JANESVILLE - During a hearing that lasted all of a few minutes at the Rock County Courthouse Thursday, a former Monroe High School athletic director stood mute on charges that he embezzled money from ticket sales at school sporting events in 2014 and 2015.
Dave B. Hirsbrunner, 49, now living in Waunakee, waived his right to a preliminary hearing on the four Class I felony counts against him in Green County Circuit Court. He's charged with one count of theft and three counts of fraud-related misconduct in public office.
Because he stood mute on the charges, pleas of not guilty were entered for each count and the case was bound over for trial.
The criminal complaint, filed in June, alleges he stole $2,950 from the Monroe school district between Dec. 1, 2014, and Oct. 15, 2015. It also alleges that, in his capacity as a public employee, he falsified entries into the reports of gate receipts for Monroe High School athletic events on Aug. 28, Sept. 4 and Sept. 18, 2015.
The case is being heard in Janesville by Rock County Judge James P. Daley because both judges in Green County know Hirsbrunner personally. Due to similar conflicts of interest, no one from Green County is working on the case. A detective with the Stoughton Police Department investigated it, and Iowa County District Attorney Larry E. Nelson is the prosecutor.
Nelson phoned in for Thursday's hearing. Hirsbrunner and his attorney, Jonas Bednarek, of Hurley, Burish & Stanton S.C. in Madison, stood by the judge's bench in Courtroom D for the quick hearing Thursday that lasted at most five minutes.
Bednarek requested extra time before the next hearing so he could review evidence.
"My understanding is there are many thousands of pages of discovery in this case," Bednarek said.
Daley replied that he would grant the attorneys more time - but there was one problem: He is retiring March 2.
"I will assign a new judge to this, and it will be someone from Rock County," he told Bednarek and Nelson.
A telephone scheduling conference in the case is set for 9 a.m. Feb. 27.
Dave B. Hirsbrunner, 49, now living in Waunakee, waived his right to a preliminary hearing on the four Class I felony counts against him in Green County Circuit Court. He's charged with one count of theft and three counts of fraud-related misconduct in public office.
Because he stood mute on the charges, pleas of not guilty were entered for each count and the case was bound over for trial.
The criminal complaint, filed in June, alleges he stole $2,950 from the Monroe school district between Dec. 1, 2014, and Oct. 15, 2015. It also alleges that, in his capacity as a public employee, he falsified entries into the reports of gate receipts for Monroe High School athletic events on Aug. 28, Sept. 4 and Sept. 18, 2015.
The case is being heard in Janesville by Rock County Judge James P. Daley because both judges in Green County know Hirsbrunner personally. Due to similar conflicts of interest, no one from Green County is working on the case. A detective with the Stoughton Police Department investigated it, and Iowa County District Attorney Larry E. Nelson is the prosecutor.
Nelson phoned in for Thursday's hearing. Hirsbrunner and his attorney, Jonas Bednarek, of Hurley, Burish & Stanton S.C. in Madison, stood by the judge's bench in Courtroom D for the quick hearing Thursday that lasted at most five minutes.
Bednarek requested extra time before the next hearing so he could review evidence.
"My understanding is there are many thousands of pages of discovery in this case," Bednarek said.
Daley replied that he would grant the attorneys more time - but there was one problem: He is retiring March 2.
"I will assign a new judge to this, and it will be someone from Rock County," he told Bednarek and Nelson.
A telephone scheduling conference in the case is set for 9 a.m. Feb. 27.