NEW ULM – An attorney running for Brown County Attorney this November admitted Sunday to receiving a gross misdemeanor conviction for aiding and abetting theft in 1994 while he was a Minnesota State University (MSU) Resident Advisor.

In a statement to The Journal Sunday, which is also posted on his Facebook page, Chuck Hanson wrote “it came to his attention that his opponent, (incumbent) Bob Hinnenthal, will be bringing up an incident that happened over 20 years ago when I was in college. I was involved in an incident where I gave someone a credit card that was not mine. That person was caught using it, I (later) turned myself in, and I admitted I gave it to him.”

“I ended up with a misdemeanor conviction, which is something that I could have expunged from my record at this point. However, I haven’t pursued that, because I don’t want to hide from my past. I’ve always accepted responsibility for my actions,” Hanson’s e-mail continued. “… I’m not proud of this incident, but I can’t change the past. I can only learn from it. I fully disclosed the incident to my law school and to the board of law examiners for my law license. It is not something that has prevented me from being an attorney or a prosecutor.”

Hanson, who lives in New Ulm and is currently serving as assistant county attorney in Watonwan County, said his court record in college led him to study law and become a lawyer. “It made me realize how this can affect your life,” Hanson said.

Hinnenthal said the information about Hanson’s record “is public information that is out there in the public. I’ve had people say to me ‘What are you worried about, with his record?’ People have known about this before I did.”

Hinnenthal said he only gave out the information in a private meeting with five representatives of the New Ulm Police Department when Hanson was seeking their endorsement, and that he did not release it to the public.

“(Hanson’s) the one who made it public on his website. I didn’t release it to the public, he did. He wanted to release the statement with his side of the story. He’s trying to minimize what he did, make it look like a mistake he made when he was young and in college. He was 26 years old when this happened. We all make little mistakes in college, but this was no little mistake. Now he’s trying to make me look like the bad guy.”

Hanson said he was disappointed Hinnenthal is bringing up the incident, not so much for the impact on him, but on his family. “This happened before I was married to Kim and long before we had a family,” the e-mail stated. “Unfortunately, now I have to explain to my children what my opponent is saying about me.”

Hinnenthal said he received a copy of the court documents from 1994 in the mail, and brought them to a recent private meeting with Brown County law enforcement after Hanson asked to meet with them in an attempt to get their election endorsement.

“The court documents are public record, and I thought law enforcement should know about it before endorsing a candidate,” Hinnenthal said. Hinnenthal said that was the only mention he made of the records to anyone.

According to Blue Earth County District Court documents, Hanson was convicted of an amended charge of gross misdemeanor theft – aiding and abetting on Dec. 5, 1994. A misdemeanor theft charge was dismissed.

Mankato Police were called to Toys R Us in Mankato on July 20, 1994 when store personnel reported a man was attempting to buy merchandise with a suspicious credit card, according to court documents.

In talking to the credit card holder, police learned the card was never received at his former MSU dorm and he had not given anyone permission to use it, according to the complaint.

Police arrested Jeffrey S. Clymer. In a search of his vehicle police seized items from the vehicle that Clymer admitted he obtained at Wal-Mart, Target, and K-Mart in Mankato.

Clymer said that earlier that day, he found the credit card in the lobby of McElroy Hall at MSU and decided to go shopping because he was having financial difficulties. Clymer was later charged with financial transaction fraud for his involvement in the matter, according to the complaint.

At the time Clymer was apprehended at Toys R Us, he was accompanied by Hanson, who is his stepbrother. Hanson, denied knowledge of the stolen credit card and was released. However, on Aug. 10, 1994, police took a statement from Hanson in which he admitted providing the card to Clymer, according to the complaint.

Hanson told police he was a MSU dorm Residential Advisor and his duties included mail distribution. On July 20, 1994, he found the envelope with the credit card, took it out and gave it to Clymer because Clymer was having financial difficulties, according to the complaint.

Hanson was originally charged with felony financial transaction card fraud – aiding and abetting; and misdemeanor mail opening. He was fined $207 for the aiding and abetting charge and sentenced to 90 days confinement, 88 days stayed for one year without any further violations, according to court documents.