Alabama Sheriff Legally Took $750,000 Meant To Feed Inmates, Bought Beach House

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/14/593204274/alabama-sheriff-legally-took-750-000-meant-to-feed-inmates-bought-beach-house

A sheriff in Alabama took home as personal profit more than $750,000 that was budgeted to feed jail inmates — and then purchased a $740,000 beach house, a reporter at The Birmingham News found.

And it's perfectly legal in Alabama, according to state law and local officials.

Alabama has a Depression-era law that allows sheriffs to "keep and retain" unspent money from jail food-provision accounts. Sheriffs across the state take excess money as personal income — and, in the event of a shortfall, are personally liable for covering the gap.

Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin told the News that he follows that practice of taking extra money from the fund, saying, "The law says it's a personal account and that's the way I've always done it."

Sheriffs across the state do the same thing and have for decades. But the scale of the practice is not clear: "It is presently unknown how much money sheriffs across the state have taken because most do not report it as income on state financial disclosure forms," the Southern Center for Human Rights wrote in January.

 

But in Etowah County, the News found the paper trail.

'Following the letter of the law'

The News discovered the eye-popping figures on ethics disclosures that Entrekin sent to the state: Over the course of three years, he received more than $750,000 in extra compensation from "Food Provisions." The exact amount over $750,000 is unclear, because Entrekin was not required to specify above a $250,000 a year threshold, the paper writes.

 

 

CAMILA DOMONOSKE

 

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

Direct link to AL.com story

http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2018/03/etowah_sheriff_pocketed_over_7.html

 

I am not sure how this is legal, but it appears to be. Federal funds intermingled.

Edited March 19, 2018 by Il Mango Dulce

[smilesammich 10,727]

birmingham sure does have a sweet bonus program for their sheriffs.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Sounds like he's smart with the money.

[smilesammich 10,727]

Just now, Jacque67 said:

Sounds like he's smart with the money.

must not have much of an iq test going for le in 'bama.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

and i bet he was providing wonderful meals for the inmates 

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

2 hours ago, Jacque67 said:

Sounds like he's smart with the money.

taxpayer money

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

Pretty sure he will go down for tax evasion.  Can’t imagine he was smart enough to claim it all with the IRS.