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A criminal watchdog says the St. Charles Parish sheriff owes the public an explanation after three former top deputies pleaded guilty to payroll fraud and other charges.Records show ex-Chief Deputy Rodney Madere was allowed to retire before he was arrested and will receive an estimated $200,000 a year in his pension. “The sheriff’s image with his employees has been tainted by the way this was handled, Rafael Goyeneche with the Metropolitan Crime Commission said. Goyeneche said St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne’s silence is deafening. It’s eroded the employees’ confidence in the sheriff, Goyeneche said. That’s devastating for an elected official not to have the confidence of their employees.Madere, former Capt. Derek Pertuis and former Sgt. Zain Stillingner pleaded guilty to theft and payroll fraud charges last week. “The sheriff has issued a press release, but what remains unanswered is what he knew, when he knew it and why it took the time it took for this to find its way through the criminal justice system, Goyeneche said. Goyeneche said in May 2023, the allegations surfaced. WDSU Investigates uncovered records that state there were several suspicious purchases going as far back as 2019.”The sheriff was running for reelection, yet he made no public statements, Goyeneche said. “He didn’t do anything until after qualifications closed. Didn’t want any scandals? Is that one thing the sheriff took under consideration.”Records show Madere and Stillinger resigned from the sheriff’s office in February of this year. Pertuis was terminated from the sheriff’s office in March. WDSU has asked the sheriff to go on camera for the past five months. On Tuesday, WDSU Investigates asked again multiple times. A spokesperson responded: I wanted to inform you that I have received your email. I issued a press release regarding this matter on December 3, 2024. Aside from that, the sheriff has no additional comments.Goyeneche pushed back on this response. Before the guilty pleas he was shielding himself under the Public Records Act; the investigation is now closed, Goyeneche said. So that means the sheriff can acknowledge when he received an anonymous letter that spelled all this out in May of 2023, what steps did he take and the time the arrests were made, why were those employees given the option of resigning. I think one of the most important things is the morale issue. It doesnt get any worse when your chief deputy, captain and a sergeant using public assets for their own personal enrichment.Below is the news release sent by the sheriffs office last week. “Former Sheriff’s Office Employees Rodney Madere Jr., Zain Stillinger, and Derek Pertuis each plead guilty today to Felony Theft between $5,000.00 to $25,000.00, as well as Abuse of Office and Public Payroll Fraud.”SUMMARY OF SENTENCING “After pleading guilty, Rodney Madere Jr. received the maximum sentence for each felony: ten years for felony theft, five years for abuse of office, and two years for public payroll fraud. Those sentences were suspended and ordered to be served concurrently. The ten-year sentence will be supervised by the Department of Probation and Parole for a period of three years.”Furthermore, Rodney Madere Jr. was sentenced to twelve months of home incarceration under continuous GPS ankle-monitoring paid for at his own expense and was also ordered to pay restitution to the State totaling: $75,028.77 as well as an additional fine of $5,000.00. “After pleading guilty, Derek Pertuis received a five-year sentence for felony theft, five years for abuse of office, and two years for public payroll fraud. Those sentences were suspended and ordered to be served concurrently. The five-year sentence will be supervised by the Department of Probation and Parole for a period of three years.”Furthermore, Derek Pertuis was sentenced to six months of home incarceration under continuous GPS ankle-monitoring paid for at his own expense and was also ordered to pay restitution to the State totaling: $2,716.39 as well as an additional fine of $5,000.00.”After pleading guilty, Zain Stillinger received a five-year sentence for felony theft, five years for abuse of office, and two years for public payroll fraud. Those sentences were suspended and ordered to be served concurrently. The five-year sentence will be supervised by the Department of Probation and Parole for a period of three years.”Furthermore, Zain Stillinger was sentenced to six months of home incarceration under continuous GPS ankle-monitoring paid for at his own expense and was also ordered to pay restitution to the State totaling $1,970.43 as well as an additional fine of $2,500.00.”Sheriff Champagne issued the following statement upon being informed about the plea deals:”Today, three former St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office employees plead guilty to felony charges resulting from a betrayal of the trust of taxpayers and their co-workers. Over the last year, I have declined to comment publicly regarding any of the facts of the extensive ongoing investigation so that our dedicated detectives could put together a case that left the defendants with no choice but to plead guilty.”This agency has taken affirmative steps to move forward and continues to work to establish internal checks and balances that will ensure that something like this never happens again.”I thank District Attorney Joel Chaisson and his staff as well as our detectives for their work in this unpleasant task of investigating and prosecuting formerly trusted co-workers.”