Former supervisor sentenced to 7 to 9 years
Brad Clingman, former Sublette County Waste Management Supervisor
by Joy Ufford
November 3, 2013
On Friday, November 1, a former Sublette County waste management supervisor – once an Albany County road and bridge superintendent and fire warden ¬– was sentenced to prison and fines, after a Pinedale jury found him guilty in August of misuse of county property and funds.
In Sublette County’s Ninth District Court, Bradley D. Clingman, of Laramie, was sentenced by Judge Marv Tyler to seven to nine years in prison for two felony charges of larceny by bailee and payment of a $5,000 fine.
For a misdemeanor of wrongful appropriation of public property, the judge sentenced Clingman to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. On two felonies of failure or refusal to pay over property to Sublette County, Clingman was sentenced for each to four to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
He was also ordered to reimburse $5,133.77 to Sublette County and to pay certain court costs and fees. Three duplicative misdemeanor charges were not considered in the sentencing.
Clingman served as Sublette County waste management supervisor from 2007 until his January termination by the county commissioners at an emergency meeting; he was then arrested and taken into custody on nine charges. These stemmed from a prior investigation undertaken by the Sublette County attorney’s office at the commissioners’ request.
The investigation was turned over to Sublette County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Lance Gehlhausen on Dec. 18, 2012, when it was determined to be a criminal case. That investigation revealed that Clingman allegedly and intentionally stole $5,133.77 by virtue of his office when selling recyclable goods from the county’s landfill and used 300 to 400 gallons of diesel fuel from county pumps for personal travel.
Gehlhausen’s report detailed an incentive program Clingman had operated at the county landfill in Marbleton, as he initially had explained to the
commissioners, to have employees there remove recyclable objects from the conveyor belt to keep them from damaging the county equipment.
Clingman would then haul the goods to Salt Lake City and receive payment from several recycling companies, sometimes having a check made out to him as well as the county. Gehlhausen reported that Clingman paid the participating landfill employees in cash, amounting to thousands of dollars that the commissioners did not realize were due to the county.
During Friday’s sentencing, Judge Tyler said that the repercussions of Clingman’s crimes reached innocent victims beyond the county itself.
"I have to do what I swore when I took this job I would do," he told Clingman Friday. "The court has considered probation and other sentencing options. The court finds those options are not appropriate."
Judge Tyler restricted use of Clingman’s past criminal record in Albany County during his recent trial, although he was aware that Clingman was previously charged with similar crimes in Albany County.
In 2005, then county fire-warden Clingman was charged with one felony of writing fraudulent checks for $19,145; he later accepted a plea agreement in Second District Court, court records show.
There he pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts of wrongful appropriation of public property; the felony charge was dismissed. He served 30 days in jail, one year of probation and 80 hours of community service, records show.
Related Links
Brad Clingman found guilty on all counts - By Joy Ufford, Pinedale Online, August 24, 2013
Clingman pleads not guilty to 9 Sublette criminal charges - By Joy Ufford, Pinedale Online, March 30, 2013
">Sublette County Commissioners terminate Brad Clingman, Superintendent of Waste Management - By Dawn Ballou, Pinedale Online, January 10, 2013
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