LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Sheriff’s Dept. Gives Short Reply to Theft Allegations

Without actually denying charges made Monday that it “stole $60 million” by using drug asset forfeiture laws to add to its own budget, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department issued a short reply Tuesday pointing out that the former sheriff’s deputy who made the accusations has been convicted of money skimming operations.

“Mr. Robert Sobel’s comments relative to his allegations of widespread corruption and dishonesty in the Sheriff’s Department were obviously influenced by the fact that he and his (convicted) associates were immersed in one of the most significant betrayals of the public trust discovered by this or any other agency,” said a spokesman for Sheriff Sherman Block.

The spokesman noted that the department had “uncovered that corruption by Sobel and his associates and saw them vigorously investigated and prosecuted.”

“In accordance with the wishes of the U.S. attorney’s office and due to other pending criminal trials,” the spokesman sai, the Sheriff’s Department will not comment further on Sobel’s specific charges that the department “stole $60 million” by seizing alleged drug money with warrants obtained under false pretenses so it would have more money for the sheriff’s budget.

Later, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, Terree A. Bowers, said the Sheriff’s Department’s refusal to comment substantively on Sobel’s charges are in accord with the policies of federal prosecutors not to comment on ongoing investigations.