A humiliating lesson for Platte County’s treasurer

As a candidate for Platte County treasurer in 2012, Rob Willard told voters that taxpayers “deserve a watchdog to keep government accountable.”

Turns out taxpayers could have used someone to keep a much closer eye on Willard’s actions after he was elected.

In an incredibly humiliating turn of events, Willard last week fell for one of the most obvious email scams in the books: Send us money and don’t ask too many questions about it.

Willard naively lost — at least temporarily — $48,200 of taxpayer funds after wiring it to someone who claimed to be Presiding Commissioner Ron Schieber, supposedly writing from Florida.

Turns out Schieber was fishing out of town and unreachable by cellphone.

Willard irresponsibly didn’t follow the county’s rules for spending that much in public funds.

“How does $48,000 go out of this building on this email train...?” asked commissioner Beverlee Roper.

Willard’s answer, “This was an error in judgment and a mistake.”

Yes, it was, and he must do better in the future. It also was the kind of embarrassing action that competent guardians of the public purse don’t make.

Willard, by the way, also boasted about his former job while seeking election four years ago. His specialty?

He was “chief financial crimes prosecutor for Platte County.” Oh, my.

This story was originally published June 2, 2016 at 6:38 PM with the headline "A humiliating lesson for Platte County’s treasurer."