Sheriff

Boss Hogg was envious. Here were those goldurned Duke boys racing around the countryside in that fancy car of theirs, making the sheriff look like a damfool. What to do? Ralph (Boss Hogg) Passio had an answer, according to sources close to the FBI's investigation of his Philadelphia sheriff's office. Mudflaps. Also power antennas and fancy car sound systems. Even a sheriff who doesn't know where he's going deserves to take his trips in style. A car is important to a Philadelphia sheriff.

Close calls between good candidates for the same office are not common in Philadelphia politics. Often the choices are so bad that choosing one person to endorse is a painful process. That's why the race for Philadelphia sheriff is such a pleasure. Each candidate presents a rational, well-thought-out plan of action, and brings with him a dignity and professionalism non-existent during the reign of Sheriff Ralph "Boss Hogg" Passio 3rd. Both Democrat John Green and Republican Bill Cole have ample law enforcement experience and a sense of purpose that will be invaluable in running the office.

William Rowley, the undersheriff in Burlington County, leaned over his desk, fumbled through a few legal pads and budget documents, and began explaining his strategy to become the county's next sheriff. But then he became distracted. Pulling his huge frame from an undersized chair, Rowley turned to the dreary conditions in the Burlington County sheriff's office, a two-story brick building on High and Grant Streets in Mount Holly. "We're living in squalor here," Rowley said.

He's getting more work for less money. And he's leaving a fairly stable job for one where, in two years, he will have to be elected to the post. But ask Edward J. Donnelly why he's leaving as chief of the Lower Southampton Police Department to become Bucks County sheriff and he will say simply: "It's something different. " From a captain in the Philadelphia Police Department to the head of the 29-member Southampton squad, the 37-year-veteran said he's just about seen it all. Except sheriff.

Surprising members of his party, Burlington County Sheriff Francis P. "Luke" Brennan said yesterday that he wants to be the chairman of the county Democratic committee. Brennan made the announcement four weeks before the scheduled election and days after county Democrats said Jack Shaw, a political fund-raiser for Rep. James J. Florio (D., N.J.), who had expressed interest in the chairmanship, would be right for the job. Shaw said Monday that he would wait until next week before deciding whether to run for the chairmanship.

THERE IS AN equation in politics: Good news for one person is bad news for another. Former state Sen. T. Milton Street Sr. , fresh from federal prison last year when he challenged Mayor Nutter in the Democratic primary election, has dropped plans to run against state Rep. Michelle Brownlee for the 195th District seat representing the Strawberry Mansion, Powelton and Mantua area. Street tells us that, instead, he will seek the vacant House seat in the 197th District, which stretches from North Philly to East Falls.

If the Mayor's Criminal Justice Coordinating Commission had its way, Ralph C. Passio III, the accountant from South Philadelphia, would be the last elected Philadelphia sheriff. The commission voted 16-1 yesterday to ask that the 290-person sheriff's office be reformed and the sheriff be appointed by the mayor rather than elected. The vote means the commission, an advisory panel composed of nearly all major city officials involved in the criminal justice system and chaired by Mayor Goode, will ask City Council to put the matter to the voters.

The Pennsylvania Senate confirmed on Tuesday former Whitemarsh Police Chief Eileen Whalon Behr's nomination to become Montgomery County sheriff. She takes over a post that has been vacant since the death of John P. Durante from a heart attack in February 2010. Behr, 54, also is seeking a full term in the sheriff's office as the Republican-endorsed candidate in November's election. Her interim nomination - announced by Gov. Corbett this month - drew criticism from both her Democratic opponent, William A. Holt Jr., a former Abington detective, and primary challenger Robert J. Durante, a former Montgomery County sheriff's deputy who is not related to the former sheriff.

A group of the city's top criminal justice officials yesterday tentatively endorsed a move to make the Philadelphia sheriff an appointed rather than elected position. The Mayor's Criminal Justice Coordinating Commission, which is composed of officials from city criminal justice agencies, voted 9-6 in favor of having future Philadelphia sheriffs selected by appointment rather than by election. The same group voted to suggest reorganizing rather than abolishing the sheriff's office, which has been the subject of investigations by the FBI and City Council into payments for car repairs from petty-cash funds and alleged improprieties involving sheriff's foreclosure sales.

CENTENNIAL, COLO. - A former Colorado sheriff known for his crusade against youth drug-use pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of trading methamphetamine for sex. Patrick Sullivan was sentenced to 38 days in jail, with credit for eight days already served, and two years of probation for felony possession of methamphetamine and a misdemeanor count of solicitation for prostitution. He must pay $1,100 in penalties. He was the sheriff in Arapahoe County from 1984 until 2002, when he resigned to become security director of the Cherry Creek School District.

Richard C. Bell 2d was an accounting clerk in the city Sheriff's Office, paid $42,000 a year to help distribute the proceeds when people lost their homes at sheriff's sales because of unpaid mortgages or taxes. But he had one key role in the sheriff's operations. Whenever a bank had a question about a check issued by the Sheriff's Office, Bell took the call. With that position and some manipulation of the sheriff's computerized check-writing system, Bell developed a bogus-check scam that cost the Sheriff's Office nearly $420,000 from 2007 into 2010.

While the Internet teems with "angel" investors searching for the next jackpot, it suffers from a shortage of guardian angels. Criminals have been wreaking havoc all over cyberspace lately, while governments and corporations have struggled to keep up with them. In February, an international gang of criminals reeled in $40 million in 10 hours by hacking into a database of prepaid debit cards and draining ATMs around the world. Last month, the Associated Press' Twitter feed, allegedly hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army, falsely reported explosions at the White House, causing stocks to plummet.

BEAVER, Pa. - A judge said a Western Pennsylvania sheriff should be tried on allegations that he threatened to cut off the hands of a political campaign worker and threatened to shoot an online news reporter. District Justice Michael L. Gerheim heard nearly five hours of testimony on Monday before agreeing that most of the 11 charges against Beaver County Sheriff George David, 65, should go to trial. David has denied the charges and remains in office because county officials are powerless to remove him and state legislators have not made an effort to do so. David was arrested last month on charges including terroristic threats, witness intimidation, and obstructing an investigation.

The Nutter administration filed a civil lawsuit Wednesday against former city Sheriff John D. Green, eight other people, and five companies, alleging that they improperly diverted millions of dollars from city sheriff sales, violating the city's contracting procedures and state ethics laws. "Tens of millions of dollars remain unaccounted for," the lawsuit alleges, while companies owned by defendant James R. Davis Jr., one of Green's friends, "improperly pocketed millions of dollars on account of no-bid contracts and relationships that were unauthorized and unlawful.

FORMER PHILADELPHIA Sheriff John Green, a former vendor and others were sued by the city for failing to give Philadelphia Gas Works money that the utility was owed from sheriff's sales. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Common Pleas Court, stems from a 2011 investigation by City Controller Alan Butkovitz that identified potential improprieties, including excessive fees and overcharges paid to two companies headed by Green's buddy, James Davis Jr. Green's office paid the companies, Reach Communication Specialists and RCS Searchers, more than $206 million from 2005 to 2010 for advertising, settlement-closing services and the management of the sheriff's unofficial website.

IN HIS PROPOSED BUDGET, Mayor Nutter did not seek any additional money for the Sheriff's Department despite its expanding responsibilities, but Sheriff Jewell Williams on Tuesday asked City Council for a 30 percent increase. That increase amounts to $4.1 million for 100 new deputies, a budget director, a computer-support employee and a clerical position. Williams said there were 230 deputies in 2008 compared with 194 now. "We get downplayed because we don't get the manpower we deserved," Williams said.

NEW ORLEANS - A political brawl has broken out between the mayor and a sheriff who runs the city jail, which has come under scrutiny for a video showing inmates using drugs, drinking beer, and handling a gun. Mayor Mitch Landrieu asked a judge last week to take the extraordinary step of placing the jail under federal oversight, effectively wresting control away from Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman. Landrieu is upset over an agreement Gusman reached with the U.S. Justice Department to reform the jail, saying the city, which funds the jail, can't afford the potential expense.

PHOENIX - Authorities say a package addressed to Sheriff Joe Arpaio discovered in a northern Arizona mailbox would have exploded if opened, leading to serious injuries or death. Maricopa County Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan made the comment Friday at a news conference in Phoenix. He said investigators are trying to locate one person who may have been involved in mailing the package addressed to his boss. The package intercepted late Thursday was addressed to Arpaio at his downtown Phoenix office.

AS BOTH a lifelong resident and now sheriff of this wonderful city, I read with great interest several recent stories that addressed issues of housing and the Office of the Sheriff of Philadelphia City and County itself. The stories showed how complicated and complex each can be while illuminating the need for strict enforcement of laws already in existence, as well as more innovative ways to level the playing field for purchasing a home at a sheriff's sale, and clarifying the procedures for getting money owed from the sale of a property.

WILLIAMSON, W.Va. - A new sheriff who was cracking down on the drug trade in southern West Virginia's coalfields was fatally shot Wednesday in the spot where he usually parked his car for lunch, and State Police said the suspect was in a hospital with gunshot wounds inflicted by a deputy who chased him. Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum died of his wounds. State Police Capt. David Nelson did not say how many times he was shot or offer many other details. The suspect, Tennis Melvin Maynard, 37, was being treated at a hospital in Huntington.