Street and has triggered an outside investigation, officials confirmed. According to a news release from the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office, Racine officers responded to the scene on April 22 after receiving reports of a home invasion involving

Read More »

Kenosha Man Accused of Strangling Girlfriend, Causing Severe Facial Injury

Kenosha, Wis. — A 56-year-old Kenosha man is facing multiple criminal charges after allegedly assaulting his live-in girlfriend, choking her and striking her in the face hard enough to require stitches and cause temporary vision loss. Allen S. Meyer was charged in Kenosha County Circuit Court with substantial battery, strangulation and suffocation, and disorderly conduct — all with domestic abuse enhancers. The alleged attack occurred on March 21 at Meyer’s upper unit residence on 17th Avenue.

Read More »

Kenosha Woman Charged Again for Stealing Family’s Car While Out on Bail for Doing the Same

Kenosha, Wis. – A 36-year-old Kenosha woman remains in the county jail on a $7,500 cash bail after being charged with stealing her daughter’s car over the weekend—despite already being out on bail for a similar car theft involving her own mother just months earlier. Kristy R. Delaney now faces a total of ten new charges in a case filed Monday, including five felony counts of bail jumping, misdemeanor bail jumping, misdemeanor theft, operating while revoked,

Read More »

Kenosha Woman Accused of Tearing Sister’s Ear in Violent Fight

Kenosha, Wis. — A 23-year-old Kenosha woman is facing felony charges after allegedly assaulting her sister during a domestic dispute, less than two years after a similar case against her was dropped by the previous district attorney’s office. Katie M. Imbrogno has been charged in Kenosha County Circuit Court with one count of Substantial Battery – Domestic Abuse, a Class I felony, and one count of Disorderly Conduct – Domestic Abuse, a Class B misdemeanor. If

Read More »

$50,000 Bail Set for Kenosha Man Accused of Distributing Child Pornography

Kenosha, Wis. — A Kenosha man is being held in the Kenosha County Jail on serious felony charges after investigators say he shared a graphic image involving a young child over social media. Daniel D. Pichardo-Vilchis, 39, was arrested April 16 following an investigation by the Kenosha Police Department and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). He appeared in court last week for an initial appearance, where Court Commissioner William Michel ordered a

Read More »

Kenosha Man Jailed After Additional Child Porn Charges Filed

Kenosha, Wis. — A Kenosha man is facing serious new criminal charges after being re-arrested last week in connection with a growing child pornography case. Hector A. Tot-Cuc, 25, was first charged on March 31, 2025, with two counts of possession of child pornography. He was released on $10,000 cash bail the following day. But on April 16, at 9:40 a.m., Tot-Cuc was taken back into custody after new evidence led prosecutors to file five additional

Read More »
Categories
Archives
Authors

44 Responses

  1. Section 19.39, Wisconsin Statutes: “Any person may request advice from the attorney general as to the applicability of this subchapter under any circumstances. The attorney general may respond to such a request.” Before hiring outside counsel (and the hourly rate here, by the way, seems modest compared to some law firms), did the corporation counsel drop a dime on the attorney general’s office for advice? And if not, why?

    As legal bills go, this one was pretty cheap. And kudos to the law firm for some fairly well-detailed billing. The public often doesn’t get to see that.

    5
    5
    1. I disagree with the simplistic characterization of “costly” in favor of “mismanaged” which is costly. Most of the people who do the work are good people who work hard and are dedicated. The politicians are another breed. Their fiscal habits and lack of candor costs money and often produces poor results. They neither budget or spend like we would at home or in our businesses. To make it simple, would you rather pay $200-250 for a filling or delay getting the work done until it becomes a $2500 crown and root canal? By not allocating sufficient reserves to cover replacement facilities taxpayers are on the hook for the “$2500 crown and root canal” far too often. By following simple business practices taxpayers could save money overall.

      5
      2
  2. Just like most of Americans these days I am sick and tired of todays political crooks! They won’t hesitate to spend tax dollars on defending their crooked buddies or sick ass agendas. Mainly the liberal democratic ones. They are the biggest snakes in the grass. Of course there are “RINOS” amount the republican party but the true Republicans need to grow a set of balls and come together to fight against this biggest pandemic of all, “LIBERALISM”! I guess that’s why some will say, “if you’re not a liberal by the age of 20 then you have no heart, but if you’re not a conservative by the age of 40…. then you have no…….. BRAIN”!!!

    16
    1
  3. Haaaa And you carried her water for county executive. You get what you vote for……. Another Twin Lakes power play by Sam, she’s been taking notes from the best!

    5
    4
  4. College educations are highly overrated in this libtarded society anyway Kevin. You and I are much smarter than any College educated liberal. If people wanna waste a shit ton of money just send your kids to college so they can get indoctrinated by woke ass professors and come home as dumb as a box of rocks with no morals or common fricken sense!!! Then you can never even talk sense to them ever again because they’ll be sooooo convinced that they are smart that they look stupid 🙄

    14
    5
    1. There are a lot of non woke colleges and professors out there. Many jobs require more than a high school education. Are you smarter than a doctor, nurse, police officer, teacher, IT professional? If so, you might be a lucky one, but you are a dying breed. Years ago, all you needed was some high school, then it was a high school diploma and now its college…an undergrad degree if you even wanna work at a good job. If you raise up a child in the way they should go, they will not depart from it.

      3
      3
      1. I’d be willing to bet that I am much smarter than a large amount of them when it comes to common sense, wisdom, morality, Christianity etc etc etc….things that are much more important in this sick society than book smarts. Congratulations to the lucky ones who didn’t waste their parents money, or government money, on 4 years of college while partying their asses of while and becoming stupefied by woke colleges and then cannot even find a job after all of that, and who actually became something without losing their brain cells. But no I never said I was more book smart than the people you mentioned but common sense should have told you that…

        2
        4
  5. If Sam wants to spend all this money to help her buddy, she should have to foot the bill out of her own pocket, not our tax dollars! Wow, she has really gone off the rails over the past years.

    19
  6. Sam? You are embassassing those who supported you over the years and perhaps some who work for you since you took county office. Please look at your actions. Your job is to do what is right, not based on who you call a friend. Make decisions as if you didnt know the individual. If you pretended that it wasnt Teddy, you would have let this issue continue without spending a dime and you would have won the Transparent Integrity medal. Instead, you failed at the “hide” and now we all see it. For voters, this is a learning experience. Do Not Vote for peoiple who havent worked in the real world for a living like we do and who havent had to deal with labor laws of the land with other than intern friends. Let’s get someone who has an MBA and 10 years real work experience with personal authorities on over 20 million dollars. Less than that is a sandbox player.

    20
    1. I agree with all of this. She is not for Kenosha County. She is only trying to fatten her pockets and smile for every photo opportunity. She needs to go! NEXT!!!

      1. Why would you even consider voting for her? She has basically made you look like a fool and definitely ruined your credibility regarding who you back on this site, like what the fuck?

        1
        9
        1. Ruined my credibility on who I back? I’ve never advocated for anybody to vote for anybody in that race. I think anybody who knows anything about me knows that I’m a conservative. I don’t think Samantha Kerkman can ruin MY credibility by doing stupid things. You have weird logic

          13
          1
        2. Because the alternative was worse. Perhaps you need to wrap your head around our voting system and politics a little more, because choosing the lesser evil has been the default since the dawn of man.

          1
          1
  7. She should have to pay every single dime back to Kenosha County tax payers! No wonder why she hired Sherry Kruse after she stole money and time from Lake County. She can relate!

  8. Where is the video?
    We want to see what a hill billy fishing shack looks lime when it is taken over by a horder.
    Do you count this lawsuit as a win for the KCE?

  9. Did you win the lawsuit? Can you post the video footage that you received? I hope they also had to pay your court costs as well. Why is the Sheriff’s name not in this article as I think it is the Sheriff’s decision on releasing body camera footage isn’t it?

      1. But, is it the Sheriff’s final say? I can always get a recommendation my attorney, but I always have the final say in the decision. I also get recommendations from my financial advisor, but I don’t always have to listen to them. Maybe the Sheriff should grow a pair and make a decision that is good for the County. What was the reason the Sheriff gave for denying the request? Can you post the video from your lawsuit? I am very curious to see it.

          1. The Sheriff should do what he believes is right and deal with the consequences if he is wrong. It is a pretty simple concept of leadership. He was elected to uphold the law and protect us. He promised transparency to the citizens. He is elected, so what can go wrong for him if he makes that decision? We can still vote for him right? In my experience attorneys are always going to be conservative and meek with their recommendations. The Sheriff was ELECTED to make bold, good and strong decisions for the people of Kenosha. It is his decision at the end of the day and he failed us. You like to hold people accountable, but you seem to be giving the Sheriff a major pass on this when he is the final authority.

            Based on you not answering the video question, I am assuming that you must not have received it? Curious what you settled the case for? It would have been pretty fun to watch that body footage camera if he was really accusing you of putting cameras around his house.

            On a side note are you looking forward to the release of Epstein’s list? It is supposed to happen Jan 1.

              1. Where are they? Can you post a link? Are they redacted or something?

                By the way, I don’t think you should limit yourself to just Kenosha. You should also keep an eye on the state of wisconsin.

                1
                2
  10. Sometimes in life there are things we may be entitled to see, or have the right to see, but it is still wrong seeing it. Sometimes we need to ask, what is the purpose for what I am doing? Other than (maybe) being proven right, what good will come out of it?

    1
    2
  11. It’s unthinkable what you go through Kevin.
    Being defamed and targeted for seeking and covering the truth. No matter where the truth lands.
    Please sue for court costs and attorney fees.
    You’re too gracious in letting political bad actor’s off the hook financially.
    Keep every cent!
    Thank you for not curling up in a ball like most people too often do when politicians and law enforcement overlords play God with people’s lives, reputations and safety.

    Merry Christmas Kevin😊🙏🏼🎄🎁

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

LATEST NEWS
Categories
Archives
Authors

Subscribe to updates

Get notified of new articles. We'll never share your email address.