Matt Penning's volunteer work crew last worked at the Gasconade County Courthouse ove the 2009 Labor Day weekend. The following week a break-in was reported to courthouse employees by County Collector, Shawn Schlottach, according to a confidential source within the courthouse. The implication or inference was that Commissioner Penning and/or one or more of his volunteers had entered Collector Schlottach's office without proper authorization. Although Collector Schlottach made the "cat burglary" claim, no solid evidence was ever produced at that time. Schlottach was subsequently confronted regarding her wild accusations by Commissioner Penning as well as one or more of his volunteers, but she denied that she had ever made such accusations against them. At the time, her adamant denial seemed quite peculiar because our confidential source within the courthouse is usually very reliable.
Now, over six months later, we have checked with our confidential source in the courthouse, and we have been told that no subsequent "cat burglaries" have been reported by Collector Schlottach. This is quite interesting! One reported "cat burglary" at the courthouse immediately following the weekend during which Matt Penning's volunteer group worked and then no subsequent reported "cat burglary" since that time!
Our questions are these:
- Did the reported "cat burglary" over the 2009 Labor Day weekend actually occur?
- Who might have had the motive to break in to Collector Schlottach's office? At that time, Schlottach appeared to point the finger of blame at Matt Penning and his volunteer workers. But what would any of them possibly want in Schlottach's office?
- Why was no evidence produced at that time which could lead to a successful prosecution and conviction of the alleged break-in?
- Why didn't Collector Schlottach report the incident to the proper legal authorities instead of making her wild accusations and inferences in the presence of other courthouse employees?
- Why have there been no further break-ins at the courthouse since last year's Labor Day weekend? Is it because the "cat burglar" got what he/she wanted during the first break-in? Or is it because the Penning volunteers have never again had weekend access to the courthouse since the 2009 Labor Day weekend? Or is it because the first so-called "cat burglary" never actually occurred?
When we have more information to report, we will.
Jimmy Oldsun
Investigative Reporter
http://www.hermannhearsay.blogspot.com/
Good reporting, Jimmy! I hope Inspector Clouseau will be able to shed some light on this story! It smelled "fishy" when I first heard of the accusations.
ReplyDeleteClark
Good report, Jimmy! Too bad those false accusations back then resulted in Matt's volunteer workers becoming disillusioned with the "rewards" of community service!
ReplyDeleteClem
Clark,
ReplyDeleteThis story made its way all the way down to Bland. It was the talk of the town last September. Then the rumor mill died down, and I never heard if there had been a successful resolution to the mystery. I never heard if there had been a formal investigation by the legal authorities. The rumor down here was that the County Collector said that an outside window had been left open to her office. We all thought it kind of odd that Matt Penney's volunteers would have broken in to her office through a window when they could have entered through her office door from the inside where they were working. We all thought the "cat burglary" was a joke! Maybe the County Clerk was just "imagining" things!
A. E. Newman
Bland, MO
Jimmy,
ReplyDeleteHave you interviewed the principles in this case? Have you interviewed Shawn Schlottach, Matt Penning, the volunteer workers, et al.
Do we know if this incident was reported to the legal authorities after it was first
"disovered" by Shawn Schlottach? If yes, to whom was the incident reported? If no, why wasn't it reported?
Were finger prints of Commissioner Matt Penning and his volunteer workers matched against the fingerprints found in Shawn Schlottach's office. I understand Ms. Schlottach said that "things" were "disturbed" in her office. Were those "things" dusted for prints?
Hope you and Chief Inspector Clouseau get to the bottom of this mystery! Ha ha ha!
Elmer Fudd