Prosecutor: No criminal charges warranted in WSI firings Eds: APNewsNow. MULTIMEDIA: A copy of the Grand Forks County state's attorney's letter has been posted at ftp.ap.org. Scroll down and click on StateLevel folder, then find the ND folder in the list. Members who need a password for the site should contact the AP in Bismarck, 1-800-472-2186.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) A prosecutor says criminal charges are not justified for the firings of two North Dakota workers compensation agency employees.

Grand Forks County State's Attorney Peter Welte reviewed an investigation into the firings at the state Workforce Safety and Insurance Agency.

Former WSI chief of support services Jim Long and former fraud investigator Todd Flanagan said they were fired because they called attention to possible wrongdoing at the agency.

North Dakota law forbids a state agency to retaliate against a worker for reporting possible misuse of taxpayer resources.

Welte said it appears the firings can be traced to other reasons besides the whistleblower reports from Long and Flanagan.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 04-21-08 1502CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list