CRYSTAL LAKE – A grand jury is investigating allegations of corruption over nearly a decade at the Algonquin Township Road District, according to documents reviewed by the Northwest Herald and confirmed by multiple sources close to the probe.

Before longtime Highway Commissioner Bob Miller lost his seat in an upset during February’s election, Miller’s family had controlled the department since the 1960s. Miller, who served in the post for 24 years, has not been charged with a crime. He didn’t return multiple phone calls and voice mails this week.

The grand jury is looking into allegations of official misconduct, according to a subpoena reviewed by the Northwest Herald. Grand jury proceedings are kept secret, however court filings in a lawsuit between Algonquin Township’s recently-elected Highway Commissioner Andrew Gasser and Township Clerk Karen Lukasik shed light on some details investigators may be exploring.

In an Oct. 30 court filing in response to questions from Miller’s attorney Thomas Gooch, Gasser accused the former highway commissioner of giving away government property to political allies, bid rigging, using township credit cards to buy personal items for family members and falsifying government documents.

Gasser accused Miller of covering up the delivery of two truckloads of the township’s road salt to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union.

The salt “was an asset to be used by the Road District for use on the Roads of Algonquin Township and not to be given away to private organizations and or people to further Robert Miller’s political relations,” Gasser wrote.

Allegations describe the “purchases of Disneyland tickets for his personal use and Anna May Miller’s personal use.” Anna May Miller is Bob Miller’s wife and worked as his secretary, records show.

Gasser accused Bob Miller of carrying out a “scheme and artifice to rig bids in connection with a street sweeper sold to [the] Algonquin Township Road District.”

Gooch called Gasser’s accusations “nonsensical” and chalked all court proceedings as a “political witch hunt.” Gooch has asked a McHenry County judge to stop Gasser’s attorney, Robert Hanlon, from engaging in discovery to gather evidence to support his client’s accusations, according to a recent court filing.

“I don’t believe Andrew Gasser and his attorney have been appointed as inquisitors,” Gooch said. “It’s not the highway commissioner that can go after [Bob Miller]. It’s the state’s attorney.”

In a motion filed Monday, Gooch acknowledged a criminal investigation looking into the Algonquin Township Highway Department during Miller’s tenure as its commissioner.

“Andrew Gasser, and/or his attorney, Robert Hanlon, have urged the McHenry County State’s Attorney to commence a grand jury investigation and to indict Robert Miller,” Gooch wrote in the motion. “[I] informed Mr. Hanlon that while a criminal investigation is ongoing it is doubtful Mr. Miller will sit for deposition.”

Gooch referred questions about criminal proceedings to another attorney representing the former highway commissioner: Edward Donahue. Donahue could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Gasser and Hanlon declined to comment on the pending lawsuits or answer questions about the grand jury probe.

“Go pound sand,” Hanlon said.

This summer, McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally sent subpoenas seeking financial records to Gasser, Lukasik and Algonquin Township Supervisor Charles Lutzow, according to multiple sources close to the probe.

The subpoenas sought financial statements, receipts and billing documents presented to the highway commissioner during a portion of Bob Miller’s tenure inside the road district, according to documents reviewed by the Northwest Herald.

Kenneally said he could not comment on grand jury proceedings.

Illinois State Police investigators were asked to collect the documents from Algonquin Township officials, according to sources close to the probe.

In a records room inside Algonquin Township, a Northwest Herald reporter observed several banker boxes filled with financial documents labeled as being for the Illinois State Police.

Lutzow and Lukasik declined to comment for this story.

The subpoenas came on the heels of Gasser’s June 1 request for an injunction that alleged Lukasik intended to destroy township records. The injunction included receipts Gasser said show Miller used public funds to buy handbags, women’s clothing and other personal items. Gasser’s injunction names Lukasik, Bob Miller and his wife.

Gasser said in court documents that he received an anonymous package at the end of May that included records of numerous purchases between 2012 and 2016 made on highway department credit cards. They allegedly include a Levenger tote bag and women’s clothing from Prada, Land’s End and other vendors, according to court records.

At the time of the filing, Miller, who denied Gasser's allegations, said the new highway commissioner had cooked up the whole thing to torpedo his bid to be appointed to fill out the remainder of Gasser's term on the McHenry County Board. Gasser resigned from his seat on the County Board to focus on being highway commissioner.

Gasser and his attorney delivered the package to the offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on May 31, according to an affidavit signed by Gasser.

FBI Chicago spokesperson Garrett Croon said, “It is the policy of the FBI not to comment on any investigation we may or may not be conducting until charges have been filed or someone has been arrested.”

Illinois State Police referred questions to the FBI’s Rockford field office.