ANTIGO — Friday afternoon at the Langlade County Courthouse, bond was posted for Gary Kieper, the former treasurer of both the Town of Ackley and Langlade County Rural Fire Control accused of embezzling over $300,000 from both entities over the past ten years.
Kieper’s bond was posted around 4 p.m. Friday, soon after the conclusion of his hearing, during which his bond, originally set at $500,000, was cut in half to $250,000.
District Attorney Kelly Hays said she agreed to the reduced bond despite victims asking that it remain at $500,000 due to fears that, if released from jail, Kieper would flee or harm himself.
“I think it’s appropriate. That is still a very significant amount of money, first to help with the flight risk here,” Hays said.
Marathon County Judge Rick Cveykus — who replaced Langlade County Judge John Rhode after Rhode cited a conflict of interest and recused himself from the case — granted the joint bond reduction motion.
“I do have grave concerns regarding the protection of the public, especially protection of Mr. Kieper himself,” Cveykus said. “I do think a quarter of a million dollar cash bond is an incredibly high bond to reach. I think that would guarantee Mr. Kieper’s appearance in court… it shows he does wish to comply with the bond or risk losing those funds.”
Friday’s bond reduction was requested by John H. Bradley, the attorney Kieper has now retained. Bradley is a partner in Strang Bradley LLC, a Madison-area law firm, with Dean A. Strang, best-known for representing Steven Avery, whose case gained international fame after Netflix’s “Making a Murderer” documentary.
Bradley said he is in the midst of connecting his client to a counseling service in Wausau in order to prevent Kieper from harming himself.
“I’ve been in repeated contact with a Compass Counseling in Wausau, Wisconsin and have filled out their application and paperwork and spoke to Mr. Kieper about that,” Bradley said. “They have a specific counselor there working with individuals who would have been in contact with the criminal justice system and specifically AODA (Alcohol and Drug Abuse), which is a related issue to the concern that the State has expressed. They indicated that they would be able to see Mr. Kieper some time next week.”
Bradley explained the plans to arrange counseling for Kieper after Hays noted that she too felt concerned Kieper could harm himself prior to his next court date.
“I agree with the victims’ input on the self-harm aspect,” Hays said. “One thing that is maybe not as clear in the criminal complaint as it could be is that Mr. Kieper was given the opportunity to turn himself in when that warrant was issued. That is not probably regular practice I would say. Instead of doing so, he was found about an hour and a half to two hours later with a gun making suicidal comments, both saying that that was his plan to commit suicide and asking officers to shoot him. So it’s a significant concern to the State.”
While out on bond, Kieper must surrender his passport and may not drink alcohol, enter drinking establishments such as bars, possess dangerous weapons, or possess the money of others.
In addition to his treasurer positions, Kieper also worked as a financial advisor for Thrivent on 5th Ave.
Ginger Plumbo, a senior communications manager for the wider Thrivent organization, commented to the Antigo Journal about the charges filed against Kieper.
“Thrivent understands and values the trust that our clients put in us,” Plumbo said in an emailed statement. “We’re aware of the charges filed against Mr. Kieper. We take these matters seriously and investigate any claims of wrongdoing that could impact Thrivent clients. We’re currently reviewing accounts to understand if any clients were impacted by this alleged activity.”
Kieper will next appear in court May 16 at 1 p.m. for a preliminary hearing.
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