Pubdate: Fri, 04 Aug 2006
Source: Robesonian, The (Lumberton, NC)
Copyright: 2006 The Robesonian
Contact:  http://www.robesonian.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1548

GROWING PAIN

If there were any doubt remaining, it has now melted: Federal 
investigators are slowly moving up the food chain in Operation 
Tarnished Badge by using the strategy of shaking down the grunts with 
their eyes on bigger game. Last week, that strategy was unmistakable 
when former sheriff's Deputy James O. Hunt pleaded guilty in federal 
court to conspiracy to commit money laundering. As part of the plea 
bargain, Hunt has agreed to testify against other deputies similarly charged.

Three of those deputies, C.T. Strickland, Roger Taylor and Steven 
Lovin, were recently released without explanation after doing some 
hard time for a short time in prison. Their unexpected release 
suggests that they are prepared to tell investigators what they want 
to hear. A fifth former deputy charged in the case, Kevin Rudolph 
Meares, is also expected to cooperate with investigators.

Robesonians are learning the value of the federal Racketeer 
Influenced and Corrupt Organization laws - known as RICO - which 
expose defendants to such harsh penalties that their choices are to 
cooperate or waste away in prison. The evidence presented during 
Hunt's hearing paints a disturbing portrait - deputies acting 
criminally and with impunity, without regard to potential 
consequences. At best, this suggests a Sheriff's Office that was 
without oversight; at worst, it's something much more sinister. We 
have also heard the rumors and will watch as more indictments follow. 
How far up the chain they climb remains to be seen, but anyone who 
cares about Robeson County hopes they fall far short of former 
Sheriff Glenn Maynor and don't crash through the walls of the 
Sheriff's Office to grab - as rumored - other officials in this 
county, some of whom have been elected. If that happens, then Robeson 
County will again be put through a PR-ringer, one that makes 
forgettable the fallout that followed Feb. 1, 1988, and the 1993 
murder of James Jordan.

As the investigation continues, we urge Robesonians to be patient and 
to withhold judgment until evidence is not only heard, but 
scrutinized. We all must trust that the investigators will not allow 
this hunt to devolve into a witch hunt.
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