ALEXANDRIA, Minn. — The former Alexandria police chief will serve four days in jail and pay $65,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge of misconduct by a public official.
Rick Wyffels was originally charged with felony theft by swindle in April of 2022 after being accused of using his position as police chief to make unauthorized purchases with a city-issued credit card. During a year-long investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), sparked by the discovery of irregular financial records by the city, agents discovered that between Dec. 16, 2014, and July 7, 2020, Wyffels had used his city credit card to purchase computers, cell phones, televisions, security cameras, lawn care items and other merchandise not in use by the department.
In total, prosecutors said the items allegedly purchased by Wyffels during that period totaled nearly $66,000.
The plea agreement negotiated with Stearns County prosecutors calls for Wyffels to pay $65,000 to the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (which covered the losses), serve a 120-day jail sentence (with 116 of those stayed), and be on unsupervised probation for a year while maintaining a clean record.
Stearns County took over the case from Douglas County prosecutors to avoid a conflict of interest.
In a news release announcing the plea agreement, city officials made clear that since the discovery of wrongdoing and Wyffels' retirement in 2020, Alexandria has implemented new policies and procedures for purchasing and credit card usage while emphasizing the importance of high ethical standards for its public employees.
"Although the city of Alexandria was subjected to an egregious abuse of power during Mr. Wyffels’ time of employment, our community can move on from this experience with honor and dignity," reflected current Mayor Bobie Osterberg. "Alexandria is strong. We learn from experiences, and we grow together."
Rick Wyffels served as Alexandria's police chief from 2006 to 2020.
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist:
