🏋️ “Officer Babic and the Case of the Vanishing Gym Fund”

🚔 Superior Cop Lifts Cash Instead of Weights in Small-Town Scandal Fit for Prime Time (2011 Edition)

SUPERIOR, WI – March 2011
Welcome to Superior, Wisconsin: where the winters are long, the trust is short, and apparently, the police department’s version of “cardio” includes sprinting off with taxpayer-backed cash.

Our tale of small-town sleaze stars Officer Kirk Michael Babic, 46, a 20-year veteran of the Superior Police Department who allegedly couldn’t resist turning a community fitness fund into his own personal piggy bank.

Yes, this wasn’t just a crime—it was a CrossFit of corruption.

💰 “To Serve, Protect… and Steal?”

The fitness fund—a wholesome 1998 initiative launched by 17 officers and one sheriff’s deputy—was designed to keep cops from dropping dead on donut duty. But Babic, one of four people trusted with fund access, allegedly treated it like his own personal Bally Total Theft.

After 47 suspicious withdrawals totaling $11,208 between 2004 and early 2011, the fund had fewer gains than a bad gym membership. It was Eau Claire Investigator Derek Thomas and Superior Police Captain Chad La Lor who finally smelled something fishier than a gym locker room and flagged the fund.

But it was Detective Michael Jaszczak, while prepping for a simple elliptical purchase, who stumbled into the steaming mess of fraudulent withdrawals. Call it the world’s most tragic upgrade attempt.

🧾 “Receipts? We Don’t Need No Stinking Receipts”

Apparently, no one thought to ask for receipts between 2004 and 2011. You know, seven years. Maybe the gym had invisible ink pens or Babic was taking classes in “Financial Gaslighting 101.”

When confronted, Babic admitted to swiping about $2,000 for some personal fitness classes—boot camp for bad bookkeeping. But investigators found the number was five times that. He’s since paid $5,087 in restitution, which is like tossing a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound.

Detective Jaszczak summed it up with Wisconsin-level understatement:

“The management of the fund was rather loose.”
Translation: A raccoon with a credit card would’ve faced more oversight.

🛋️ Paid Vacation: The Crook’s Golden Parachute

And just like every cop soap opera before it, Babic was placed on paid administrative leave. Not fired. Not jailed. Just… suspended with a paycheck. Because in Superior, “disciplinary action” apparently means “bonus round.”

A hearing is scheduled with the Police and Fire Commission on November 4. Police Chief Floyd Peters and Mayor Bruce Hagen are expected to call for his termination. But don’t hold your breath—Superior’s administrative spine is softer than a half-deflated exercise ball.

🧨 Corruption: The Real Civic Workout Plan

Babic’s dumbbell-level fraud is part of a dirty legacy in Superior. Since 2005, the city has ousted five other employees for theft. This place has seen more embezzlement than a bank vault with a revolving door.

Highlights from the Hall of Shame:

• 🧑‍🚒 Fire Chief Stephen Gotelaere – Retired after faking travel docs to siphon off $239,000. That’s not just skimming, that’s full-on gourmet embezzlement.

• 🔥 A firefighter, two finance department staffers, and a library worker – all booted for lifting funds from city coffers.
  This ain’t a city—it’s a tax-funded klepto club.

🧑‍⚖️ What Happens Next? Probably Nothing

Babic’s case is heading to Douglas County Circuit Court, with Ashland County DA Kelly McKnight stepping in as special prosecutor. His initial court appearance is set for November 16.

But Superior citizens already know how this usually ends:

• Mild slap on wrist

• PR spin

• A few more security cameras…
  …and nothing truly changes.

Meanwhile, taxpayers are left asking: “If our cops steal, who’s watching the cops?”

🎤 Mic Drop – Superior’s Motto: “Where Trust Goes to Die”

Superior has become the Rust Belt’s answer to a mob movie—with fewer fedoras and more spreadsheets. A place where public trust gets bench-pressed into oblivion by the very people sworn to protect it.

Maybe it’s time to start background-checking our background-checkers. Or maybe someone should just install an elliptical machine in City Hall and see who runs first—toward it or away from accountability.

Source : https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/superior-officer-keeps-job-despite-admitted-theft

Justice  : Misdemeanor, and kept his job.