Denny's boss found guilty

The man who assisted Larry Denny of Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation in continuing to get paychecks from the U.S. government for a job at which he was no longer working was found guilty of his charges Wednesday.

John Grimson Lyon, of Virginia, was convicted by the jury on counts of wire fraud, making false claims and theft of government property after making sure Denny was paid when he left his job at the Bureau of Land Management in Virginia to go to Rocky Boy to work with his own company there.

Lyon’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 25 at 1:30 p.m. at the Missouri River Federal Courthouse.

Denny left his job citing health issues but continued to accept payments from July 2012 to March 2013. He was compensated for 550 hours of work, 461 hours of sick leave, 389 hours of annual leave and 72 hours for federal holidays.

For 2012, Lyon gave Denny a performance appraisal rating of exceptional, which resulted in Denny receiving a cash award of $3,262 in November 2012.

Denny later became the Chippewa Cree tribal spokesman.