By Zane Sparling
oregonlive.com
MADRAS, Ore. — A former top administrator at an Eastern Oregon prison faces felony charges for allegedly bilking the state by collecting paychecks for work he didn’t actually do.
Prineville resident Richard “Zack” Ackley was fired from his job as assistant superintendent at Deer Ridge Correctional Institute in Madras on Dec. 31, 2022, following an internal investigation, according to state prison officials.
Charges weren’t filed until this month, after a Jefferson County grand jury reviewed the case. He faces charges of first-degree aggravated theft and official misconduct.
“I’m fighting it,” Ackley, 53, said in a phone interview. “I obviously can’t say anything, because there’s a pending court case, but it’s destroyed me.”
Ackley began working for the state Department of Corrections in 1995, and he’d worked as an assistant superintendent at Deer Ridge since 2007. He briefly served as acting chief in 2020 when then-superintendent Randy Gilbertson was arrested for drunken driving and resisting arrest.
Court records shed little light on the case, but allege Ackley “obtain(ed) compensation while not performing the duties of his office.” He is accused of stealing at least $20,000 in pay in 2022, according to charging documents.
Ackley described the allegations as “theft of time.”
His salary was roughly $161,000 a year at the time of termination, according to state officials.
Jefferson County D.A. Steven Leriche declined to comment on the case.
— Zane Sparling; zsparling@oregonian.com; 503-319-7083; @pdxzane
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