Prosecutor: No charges against PSPRS trustees
Two former Public Safety Personnel Retirement System board members violated the state’s Open Meeting Law by disclosing confidential information last year, but they will not be charged because of mitigating circumstances, according to a prosecutor.
Will Buividas, a Phoenix police officer, and Mike Scheidt, a Tempe firefighter, publicly disclosed discussions among PSPRS board members and legal counsel during a PSPRS executive session meeting, the prosecutor wrote.
However, both men will no longer serve on the board.
Their terms expired Wednesday and legislative leaders did not reappoint them to another four-year term.
The men had filed legal claims against the state last year alleging damages from an email about them that had been sent to thousands of pension members and others. But in their claims, the men disclosed privileged information from an executive session of the board.
That triggered the Arizona Attorney General’s Office to launch an Open Meeting Law investigation. The Attorney General’s Office provides legal representation to PSPRS, creating a conflict of interest, so it asked the Mohave County Attorney’s Office to investigate.
Mohave County Deputy Attorney Ryan Esplin said he found that Buividas and Scheidt violated the Open Meeting Law.
Esplin, in Jan. 6, letters to the men, wrote that he determined neither one recklessly disobeyed “the Open Meeting Laws with malice or evil intent,” and decided not to file charges.
Arizona has an open meeting law intended to prevent officials from making decisions in secret and to promote accountability. Public officials are allowed to discuss private matters, such as personnel issues or legal matters, behind closed doors in an executive session.
However, it is against the law to publicly disclose information discussed in an executive session.
The nine-member PSPRS board, composed of volunteers, manages pensions for Arizona first responders, judges, politicians and correctional officers.
Buividas was appointed in 2016 by then-state Senate President Andy Biggs, now a congressman. Scheidt was appointed in 2017 by then-House Speaker David Gowan.
The Republic reported last year that Buividas and Scheidt had made thousands of dollars in commissions on home purchases by two PSPRS staff members whose work they were supposed to oversee. The board then removed the men from their posts as chairman and vice chairman by electing new leaders.
Neither man responded to requests for comment.