Fairfield Twp. officials don’t know exactly how many “highly confidential” files Benjamin Bultman accessed illegally, or precisely how long the former assistant fire chief and information technology officer had been operating what they called the equivalent of “his own private intelligence agency.”

But what officials say they do know is Bultman’s actions have cost this growing Butler County township plenty, and not just in dollars and cents.

“The intangible cost is immense,” said attorney Jack Grove, the township’s legal counsel. “It had a very disruptive effect, and we’re still dealing with it.”

The JournalNews recently obtained more than 250 pages of documents detailing the investigation into Bultman’s activities, including interviews with Butler County Sheriff’s investigators and the township’s administrator, Michael Rahall. The records give insight into Bultman’s motive for hacking into the township’s computer system and his state of mind throughout.

Bultman declined to comment for this story, but the investigative report revealed that he admitted in a Sept. 13 interview with Sgt. Rob Whitlock of the sheriff’s office to accessing township records without authorization, breaching trust and violating ethics and the law. He admitted to sharing information he had obtained with former township fire chief David Downie and Kevin Potter, a township resident who had run unsuccessfully for trustee.

Downie, who was fired in May for failing to properly supervise staff, not attending mandatory meetings and getting into altercations with two township officials, denied receiving any information from Bultman. He said he’d seen the transcripts from the investigation and that Bultman was “under duress” when he made those comments.

“You can’t print words for what I feel about what goes on in the township,” said Downie, who was fire chief for 25 years.

The computer log files obtained by the JournalNews do not reveal what Bultman actually found when he accessed the township’s system. They only specify his search terms. According to records that were part of the investigation, Bultman specifically searched for confidential records, including:

• A psychological profile on Downie, done in preparation for his disciplinary hearing.
• Information relating to lawsuits filed by Shannon Hartkemeyer, a resident who has successfully sued the township over access to public records.

Grove likened Bultman’s actions to someone going through a woman’s closed purse.

“It’s a private place. Not only did he open the zipper and look into the private place, but then he went into the compartments inside of the zippered purse, and looked at the contents,” Grove said. “And he’d been doing this for quite some time, we now know.”

The investigation left the township, and especially the firefighters, bruised and battered in 2012, Grove said.

“These are good, hard-working, decent, properly motivated people, and when the whole command structure of your department breaks down, in terms of your chief and assistant chief, they have to think, ‘What in the dickens is going on here?’ ” Grove said.

The department is now led by Chief Tim Thomas and Assistant Chief Matt Schumann. Trustees hired Thomas after a search, while Schumann was promoted.

The interviews

According to the interview with Whitlock, the Bultman investigation started after Rahall received a text from Downie regarding Rahall’s vacation plans. Grove said the text was received by Rahall while he was out of state.

Rahall sent that text to police Chief Richard St. John, who in turn contacted the FBI, because it was thought GPS tracking might be involved, Rahall said. It was eventually decided to use an outside investigator, and the sheriff’s office was contacted.

After Downie was placed on administrative leave in January 2012, stemming partly from altercations with township officials, Downie asked Bultman if he could find an email from Nancy Bock, the fiscal officer, asking Bultman about placing games on her computer. Bock was one of the officials with whom Downie had an altercation. Bultman ultimately found no emails, he said.

Bultman told investigators that Downie was “going to go and grab at anything he could possibly grab at” to defend himself in his disciplinary hearing, according to the transcript. However, Bultman didn’t see his actions as trying to help Downie in that way, adding that he believed Downie would return to the fire department. However, trustees announced that they terminated Downie on May 1.

Telling township officials that anxiety got the better of him, Bultman said, “My mind is sitting in the survival mode and what do I need to do to protect myself as far as keep myself from getting into A, trouble, or know what’s coming my way if there is anything.”

Bultman talked about fear of reprisal if he didn’t “favor” Downie. But Bultman said Downie never specifically asked for any information, other than the matter with Nancy Bock and the games. Bultman also denied wanting to share information with Hartkemeyer. Bultman admitted he did share information with Downie about Rahall’s vacation plans in May, shortly after Downie was terminated. Downie has expressed concerns about Rahall using a township vehicle to go on vacation.

Bultman also talked about sharing information with Kevin Potter, a former township trustee candidate who has been a vocal supporter of Downie’s. The shared information concerned a communication from the mayor of Reading, Ohio, to Rahall. What that email said is not revealed in the interview.

Bultman told Rahall in the interview that “I passed the information to Mr. Potter regarding the Reading mayor and I did give information regarding your (Rahall’s) location, or the whereabouts of your vacation, to Mr. Downie.”

Rahall told Bultman that “if we can somehow get other people involved in this that are guilty, then it lessens your blow. He referred to Downie’s supporters as “minions” more than once.

Bultman told Rahall, “I can’t tell you anything, why he does, what he does, but that he is wrapped up in this whole thing and he wants you to not be here anymore … Kevin Potter’s the same way.”

Charges have not been filed against Bultman, according to Rahall.

“It’s still considered a personnel matter … it’s considered closed unless there’s a need for reopening it,” he said. There is a seven-year statute of limitations on whether charges can be pressed.

Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser did not participate in the investigation, but said he was consulted on the matter. Gmoser did not move forward with charges because it was agreed that Bultman would not face charges if he confessed, and because “the conduct did not lead to anything that jeopardized public safety.”