Windham County Sheriff's Department
~ Breaking News ~

By HOWARD WEISS-TISMAN, Reformer Staff
Brattleboro Reformer

James Cronan will be working in Bellows Falls two days a week to help the beleaguered department though a troubling time, as a new search is opened after the former top candidate, Russ "Rusty" O'Dell, refused the job when it was offered to him.

Cronan, who was a member of the state police for 28 years, will work in the village on his own schedule, Municipal Manager John Schempf said, and has agreed to help out for at least two months.

Cronan served as a troop commander for three state police field offices in Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle/Lamoille counties, and led 55 officers in the three barracks.

Since leaving the state police, Cronan has led his own private investigation firm and has carried out internal investigations into both the state police and municipal departments around Vermont.

Cronan could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Village trustee and former Bellows Falls Police Chief Gary DeRosia said Cronan was brought in to lead the department and will not be doing an independent investigation of the Bellows Falls department.

"That's not what we're hiring him for," DeRosia said about Cronan's history of investigating corruption in departments around the state. "We hired him to manage the department until we get a new chief."

The village trustees, at a special meeting last Friday, authorized Schempf to hire the interim chief after more than an hour of closed-door discussions.

DeRosia said he worked with Cronan while the two were in law enforcement at the same time and DeRosia backed up Schempf's choice.

"He has the experience and I am not surprised that John liked what he saw," DeRosia said. "I think he fits the bill. I think he will serve the purpose as an interim chief."

The Bellows Falls Police Department has been without a full-time chief since Jan. 1, when former Chief Keith Clark was elected Windham County Sheriff.

Sgt. John Dunfee served as the interim chief, but resigned last month.

His replacement, O'Dell, was visiting the village and was set to take over, but pulled out a few days before he was set to move in.

O'Dell cited budgetary concerns and internal issues as the reasons he was refusing the top cop position in Bellows Falls.

The village is going to begin a new search for a chief.

The Bellows Falls department was censured recently for misusing the state police computer information system.

The Department of Public Safety is also carrying out two separate investigations into the Bellows Falls Police Department.

Village Trustee Stefan Golec also supported Cronan's appointment and said the former state trooper would help the village get its police force headed in the right direction.

"He will help bring integrity back to the department," Golec said. "He has served for a long time. He's a good guy and we need some good guys there. The people I talk to want to feel safe and want to feel like they can trust local law enforcement. Hopefully he will help us clean up some of the mess that we've made."

Howard Weiss-Tisman can be reached at hwtisman@reform-er.com or 802-254-2311, ext. 279.