Troubled INDOT Official Resigns As Ethics Probe Concludes

The Indianapolis Star is reporting that embattled INDOT Chief of Staff Troy Woodruff will step down from his state job one day before the state's Inspector General is planning to release the findings of an ethics investigation that began more than a year ago after the newspaper first raised serious concerns about ethical wrongdoing on Woodruff's part. In a farewell letter to colleagues, the Star says Woodruff hinted that he would be cleared of any wrongdoing:

"I have always lived my life with no regret, but in leaving this agency I do have one and that is the fact I could no longer stay around waiting on a 2nd Internal Affairs Investigation of myself that started in October of 2012 finally come to an end," Woodruff wrote. "Believe me I wanted it to be out and one day it will be, not so much for me or my family but quite honestly for you all. I wanted to shout from the roof top that the people of this agency are owed an apology. Even as the media accused me of so many things, what they were actually implying is that this agency is corrupt. You don't deserve that."

Gov. Pence ordered an investigation of Woodruff, a former state lawmaker, after the Star reported on land sales and a bridge project related to the I-69 project that personally benefited Woodruff's family members. Woodruff recently requested permission from the state ethics commission to accept new employment with RQAW, an INDOT contractor. Advance Indiana exclusively reported that Woodruff had participated in a decision to restore RQAW's right to bid on state highway and bridge projects after it was suspended a few years ago for allegedly performing faulty bridge work on a project in Gary, Indiana. Woodruff personally signed contracts with RQAW worth at least $500,000 according to the Star. Woodruff has reportedly decided to start his own business for now rather than seek a waiver from the state ethics commission to accept employment now with RQAW, which could mean he'll be working in the capacity of an independent contractor rather than an actual employee for the time being until the one-year cooling off period passes.