Kewaunee County Manure Case Defendants Request New Judge

KEWAUNEE COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – All three men charged with underreporting the amount of manure spread on fields have asked for a new judge, effectively moving the case to a judge outside Kewaunee County.

Benjamin Koss, Gregory Stodola, and Johannes Wakker were charged by state with conspiracy to commit a crime, and fraudulent writing for allegedly underreporting the amount of manure spread by more than 1.9 million gallons.

The amount of manure spread exceeded Wakker’s permit allowed so much that it resulted in pollution discharges into tributaries leading to Lake Michigan with E. Coli bacteria readings as much as 100 times those that would result in the closure of a public beach, prosecutors say.

All three were scheduled to have initial appearances on Jan. 12 before Kewaunee County Judge Jeffrey Wisnicky.

However, defendants are allowed to request a change of judge, without citing any reason, once before the arraignment. All three men filed such requests Tuesday, court records show.

No new judge has been assigned, and no court dates have been scheduled.

According to prosecutors, Wakker owned a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) and needed to get rid of excess manure in late 2019. Wakker hired Gregory Stodola to spread the manure on Wakker’s land, the complaint reads. The complaint alleges that Stodola created a document that grossly underreported the manure actually spread. Stodola then gave this document to Wakker, the complaint alleges, who in turn gave it to defendant Benjamin Koss, a consultant hired by Wakker to file a required report about the manure spreading with DNR.

According to the complaint, knowing that the information was false, Koss manipulated the numbers even further to “calibrate the books” such that the reported numbers would fit within DNR regulations before filing a report with the false information with DNR.

Kewaunee County Manure Case Defendants Request New Judge

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