Posted on 11/04/2022 3:41:17 PM PDT by nickcarraway
She was involved in 'pay-to-play' scheme involving gun permits issued by her office
Former Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith has been found guilty on all six civil counts of corruption and willful misconduct less than one week after retiring.
Laurie Smith was found guilty in a civil corruption trial on Nov. 3, 2022. She had resigned as Santa Clara County sheriff three days earlier. Embarcadero Media file photo.
Smith was on trial over accusations from a 2021 civil grand jury report that the sheriff's office traded concealed carry weapon licenses to campaign donors and that Smith accepted San Jose Sharks tickets without reporting them as gifts.
The civil trial began in September. Smith has denied the claims and would have been removed from office following the guilty verdict if she had not abruptly announced her retirement on Monday.
In a statement on the verdict, acting Sheriff Ken Binder said the sheriff's office respects the jury's decision and intends to move forward.
"The actions of a few people are not a reflection of the great work that our deputies do every day," Binder said. "The men and women of the sheriff's office are looking forward to new beginnings, with the Sheriff election coming up next week."
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District Attorney Jeff Rosen echoed Binder's statement and lauded the jury for considering evidence from the district attorney's office's investigation.
"We look forward to working with the next sheriff and all the honest, professional and hardworking men and women of the sheriff's office to serve our community with honor and integrity," Rosen said.
Smith first joined the sheriff's office in 1973 and had served as sheriff for the last 24 years.
She announced earlier this year that she would not seek reelection and originally planned to retire once her term ended in January.
Ping
Sheriff Laurie . . .
She has been sheriff since 1998.
Public officials need to complete a form every time they receive a gift. Sheriff Laurie Smith did not complete a form every times she received a gift. And no, she’s not qualified to be a public official.
I remember that.
That show as well as border pals.
Border Pals? I don’t remember that. I thought it was Marblehead Manor and Out of this World.
Apparently I am off somehow on Border Pals title.
The plot was a small border town police station and run ins with the RCMP.
It seems it was on ABC and definitely the 80s.
Her pension benefits are guaranteed under ERISA. She would have lost nothing had she been fired.......
In Cali she’s getting about 90% of her smart plus bennies.
“She was involved in pay-to-play.” What a coincidence, so was Hillary when she was SoS.
People like us were just too dumb and honest to get our grift on early in life.
“People like us were just too dumb and honest to get our grift on early in life.”
I prefer to think our moms & dads taught us well as did our Sunday School teachers and our ministers, pastors, prists, and rabbis.
Very true
I was damaged in that way - I never wanted a grift.
But she should lose her pension if these crimes were committed while she was employed as sheriff.
Not like she did anything her predecessors did not!
Except for getting sloppy, so too clearly caught to get it swept under the rug per usual.
San Jose has been corrupt for a very long time, as are many other cities/towns in CA.
Look into what funds have been mis-used in past years to build literal monuments to county commissioners egos as well.
The County has to become Constitutional Carry as they have clearly demonstrated that they're unwilling or unable to police their own members from tying a financial charge to an alienable right.
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