Pubdate: Fri, 21 May 2004
Source: Greensboro News & Record (NC)
Copyright: 2004 Greensboro News & Record, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.news-record.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/173
Author: Eric Collins
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption - United States)

OFFICERS HELPED TOPPLE HEGE

LEXINGTON -- Gerald Hege's downfall started with a whistle-blower who was 
fed up.

A trusted high-ranking deputy decided he'd seen enough after three Davidson 
County Sheriff's Office vice officers were arrested on drug-conspiracy 
charges in late 2001.

Hege pleaded guilty Monday to two felony counts of obstruction of justice 
and was forced to resign as a result of an investigation that snowballed 
after Maj. Brad Glisson came forward with evidence in sworn affidavits 
against the controversial leader.

In his first public statements on the Hege investigation, Glisson said 
Thursday that he began talking to the FBI after the drug arrests because he 
believed Hege's lack of leadership and oversight had allowed Lt. William 
Rankin, Lt. David Woodall and Sgt. Douglas Westmoreland to go astray of the 
law and ruin their lives. The officers in the high-profile unit reported 
directly to Hege -- without higher-ranking officers to monitor their 
actions, Glisson said.

It was the missing element that could have prevented the three deputies 
from falling into a drug scandal, Glisson said. The men were arrested on 
charges that they sold tens of thousands of dollars worth of cocaine, 
marijuana, steroids and Ecstasy. They later pleaded guilty.

"They clearly broke the law ... (But) I also condemn the atmosphere they 
were allowed to operate in," Glisson said.

It was an atmosphere that allowed officers to bend the rules and fostered 
an anything-goes mentality, he said. Part of that stemmed from Hege's own 
actions that Glisson recalled in court documents, like taking cash 
designated for undercover drug purchases without accounting for its use.

Glisson said Hege had asked him during the years to engage in illegal 
conduct as well: Faking receipts. Trying to cover up missing money from a 
vice unit safe.

After the vice officer arrests in 2001, Hege then asked Glisson to gather 
all the receipts from special vice funds. If there was ever a question 
about misuse of those funds, he could use Rankin, Woodall and Westmoreland 
as "scapegoats," Hege told him.

Glisson decided he couldn't follow those orders anymore.

Though Glisson gathered the receipts and records, he told Hege he couldn't 
find them.

Instead, he took them to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Throughout 2002, the FBI gathered evidence from Glisson and the three 
convicted deputies, who cooperated with investigators. But federal 
authorities needed something more concrete, and the investigation stalled, 
he said.

In late 2002, Glisson decided he needed another witness to strengthen the 
case. He took a calculated risk and went to then-Maj. Danny Owens, Hege's 
second in command, telling him about the missing vice funds and his 
discussions with the FBI.

He trusted Owens, but still feared Hege might find out. He could count on 
being fired if word spread.

"At that point in time, I didn't care," Glisson said.

Owens agreed to help, though he feared the possible consequences from Hege.

"You don't know how somebody like that is going to react when they find out 
you are telling the truth on them," Owens said.

Soon after, Owens overheard Hege telling Glisson to get $600 in special 
vice funds to pay for a celebratory Christmas dinner for the department's 
command staff.

In affidavits, Glisson said Hege even had a way to justify the expense.

"Write it off to snitches," Hege told him.

During the spring of 2003, the deputies brought Capt. Jody Shoaf into the 
fold. The trio decided that the best way to stop the sheriff was an 
infrequently used state law for removing an unfit officer. They believed it 
would be easier to make a case to prove willful neglect or misconduct in 
office -- two of several reasons to remove a sheriff -- rather than any 
specific criminal charges.

Several publicized mishaps that spring persuaded the men to come forward 
rather than wait for more evidence to mount. In March, deputies fired at a 
loose bull in Tyro more than a dozen times in an incident that some 
neighbors called unnecessary. Then in April, deputies shot into an occupied 
minivan they had stopped after a chase on Interstate 85.

District Attorney Garry Frank cleared the deputies involved in the chase of 
criminal wrongdoing. But Shoaf, an internal affairs officer, told the 
sheriff that he needed to send a message: The shooting was not acceptable.

Glisson said Hege didn't want an investigation because of the negative 
publicity.

"Instead of condemning it, he embraced it," Glisson said of the shooting on 
the interstate.

The trio worried that another officer would find himself in a heap of 
trouble because of Hege's failure to manage the department, Glisson said.

It was time to act.

Glisson went to Frank and told him what he knew. He didn't know that Frank 
was already compiling a case against Hege.

Frank had requested an investigation into another county employee in 
October 2002 -- and that led to the discovery of evidence against Hege.

After Glisson's visit, Frank sent a letter to the SBI on April 23, 2003, 
requesting an investigation into Hege's conduct and activities. Glisson, 
Owens and Shoaf gave statements to state investigators in May before the 
SBI probe became public knowledge in June.

The trio didn't know what information other deputies would tell investigators.

"I just had faith in the guys that worked there that they'd do the right 
thing and tell the truth," Owens said.

Weeks after Frank announced the SBI probe, Hege told members of his command 
staff that he wouldn't resign and that he was going to fight the investigation.

But he became more mistrustful of his staff, telling other deputies he 
would find out who was talking and "they are going to be gone," according 
to an SBI affidavit. A grand jury indicted Hege on 15 felony counts on 
Sept. 2. After the indictments were unsealed Sept. 15, Hege was suspended 
from office.

On Monday, when a hearing was finally set to begin to determine the 
sheriff's fitness for office, Hege took a plea deal that guaranteed him no 
jail time. He remained unrepentant this week, blaming his downfall on the 
top staff who ultimately turned on him.

The three deputies remain employed at the sheriff's office but their future 
is uncertain.

Frank has said he is considering whether to charge any of the deputies 
based on information from the SBI probe. No deputies received immunity for 
their aid in the investigation.

Despite the possible repercussions, Shoaf and Owens both call Glisson a 
"hero" for coming forward.

"What happens in the future is all moot," Glisson said. "It's what happened 
Monday that matters."
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