Republican Corruption - Money, Guns, and Drugs

Out here in Buncombe County, we've got another corruption case on our hands. Former Sheriff Bobby Medford, a diminutive Republican good ol' boy who was defeated in November by clean cut Democrat Van Duncan, is in deep trouble after an audit of his administration:

AC-T: "State authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the handling of evidence under the administration of former Sheriff Bobby Medford after a county audit showed missing money, drugs and firearms."
[...]
"• $217,769 could not be accounted for or proved to have been turned over to the appropriate state or federal agency. Evidence bags containing cash were found on the floor and mixed with other items. Loose cash was found on the floor and on shelves.

• 223 handguns and 114 rifles and shotguns could not be located, proved to have been destroyed or returned to their owner by court order.

• Marijuana, cocaine, crack and pills listed on 1,318 evidence entry sheets could not be located or proved to have been destroyed by court order. Large blocks of marijuana were found on shelves with no identification markings or case numbers. Bags containing drugs were open with some or all of the contents missing.

We all knew that Bobby Medford was corrupt, but we didn't expect that his officers were stealing cash, slinging crack, and dealing guns.

Republican Tom Apodaca and Democrat Martin Nesbitt are both alarmed at the findings:

“This could open a Pandora’s box on the prosecution of cases,” said Apodaca, a Republican who represents part of Buncombe in the Senate.

The discoveries cast doubt on past court cases, said Sen. Martin Nesbitt, a Buncombe County Democrat.

“There’s no way of knowing whether the evidence they were presenting was the evidence,” he said.

And then there's this quote from Republican Charles Thomas, not normally considered a partisan animal:

“This appears to be an audit by Democrats for Democrats at taxpayer expense,” Thomas, R-Buncombe, said."

It takes a lot of chutzpah to suggest that the theft of $217,769, 223 handguns and 114 rifles and shotguns, marijuana, cocaine, crack, and pills is somehow a partisan witch hunt. I guess Thomas has some friends from the ousted Medford administration.

Anyway, you can all rest easier tonight knowing that the current Sheriff is ethical and hardworking, a real law and order Democrat.