Former Dodge County Attorney Sentenced for Civil Rights Violation

United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Oliver J. Glass, 47, of Fremont, Nebraska, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Court Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. to 9 months’ incarceration for Conspiracy to Commit Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release, Glass will serve a 1-year term of supervised release.  Glass was also ordered to pay a $3,000 fine as part of his sentence.

Glass was appointed as the Dodge County Attorney in 2011 and was subsequently elected in 2014 and in 2018.  In 2020, Glass’s wife filed for divorce. On March 6, 2020, Glass learned that his wife had been dating an individual identified in the Information as Victim 1.

Between March 6, 2020, through on or about December 22, 2020, Glass conspired with other individuals who are unnamed in the Information to deprive Victim 1 of his rights protected by the Constitution, specifically, his right against unreasonable search and seizure protected by the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution by conspiring to unlawfully stop or arrest Victim 1. Glass and others utilized their restricted access to the Nebraska Criminal Justice Information System (NCJIS) to obtain information about Victim 1. A supervisor in the Fremont Police Department advised other officers that Victim 1 was dating Glass’s wife and to be on the lookout for Victim 1 and provided other officers with Victim 1’s information, vehicle description, and license plate number. An officer within the Dodge County law enforcement community, while acting as a private investigator, used his law enforcement credentials to obtain access about Victim 1’s criminal history that was not publicly available. Members of law enforcement in Dodge County would drive by Victim 1’s apartment looking for Victim 1 without a legal justification or criminal predicate.

Chief Judge Rossiter in imposing the sentence noted Glass’s breach of his ethical professional obligations and the public trust stating, “You were an attorney; you took an oath. You were a prosecutor; you took an oath. You were the elected County Attorney; you took an oath. You broke those oaths. You breached the public trust.”

As one of the victims wrote to the Court in their impact statement, “It's impossible to communicate the mental anguish and constant state of fear I felt when Mr. Glass was illegally monitoring my actions and using his close connections to stalk me. No one should have to endure that kind of terror. Of not knowing whether the ‘good guys’ are really ‘good’ just because they wear the uniform. Or, wondering if today is the day you will be framed or falsely arrested just to demonstrate the reach Mr. Glass had.”

In reflecting upon the sentencing, United States Attorney Steven Russell echoed the words spoken by then Attorney General and eventual Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson in 1940, “While the prosecutor at his best is one of the most beneficent forces in our society, when he acts from malice or other base motives, he is one of the worst.” United States Attorney Russell went on to say, “Oliver Glass, in this matter, did act with malice and from base motives while abusing his office. This type of behavior undermines the public’s trust in the criminal justice system, and I hope that this sentence helps restore that trust.” 

After the sentencing, FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel said, “Oliver Glass used the power of his elected office to carry out a personal vendetta.  Over and over again, he abused his authority by violating the rights of his victim.  His sentencing today is a reminder that the FBI will always hold government officials accountable when they willfully deprive someone of their Constitutional rights.”

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sean Lynch. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.