
Letter America May 4, 2013 Jonathan Franzen ... More
Much of today's cover story
focuses on public officials who feel they've been unfairly treated in
the media. Count former Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano among them. Solano's eBay sales of thousands of dollars worth of stolen county equipment is one of Santa Fe’s highest-profile cases. But it involves a scenario different from the ones described in today's story. Instead of having to respond to allegations of wrongdoing, former Solano came forward himself and admitted, in November 2010, that he had sold thousands of dollars in county equipment on eBay.
Still, his attorney Brooke Gamble says the recent headlines involving her client were rushed and unfair. A case in point is the widely reported dollar figure attached to the county equipment he stole and then sold on eBay. Most media outlets cited it as $75,000, which Gamble says is plain wrong.
“What he took was a little less than $25,000,” Gamble tells SFR.
The $25,000 decided in restitution was based on the market value of the equipment Solano stole. Many of the police vests he took were past their warranty, meaning their value was lower than before.
Gamble also adds that saying Solano will serve three months in jail, which most media have run with, is inaccurate. It’s technically one year because his nine months of electric monitoring at home technically constitute jail, she says.
Solano, who started serving his stint in county jail a week and a half ago, declined an interview when SFR attempted a visit to him in jail.
A county sheriff steals tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, thereby requiring additional thousands of dollars to be spent in auditing the extent of his thievery. He loudly proclaims his remorse, and insists he will repay the debt in full. But a doormat of a judge determines that "payment in full" actually means the sheriff will repay dimes on the dollar for what he stole, leaving the working, law-abiding county residents to pick up the tab for the rest. Of course, he is also sentenced to essentially a few weeks of incarceration, all the while separated from all the other criminals, as the good sheriff's safety is of paramount concern.
Only in Santa Fe...