It is no secret that drug use and the criminal enterprises that push such destructive agendas in Western Wisconsin have been on the rise for quite some time. Percentages of use have shot up astronomically over the past several years, in Wisconsin counties and smaller communities. In 2020, there was a 30 percent rise in drug overdose deaths in the state, with 1,451 deaths. Fentanyl was associated with 1,126 of those deaths. This fact is but a mere statistical needle in an analytical haystack, adding to one of many brushstrokes that paint a grey, grim, and dismal picture. But the silver lining, for communities across our area, is the West Central Metropolitan Enforcement Group.
There are currently six Western Wisconsin counties that have banded together, to form the West Central Metropolitan Enforcement Group, more commonly referred to as the WCMEG, in television and radio news broadcasts, and across informative social media platforms. Those counties include Monroe, Crawford, Jackson, Vernon, Trempealeau, and La Crosse counties. Crawford county is the newest addition, having joined on the first of January 2024. WCMEG is most often involved in major drug busts that sometimes take a while to put together. But what is WCMEG, who runs it, and how is it funded?
The WCMEG Coordinator
Investigator Rob Walensky is the coordinator for WCMEG. He was specifically hired to be the coordinator, and he oversees all operations within the six-county collaboration. Walensky is the proverbial all-seeing eye that keeps tabs on all six sheriff’s offices and associated police departments, knowing exactly who is available to help out on certain cases and who may already be burdened with a busy schedule.
Walensky, while being mobile, is headquartered out of La Crosse County. “La Crosse County is the fiscal chair for the West Central Metropolitan Enforcement Group, or the MEG unit,” Walensky informed the Herald. “It was an easy choice [for La Crosse County to be the fiscal chair] because La Crosse has the largest finance department of the six counties.” Walensky further stated that all Sheriff’s Offices financially contribute to the WCMEG unit, dividing up the financial burden.
Walensky has Roots in Monroe County
The law enforcement background for Rob Walensky dates to 1996. Walensky started out with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, and he was the Chief of Police, in the Village of Warrens, for 18 years. “I worked up in Monroe from 1996 to 1999. Warrens was ’96 through 2014,” Walensky told the Herald. “I started at Tomah PD in 1999. I always kind of had two things going on. I was with Tomah PD through February of 2021. When I left there, I started my current role, here. Before me, it was Investigator Tom Johnson in this role. He was a long, long time Vernon County detective. He served from 2010 to when I started, in February of 2021.”
Funds and keeping it all going
Rob Walensky explained that it has always been a bit of a struggle to keep the funds rolling in, so that the strong efforts against the rapid increase in drug infiltration can be met with an equal or greater force against it. “It is a struggle and a constant battle to fund our efforts,” Walensky started to explain. “I worked with WCMEG most of my career, just not on the management side,” said Walensky. “Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, they [WCMEG] would get several hundred thousand dollars in grants a year, from the Byrne grant. Now all we get from that grant is $40,000.”
Walensky went on to explain to the Herald that the rest of the monies are contributed by the six sheriff’s offices and other outside funding. “The Ho Chunk nation is a member of ours, and they contribute significantly. We might possibly not be in existence if it were not for their assistance, at this point.”
Walenskey continued, “It is a constant battle. Obviously, the goal is to keep it functioning — it makes a massive impact. We coordinate all the agencies, including the smaller police departments, which are all a part of our coordinated efforts.”
Though they do not have a spot on the Board of Directors, the involvement of the police departments within the six counties are critical to the WCMEG’s success. “They are not on the board, as official decision makers, but some of the things we do benefit them. As well, they can help us out quite a bit, with information they attain through their interactions with criminals.”
WCMEG Coordinator Walensky discusses Newest Member
Walensky stated that Crawford county is considered a hub county, with illegal contraband coming over the border, from Iowa. “It was a logical move for us [adding Crawford County],” said Rob Walensky, Investigative Coordinator for WCMEG. “In this area of the state, we see a lot of meth trafficking coming in from Iowa and Minnesota, like Rochester and the twin cities.”
When the Herald asked Walensky what the most serious drug is that they have to deal with, he responded, “Meth is probably the most prevalent, as far as volume. I get asked this questions a lot, and you have to define what serious or most crucial is; is it the number of arrests? Is it the number of deaths?”
Walensky then informed the Herald that one of the more significant issues that they, as a unit, are dealing with in the area, are heroine and fentanyl. “We are having a lot more overdoses and overdose related deaths associated with the fentanyl and opiate drugs, versus the methamphetamine, but the methamphetamine is much more prevalent.”
Walensky says that although both drugs create problems, they do differ in types of crimes committed. “There is a lot more violent crime associated with methamphetamine, while fentanyl kills more.”
Board of Sheriff Directors
The board of directors for the WCMEG unit consists of the six sheriffs of the six counties. “For lack of a better term, that board is my boss,” said Walensky. “All six of them have an equal say in what goes on. They work incredibly well together. We meet at least twice annually, just the six sheriffs and me, but we communicate weekly.”
Walensky stated that if any information flows his way that involves any of the counties, he instantly informs them and provides any assistance that they may need. Walensky is not required to sit in La Crosse, at a desk, Monday through Friday. “I am very mobile. I could work out of Monroe County one day and Viroqua the next, then be in Blair, helping the police department. I go where they need me.”
Walensky informed the Herald that they primarily work off of state and federal grants, which come to the finance department, in La Crosse County, then they are dispersed. “Since the decision to have La Crosse County be the seat of WCMEG, La Crosse incurs a bit more of the financial responsibility. A financial analyst helps me disperse the funds.”
The Advantage of being associated with WCMEG
WCMEG Investigative Coordinator, Rob Walensky, spoke to the advantages of belonging to, and being involved with, WCMEG. He iterated that all police departments are welcomed to sit in on all WCMEG meetings and participate, whether they are larger departments, like Sparta and Tomah, or a smaller department, that may only have one or two police officers on the force. “They [smaller police departments] definitely have limited resources. When they have something major going on, we can get some personnel up there,” Walensky said. “We have equipment, drug field testing supplies, as well as other equipment they may not even have, due to smaller budgets.”
Walensky spoke to the advantage of any sized department being able to come and check out the gear they need. “We also receive grants, such as drug trafficking grants, where we can by bulk amounts of drug field testing equipment, and disperse that out to agencies, as they need them, so they do not have to purchase the kits themselves.”
Walensky said that there are bi-monthly meetings that are open to any of the member agencies that want to attend. “I will let them know the status of grants and how much funding we have available.”
From the Editor
I sat down with Rob Walensky before I met with the Sheriffs of the six counties that make up the WCMEG Board. We chatted for nearly three hours. In a separate meeting, weeks later, I sat down with the Sheriffs and discussed their outlooks on WCMEG. That interview will be part 2 of this article. The Herald would like to thank WCMEG Investigative Coordinator, Rob Walensky, for taking the time to explain to the Herald the intricacies of the WCMEG.
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