United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit No. 19‐3388 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff‐Appellee,

v.

ETHEL SHELTON, Defendant‐Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division. No. 2:14‐cr‐00129‐JVB‐JEM‐2 — Joseph S. Van Bokkelen, Judge.

ARGUED NOVEMBER 13, 2020 — DECIDED MAY 14, 2021

Before FLAUM, ROVNER, and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges. ROVNER, Circuit Judge. Demoted, disparaged, and deprived of a free government car, Stafford Garbutt decided that he could no longer tolerate what he believed to be criminal conduct by his boss and co‐workers, conduct that he himself had been engaging in for more than ten years. After his anonymous letters to a local newspaper and to the United 2 No. 19‐3388 States Attorney’s office accusing his former friend and boss of official misconduct failed to garner any response, he ap‐ proached the United States Attorney’s office in person with his story. That o