Should the sins of political aides be visited upon their bosses?

Gov. Scott Walker used to think so - when he was a candidate running for the office he now holds.

In a 2006 news release, Walker blasted then-Gov. Jim Doyle when a state employee named Georgia Thompson was indicted on federal corruption charges.

"Unfortunately, we have a Governor and administration that condones unethical and illegal behavior," Walker said in a statement on Jan. 24, 2006. "The people of Wisconsin deserve better."

Thompson, a former state purchasing director, was convicted of two felonies accusing her of steering a contract to Adelman Travel, whose two top company officials had donated $10,000 each to Doyle's re-election campaign.

A three-judge panel later reversed the decision, saying Thompson had been wrongly convicted. One of the judges said that "the evidence is beyond thin."

Walker now finds himself under the microscope after four of his former county aides or appointees have been charged as part of an ongoing John Doe investigation into activities while Walker was Milwaukee County executive. The first-term governor announced Friday that he has hired two criminal defense lawyers and will meet with District Attorney John Chisholm on Monday.

Throughout the secret investigation, Walker has defended himself and proclaimed that he does not believe he is the target. But he has said little about the former and current aides caught up in the 20-month probe.

But back in 2006 when Thompson was charged by then-U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic - who now represents Walker's campaign - Walker went on the attack against Doyle, even though Thompson was a civil service employee who was hired in 2001 under Gov. Scott McCallum, a Republican.

"Today's indictment provides further confirmation that the Doyle administration is damaged and must be removed from the Capitol," said Walker, a Wauwatosa Republican, of his Democratic predecessor. "Governor Doyle needs to purge his administration of individuals who place politics and special interests ahead of the people of Wisconsin."

Walker went on to call on Doyle to adopt a series of reforms that the candidate was proposing.

"Little can be said to underscore the seriousness of this charge. I am hopeful that the people of Wisconsin will allow me the opportunity to clean up Madison with the same fervor that guided my reform movement in Milwaukee County."

So what should Walker do now if he is to be consistent with his criticisms of Doyle?

Ciara Matthews, spokeswoman for Walker's campaign, did not return messages last week.

Bill Christofferson, the Democratic consultant who helped Doyle get elected governor in 2002, noted that two current Walker aides are identified as being caught up in an illegal fundraising operation run out of Walker's county suite of offices.

Specifically, the criminal charges accuse Kelly Rindfleisch, Walker's former deputy chief of staff, of raising money for Brett Davis, a candidate for lieutenant governor, out of a county office just down the hall from Walker's. Davis is now Walker's Medicaid director, and Davis' campaign manager, Cullen Werwie, now Walker's spokesman, was in regular contact with Rindfleisch. Werwie has received immunity in the current investigation.

Christofferson said Walker should oust both - and probably even resign himself - if he is going to hold his administration to the same standard that he wanted for Doyle's.

"Walker was quick to hold Doyle personally responsible for alleged crimes by an underling who worked elsewhere in state government, not on his staff. Doyle didn't even know Georgia Thompson," Christofferson said. "Two of the people charged with felonies served as deputy chief of staff for Walker, in an office 25 feet away, and he interacted with them every day. But he takes no responsibility."

Dumpster diving

The John Doe investigation of Walker's tenure as county executive has taken many odd twists and turns.

But what to make of this?

Last week, Frank Busalacchi, head of the county Transportation and Public Works Department, was asked by investigators for a particular county Dumpster.

"All they asked was if I could move it, and we did," Busalacchi said Thursday. "I think they wanted to look through it."

Was it full or empty?

"I have no idea," he said. "They asked me that, and I said, 'You know, I just got here in November. I don't know what's in a Dumpster on the side of the courthouse. I have no idea.'"

Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf, who is overseeing the John Doe probe, wouldn't provide any further insight.

"I have no comment," Landgraf said.

A John Doe investigation is a secret probe in which prosecutors can compel testimony and subpoena records and other documents.

Apologies to no one

County Board Chairman Lee Holloway is feeling pretty good about his decision to fire Tim Russell, former deputy chief of staff to Walker, during Holloway's short stint as county executive.

Russell has been charged with stealing some $21,000 from the nonprofit that raised money for Operation Freedom, an annual event honoring veterans at the county zoo. Prosecutors have also alleged he helped install a secret network that allowed certain Walker officials to communicate with each other in private.

In a letter last month, Holloway noted that Julia Taylor, president of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, had criticized him before state lawmakers for dumping Russell and two other staffers while Holloway was interim county executive. Taylor was testifying in favor of creating an elected position of comptroller for the county, a proposal that eventually passed.

"By giving this testimony to a public body in the State Capitol defending Mr. Russell, you have diminished your professional credibility," Holloway wrote. "In this testimony, you painted a picture that I was the bad guy, and that Tim Russell was a victim. Sorry, Julia. In the aftermath of (recent) news, it's now clear who the real victims are."

The County Board boss said Russell's firing as housing director was a "business decision."

But Holloway noted that his suspicions were raised about Russell when the Journal Sentinel disclosed that authorities seized Russell's county computer in August 2010. Holloway was county exec from late December 2010 to early February 2011.

"It's got to be difficult to put your professional credibility on the line by defending individuals like Tim Russell," Holloway wrote. "Hopefully, you are learning the danger of getting involved in personnel matters from the outside."

Sharp words from the veteran politician.

But he better not expect an apology anytime soon.

"The issue, as correctly reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, was a temporary county executive threatening all county employees with firing unless they 'respected' him, followed with the actual firings of some," Taylor said via email in response to Holloway's letter.

"In the end," she added, "the taxpayers are the ones who deserve an apology here."

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @NoQuarterr.