Story County Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald is under investigation for alleged misconduct during his successful campaign for a third term as Story County Sheriff.

The allegations, which were filed with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board earlier this month by an anonymous informant, are that:

the sheriff approached de-puties while on duty and asked them to walk door-to-door with him to campaign.

senior-level managers asked deputies to walk in campaign parades.

a letter to the editor en-dorsing the sheriff was passed around the office and employees were encouraged to sign.

campaign contributions were received at the sheriff’s office.

The statute in question is an Iowa Code that prohibits the expenditure of public money for political purposes, said Charlie Smithson, legal counsel for the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

He said the allegation was received Nov. 16 by a confidential informant. Smithson said the board knows who the person is, but the person asked to remain anonymous, which is allowable under Iowa Code. “At this point, the board has directed me to investigate the allegations to determine whether or not they have merit,” Smithson said.

He said Fitzgerald received a letter Wednesday from the board outlining the allegations. After the sheriff has responded to the letter, Smithson said he will then talk to personnel in the sheriff’s office.

It is only after an investigation is complete, Smithson said, that fines of up to $2,000 per violation could be given to Fitzgerald, who defeated Republican candidate Terry Stark in the Nov. 7 election by about 2,000 votes. “To me, it is nothing more than sour grapes,” Fitzgerald said. “If the person doesn’t have the will to put their name on it, then that speaks for itself.”

Fitzgerald said the allegations the board are investigating “are not true.”

He said past opponents have used people in the sheriff’s office to help in their campaigns. He said people in the office supported him and that anyone who helped out on the campaign came to him of their own will.

“The office we run is professional, and they are all top-notch folks,” Fitzgerald said. “For an individual to do this — they are obviously disgruntled.”

Fitzgerald said he is disappointed in the way the matter has been handled in the media, and he said the act is a failed attempt at ruining his campaign. He said the allegations were made to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board on Nov. 2, five days before the election, but they were not disclosed to the public until after the election.

“The board saw right through the allegations and waited until after the election to release the information to the media,” Fitzgerald said.

Stark declined to comment.

“I am an employee [at the sheriff’s office] now,” he said. “I am not a candidate.”