Security firm owner fights back after conviction

January 8 , 2004 PEWAUKEE, Wis. - The owner of a security guard firm based here who was convicted last month of operating without a license is suing the man who turned his firm in to the Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, on Dec. 29, Ed Baumann, who owns and operates Elite Protection Specialists and is also Pewaukee’s police chief, filed a lawsuit against Matt Elliott, alleging defamation. Last summer, Elliott, who also owns a private security company, alerted Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher that Baumann’s employees were working at a large festival in Milwaukee while the business had not been issued the requisite permits for operating in Wisconsin. Elite has since obtained those permits. On Dec. 16, Elite was convicted and fined $200 and court costs of up to $133 for operating without a license, which is a misdemeanor. In the lawsuit, Baumann’s attorney alleges that Elliot made “false, defamatory statements” to members of the media “that harmed Elite’s reputation, thereby deterring third parties from conducting business with Baumann and Elite.” The Journal Sentinel reported that those statements include allegations that Baumann abused his position in public office and that Elite took cash payments for providing security services and that Elite performed security duties in police-issued uniforms. Baumann founded Elite last spring and has served as police chief in Pewaukee since 1984. He is seeking unspecified damages from Elliott.