Former Bannock County Public Works director used county funds for personal benefit

Former Bannock County employee Dan Copeland is said to have taken thousands of dollars from Bannock County, be it by assets, services or material, for his own personal benefit from 2009-2015.

Bannock County Clerk Robert Poleki released the forensic audit Thursday outlining the details of Copeland’s actions and the investigations that surrounded them.

According to an examination the county ordered by Deaton Company, “at least $6,814.43 of misappropriated assets were for the personal benefit of Mr. Dan Copeland.”

The criminal investigation began in 2016 when several Bannock County employees came forward after they were angered by the improper use of county funds, time and materials.

Soon after, Prosecutor Stephen Herzog requested the assistance of the Idaho State Police.

From there the case was passed along to Oneida County.

In September of 2017, Oneida County “initially determined that a felony charge of Grand Theft…would be appropriate.”

But no legal action was taken towards Copeland, since the statue of limitations had run out.

“It’s disappointing to me as the County Clerk that we did not press charges on Mr. Copeland,” Poleki said. “There is evidence here that illegal things happened.”

Now Poleki, whose last day in office is Friday, says what scares him is what they didn’t find.

“We found a minimum of $6,000-7,000 that was used to improve Mr. Copeland’s home…misuse of employee time and equipment,” Poleki said. “But what we didn’t find…I know there’s more, I know there’s more out there.”

Copeland, who retired in February of 2017, was not immediately available for comment Thursday.

The documents can be found below:

Idaho State Police investigation:
Oneida County investigation:

Deaton examination: