Platte County Presiding Commissioner Scott Fricker has told fellow Republicans he will withdraw from the race to win re-election to his seat on the Platte County Commission.
In a letter sent to supporters Monday, Fricker said that while he is proud of his record, he has decided to not run for re-election.
"Deciding not to run for re-election has been a difficult decision for me, and I have gone back and forth on this," Fricker said in the letter. "I have a strong desire to keep serving the people of Platte County, to keep standing up for taxpayers, working families and small businesses. But I have a stronger desire to protect my family from the negative and destructive side of public life."
This move comes after Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd accused Fricker, or someone authorized by Fricker, of accessing Zahnd's county emails without authorization. In early February, Zahnd received notice of a complaint Fricker filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission in January regarding Zahnd's public statements about withdrawing his personal support for Fricker's re-election campaign.
An email was attached to that complaint, containing Zahnd's county email and blind carbon copies (bcc) fields that would not be visible unless someone directly accessed Zahnd's county email. This is a problem, according to the court documents, because Zahnd's email contains confidential law enforcement information, sensitive communications with crime victims and other protected information.
By late February, Zahnd filed a motion to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate what has become a potentially criminal matter.
According to court documents, upon learning that his email had likely been accessed by another without his prior authorization, Zahnd contacted Sheriff Erik Holland. Holland concluded that there was reasonable suspicion to believe Zahnd may be the victim of at least three crimes committed by Fricker.
“There is reasonable suspicion to believe Mr. Fricker himself gained unauthorized access to Prosecuting Attorney Zahnd’s emails or that Mr. Fricker, in his capacity as Platte County Presiding Commissioner, ordered Mr. Smith (County IT Director Ted Smith) or another member of Platte County’s Information Technology Department to access Prosecuting Attorney Zahnd’s email without Prosecuting Attorney Zahnd’s authorization,” the document states. “Mr. Fricker may have also committed one or more of these three crimes by simply accepting Prosecuting Attorney Zahnd’s email without ordering anyone to access Prosecuting Attorney Zahnd’s email.”
The investigation was turned over to the Missouri Highway Patrol to avoid potential conflicts of interest. Platte County Presiding Judge Ann Hansbrough appointed Greene County Prosecuting Attorney J. Daniel Patterson as a special prosecutor to assist the patrol.
In his filing, Zahnd accuses Fricker of potentially committing three criminal offenses, all are felony charges, and if found guilty, Fricker could face significant financial penalties or jail time.
Fricker did address the ongoing investigation in his letter, stating "Those charges, initiated by Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd are totally false. I have the best attorney in Platte County and I'm confident that we'll get the charges dismissed."