INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WOWO): Indiana's inspector general has cleared INDOT’s ex-chief of staff of wrongdoing in the sale of land along the I-69 corridor.

However, Inspector General David Thomas says Troy Woodruff created a lot of trouble and embarrassment by not following the recommendation of an internal ethics officer.

Thomas says prosecutors in Marion and Daviess Counties, the U-S Attorney’s office, and the Federal Highway Administration all agree with his conclusion that Troy Woodruff broke no laws. He notes the sale was a forced sale through eminent domain, but Thomas says while Woodruff reported the sale on his annual financial disclosure statement, he ignored the advice of INDOT’s ethics officer to file a separate disclosure with the State Ethics Commission, hoping to avoid drawing further attention to it. Thomas is recommending legislators make such disclosures a requirement.

Thomas is recommending INDOT not conduct any contracting business with Woodruff nor rehire him for one year for not following the ethics officer’s advice. He went on to say that more than a dozen other allegations lodged with his office proved baseless, and says two people who filed the original complaints acknowledged they had no evidence otherwise.