But it does get punished, sometimes. Former Republican sheriff gets 15 years for corruption in office: Medford trial details millions made in gambling ASHEVILLE--The federal government on Tuesday wrapped up the long- running corruption investigation that netted Buncombe County's former sheriff and four of his top deputies.
U.S. District Court Judge Tim Ellis sentenced former reserve Capt. Guy Kenneth Penland, 77, to five years in prison. He sentenced former Lt. Ronnie Eugene “Butch” Davis to a little more than three years. “I am very sorry at the age that I am that I got into this,” Penland said in court. “I hurt my family, I hurt the court and I hurt the law that I love so much.” Former Sheriff Bobby Medford was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday for taking bribes totaling more than $300,000 from illegal gambling operators. His attorneys said Tuesday Medford would appeal the sentence. Former Lt. John David “Johnny” Harrison was sentenced to two 1/2 years Monday. With those disgraced former law enforcement officers bound for prison, most of Tuesday in federal court was spent sentencing the men who made millions of dollars on illegal video gambling rackets. Stunning flows of cash The first revelation of the stunning amount of money being made in illegal video gambling came in a raid at the home of Demetre “Jimmy the Greek” Theodossis. FBI and state Alcohol Law Enforcement agents found $1.7 million in cash throughout his log home and in a well and dog kennels on the property during a November 2006 raid. FBI and state Alcohol Law Enforcement agents found $1.7 million in cash throughout his log home and in a well and dog kennels on the property during a November 2006 raid. Federal investigators say the money came from illegal video gambling machines at his Hot Dog King restaurants and in other gambling houses he ran. He paid the government $4.1 million in back taxes and gambling proceeds, his attorney said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Edwards said in court Tuesday that Theodossis cooperated immediately and gave the government its first look at the bribery racket that would later bring down Medford. “He was the first insider who did the hand-to-hand payments to these people,” Edwards said. Theodossis, 59, jumped off a Greek Navy ship in New Jersey in 1973 and later became a U.S. citizen. He was sentenced Tuesday to one month in prison, three years of community confinement and eight months probation. Friend and ally Theodossis knew Medford through business. Jack W. “Jackie” Shepherd, also sentenced Tuesday, was a longtime friend and political ally. Shepherd, 63, had to pay the government a little more than $1 million in back taxes and gambling revenue. During trial, Shepherd said he tapped Medford to run for sheriff in 1994 because he was unhappy that then- Sheriff Charlie Long was investigating his businesses. He apologized Tuesday to the people who spent their paychecks gambling. “Most of all I would like to apologize to the victims who put their money into the machines I was involved in,” he said. North Carolina barred cash payouts from video poker-machines, and made them illegal altogether in July 2007. But businesses across the region kept the machines in back rooms that were turned into small underground casinos. Shepherd got two years of probation and four months of community confinement, which most likely will be spent at a halfway house. As part of his sentence he'll have to spend 25 hours talking to youth about his crimes and report back to the judge about the lectures. Another friend, long-time gambling operator Jim Lindsey was sentenced to five months in prison, three years probation and five months community confinement. He once paid Medford $6,000 to move machines into a store occupied by a rival. He'd known Medford for 30 years. The two met on the job when Lindsey was the assistant chief deputy of the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office under Sheriff Harry Clay. He got out of the gambling business in 1995 but continued to pay bribes to help his sons, who took it over, he said in court. His sons were spared charges as part of his plea deal. “What I did, I did do it,” he said. “I know what I did was wrong. I would like to apologize to my family. I have hurt my church. I am sorry for what I did.” Son spared In an example of illegal video gambling's reach, Tuesday's sentencings also included video poker operator Charles McBennett Sr. of Haywood County. He pleaded guilty in a deal that spared his son charges. The judge said his statement to the court, called “allocution” in the federal system, was the most eloquent he had heard. McBennett told the court he feels that his time running illegal machines “erased everything in my life,” including his former career as a vice president of a textile business – a job he got by working his way up from the bottom. “I got into (video poker) to help my son,” he said. “I stayed in it because of the money. I am sorry. I have embarrassed my family. Whatever you do to me, I deserve it.” McBennett, whose attorney told the court he was worth $1.1 million, got two years in prison, two months community confinement and, like Shepherd, must spend 25 hours talking to youth about his crimes. He thanked the judge for the sentence. “I feel like this is a way to help me get over what I have done,” he said. A fair punishment At least one Medford's former crew sentenced Tuesday shared that sentiment. Penland had family members say outside court they thought his five- year sentence was fair. The former reserve captain collected money for Medford and worked for an illegal gambling company setting up new locations for video poker machines while serving as a volunteer deputy. Davis, the former lieutenant, had nothing to say to the court. Members of his family cried as the judged handed down the sentence. He was the deputy over video poker registration starting in 2005 and organized Medford's twice annual golf tournaments. Video poker operators were made to contribute cash to the tournaments, according to court testimony, for fear they would be shut down if they didn't. In all, 28 people charged in the government's wide-ranging investigation have now been sentenced, with the last facing the judge Tuesday. A string of people who cooperated with the investigation are due in court today and Thursday as prosecutors asks that their sentences be reduced. http://www.citizen-times.com/article/2008810090301 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
