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Kosciusko County Commissioners responded Monday to two recent anonymous letters making accusations against Kosciusko County Highway Department (KCHD) employees, saying the accusations were investigated but no credible evidence was found regarding vehicle or fuel misuse.
Both letters were anonymously mailed out to people and organizations, including the Times-Union, with the second one arriving late last week and getting posted on several Facebook pages by Sunday.
The Letters
The first anonymous letter, two pages dated June 24, starts out by saying, “As a former Kosciusko County Highway Department employee, I feel it is time for the taxpayers of this county to be informed about the abuse, fraud, waste and theft that have occurred and, to my knowledge, are still happening at the county highway department. I am going to share just a few of them with you, and you will hopefully feel compelled to question/investigate/address the issues.”
The letter states former Highway Department Superintendent Steve Moriarty used his KCHD pickup truck for over 10 years for his personal use at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars to the county taxpayers. A new pickup truck was purchased for him this year and he filled the fuel tank on the taxpayers’ dime often. It states the employee missed a lot of work due to a side job as a Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. football coach.
Drainage Supervisor Randy Roberts drives the county-owned pickup truck home and back daily, and has been stealing county fuel for at least two years, the letter states. The letter also says Moriarty was made aware of Roberts’ continued theft and chose not to do anything about it. Also made aware about it were the county human resources and Sheriff Jim Smith, but no one took action.
The most recent one-page letter, with “Attention, Taxpayers of Kosciusko County” at the top, accuses new Highway Superintendent Troy Kintzel of having his own personal vehicle repaired by a county employee on county time. When Kintzel was confronted, the letter states, the employee said he would do it again.
The second letter also again accuses Roberts of using county-owned trucks to fill the auxiliary tank in the bed of the pickup with the county’s fuel supply, and then driving the county truck home and filling up all of his personal vehicles on the taxpayers’ dime.
“This has occurred so many times over the course of years. Stealing of this nature is a felony,” the second anonymous letter states before accusing the sheriff, highway superintendent and county commissioners of shoving it under the rug after being made aware of the crime.
“As a former employee of the KC Highway Department, I can assure you that the majority of the highway department employees have seen or heard about this crime,” the letter states. The letter writer also states a family member of Roberts’ is aware of the “stealing” as they use the fuel as well.
The second anonymous letter also questions the use of county-owned take-home pickup trucks.
The letter is just signed “A very concerned KC taxpayer and former KC employee who wishes for justice and change without bringing my family into this.”
County Response
On Monday, the Kosciusko County Commissioners, through county attorney Ed Ormsby, provided a response to the anonymous letters.
It states, “The Kosciusko County Commissioners take the protection of taxpayer resources seriously. Earlier this year, the county and others in the public received the first letter from an anonymous author concerning Highway Department vehicle and fuel use. Contrary to the allegation in this second letter from this anonymous author, which we respectfully note demonstrates some unreliability of the anonymous author, those concerns were not ignored by the county.
“Instead, those allegations were investigated through an administrative review conducted by the county administrator at the request of the commissioners and the county attorney. That administrative review included the examination of relevant records, personnel policies, supporting documentation and interviews with the personnel involved. The Administrative Review Memorandum (ARM) is attached and is available to the public. As stated in the Administrative Review Memorandum, the review resulted in no credible evidence substantiating the anonymous allegations of wrongdoing concerning County Highway vehicle use or fuel usage.”
The statement from the county continues, “The second anonymous letter repeats concerns addressed by that review and adds a new allegation that the new highway superintendent had a county employee repair his personal vehicle on county time. That matter is under current review.
“Public accountability matters. So does accountability for criminal accusations. An anonymous letter is not proof, and repeating a matter on social media or in secretly mailed letters several times does not turn an allegation into a fact. Unaccountable accusations of theft or misuse of public resources are dangerous: If untrue, they can be defamatory, unjustly damage the reputations of public servants and their families, unfairly erode public trust and waste public time and money. The public and its employees deserve verified information — not a social media trial by rumor.
“If the author stands behind these allegations, we respectfully ask that person to come forward and cooperate with the county sheriff, including participation in an interview to provide specific dates, any firsthand observations, any supporting records and the names of witnesses so that the claims can be meaningfully examined by legal authorities. We recognize that people may be reluctant to identify themselves, but, in most cases, an accused does have the right to examine his accuser.
“In the meantime, the commissioners will remain focused on protecting taxpayer resources, fair treatment of its employees and reasonable actions grounded in evidence and just process,” the statement from the commissioners concludes.
Code & ARM
Along with the commissioners’ statement, Ormsby provided a copy of the gasoline fuel log, a vehicle location map of Moriarty’s travels, an employee radio truck list, a diesel fuel log, the capital assets ledger of every piece of equipment the KCHD owns, a copy of the county’s code regarding personal use of county property and facilities and the ARM regarding highway department use of vehicle and fuel.
County Code 5.11 regarding personal use of county property and facilities states, “In order to minimize unnecessary expenses, prevent the loss of valuable work time and prevent lowered morale of cooperative employees, personal use of county facilities, vehicles and equipment is prohibited, unless expressly authorized by the Kosciusko County Commissioners. This policy applies to all employees and it restricts the personal use of organization facilities, including bulletin boards, vehicles and equipment, computers and fax machines. County facilities may be used for civic, political and community events with prior approval by the Kosciusko County Commissioners.”
The ARM, dated July 29, 2026, summarizes the administrative review conducted by the county administrator for the commissioners. It states it is limited to the factual information “necessary to explain the review, findings and recommended administrative improvements.”
On or about June 27, the commissioners and county administrator received the anonymous complaint regarding KCHD superintendent vehicle use and alleged fuel theft by a KCHD employee.
The administrative review by the county administrator was limited to the concerns raised in the anonymous complaint. The county administrator reviewed available fuel logs, employee and equipment identification records, relevant personnel policy provisions and related documentation, according to the ARM. The county administrator also met with involved county personnel to gather information relevant to the review.
Records reviewed included the June 27 anonymous complaint, diesel fuel logs, gasoline fuel logs, employee identification and equipment identification records, route information reviewed for context, personnel policy section 5.11, photographic documentation reviewed during the administrative review and relevant employee and equipment identifiers for the KCHD personnel and equipment referenced in the complaint.
The gasoline fuel usage log was reviewed for the period from Feb. 19, 2026, through July 6, 2026. The records showed the highway superintendent used a total of 145.3 gallons and the highway employee used 218.9 gallons.
The diesel fuel log also was reviewed. Auxiliary fuel tanks are in the back of certain pickup trucks and are used to refuel equipment as needed either on site or at the county garage.
The diesel fuel log reflected the following entries relevant to the review, according to the ARM: 25 gallons, equipment 64 (2017 Western Star Tandem Model 4700SF), Feb. 24; 30 gallons, equipment 64, Feb. 24; 40 gallons, equipment 136 (2023 John Deere Loader 644), March 3; 30 gallons, equipment 93 (2018 Chevrolet 2500HDLT pickup), March 3; and 13.8 gallons, equipment 72 (2013 Bobcat T770 Compact Track Loader), March 9.
On July 14, the county administrator met with the highway superintendent to discuss county vehicle use. The superintendent stated he is on call 24 hours per day, seven days per week and that his duties require him to be able to respond directly from his residence when necessary. (The map provided shows the locations of the KCHD, Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation and the KCHD superintendent’s home.) The superintendent stated when driving to and from work, he generally uses the most direct route, though at times he may use different routes to inspect roads, check pavement conditions, etc., consistent with his job. Evening travel may include stopping at TVSC, as approved by the commissioners, provided there is no out-of-the-way travel.
The county administrator confirmed with the commissioners that all of the uses described by the superintendent have been expressly authorized by the commissioners for the county’s benefit.
On July 16, the county administrator met with Roberts, who denied the allegation of having stolen fuel from the county. The employee stated in response to the allegations in the anonymous letter he and his family use their personal vehicle for weekend livestock-related travel and they do not use the county vehicle. He also stated he does not use county fuel in his personal vehicles and inspectors may randomly check vehicle fuel tanks at livestock events and that the presence of red-dyed diesel fuel in a personal vehicle could result in fines.
According to the ARM, “The employee explained that the auxiliary diesel fuel tank in the back of his assigned truck is a 40-gallon tank and that the pump for that tank had not functioned since mid-November 2025. The employee stated that in February 2026 he installed a new pump, filled the auxiliary tank on February 24, 2026, and later used the fuel to fill county equipment. He further stated that the auxiliary tank was again filled on March 3, 2026, used to fill county equipment, and has not been used since because the pump again became nonfunctional.”
The employee showed the county administrator a spare pump kept in the truck toolbox and a nonfunctional pump located in the wash bay, and a photo of that was provided by Ormsby.
The explanation provided was consistent with the fuel-log entries and the information reviewed during the administrative review, the ARM states.
In the conclusion of the ARM, it states based on the records reviewed, interviews conducted, applicable personnel policy provisions and supporting documentation considered, the county administrator “found no credible evidence substantiating the anonymous allegations of wrongdoing concerning county highway vehicle use or fuel usage.”
Recommended Administrative Improvements
Although the administrative review did not substantiate the allegations, the following process improvements were recommended in the ARM to strengthen documentation, improve oversight and reduce the likelihood of similar concerns in the future:
• Install an electronic log function at both fuel stations.
• Install two additional cameras and repair existing cameras to monitor activity at the fuel pumps.
• Review and update Personnel Policy Section 5.11, Personal Use of County Property and Facilities, to put in writing express authorizations of the County Commissioners for use of county vehicles.
