Wisconsin DA at play... on the job.

"Are you the kind of girl that likes secret contact with an older married elected DA ... the riskier the better?" Calumet County District Attorney KennethKratz, 50, wrote in a message to Stephanie Van Groll in October 2009."

Nay!

Van Groll said Kratz sent the first text minutes after she left his office, where he had interviewed her about the case.

He said it was nice talking and "you have such potential," signing the message "KEN (your favorite DA)." Twenty minutes later, he added, "I wish you weren't one of this office's clients. You'd be a cool person to know!" But he quickly tried to start a relationship and told her to keep quiet about the texts.

Van Groll at first was polite, saying Kratz was "a nice person" and thanking him for praise. By the second day, she responded with answers such as "dono" or "no." Kratz questioned whether her "low self-esteem" was to blame for the lack of interest.

"I'm serious! I'm the atty. I have the $350,000 house. I have the 6-figure career. You may be the tall, young, hot nymph, but I am the prize!" he texted.

Says you.
I don't get why -- with all those perks -- he couldn't find his action outside of his workplace, without using the job to score. With a non-client. Boys will be boys? What if this behavior occured from a police officer, say, and not a DA. Still on the job?

Kratz may be best known for prosecuting Steven Avery in the 2005 killing of Teresa Halbach, a 25-year-old photographer. The case won national attention because Avery had spent 18 years behind bars for a rape he did not commit in a separate case before DNA evidence implicated someone else. Kratz received glowing media attention and flirted with a run for Congress in 2008.

Last year, around the time he was texting Van Groll, Kratz was back in the spotlight for prosecuting a woman who worked with others to lure a boyfriend to a hotel room and glued his penis to his stomach as revenge for his cheating.

I hope there's an entry-level opening in the Calumet County DA's office someday soon. Save the county some money and all...

Kratz has remained the top prosecutor based in Chilton, where he has served since 1992 and earns a $105,000 salary. Kratz, a Republican, said he intends to run for re-election in November 2012.

He and his wife filed for divorce last December, although he said they were separated when the messages were sent.