UPDATE: Alexander gets 18 months for theft

Thursday, February 14, 2008
George Alexander

INDIANAPOLIS - A federal judge sentenced a former Putnam County Sheriff's Department manager to 18 months in prison and three years probation Thursday for stealing nearly $90,000 in federal and county funds over the course of two years, as new details about the thefts emerged.

Additionally, Judge Larry McKinney ordered George Alexander to pay back the money he stole - $31,000 to the Putnam County Auditor's Office and $57,000 to the federal government - and admonished him for abusing his position and the public trust.

The prison term McKinney handed down was the maximum recommended by federal sentencing guidelines and was exactly what Assistant U.S. Attorney James Warden requested.

Alexander was formally charged with stealing about $45,000 in U.S. Department of Justice grants. He pleaded guilty to those thefts in November.

However, Warden said federal investigators believe he stole federal grant money as many as seven times and stole county funds amounting to about $31,000 on seven other occasions.

Alexander declined to speak to the BannerGraphic, though he did tell McKinney that he is sorry for his actions and characterized the thefts as "a momentary lapse in judgment."

During his tenure at the Sheriff's Department, Alexander served as ombudsman and was responsible for purchasing new equipment, applying for grants, managing personnel and fielding input from the public. He was officially doing the work on a volunteer basis, though Sheriff Mark Frisbie paid him $18,000 per year out of his Commissary Fund. He also drove a sheriff's department vehicle, carried a department-issued weapon and a badge, McKinney said Thursday.

Indiana State Police initially charged him with theft in May and Alexander spent several days on the run from authorities before he turned himself in to a police officer at a campground in Rockville, Ind.

Check out Friday's BannerGraphic for more information.

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  • A 2 year "momentary lapse of judgement". How long is a minute to this guy?

    -- Posted by calcans1 on Thu, Feb 14, 2008, at 10:01 PM
  • No worse than the "momentary lapse of judgement" by Sheriff Frisbie about plane tickets, lunches at Hooters and limo rides to name a few over the last couple of years.

    -- Posted by duallydriver on Thu, Feb 14, 2008, at 10:43 PM
  • What a joke.

    -- Posted by WONDER on Thu, Feb 14, 2008, at 11:20 PM
  • LETS CONCENTRATE ON THE GOOD FRISBEE HAS DONE FOR US AND LEAVE THE NEGATIVE OUT. HES NOT THE FIRST PUBLIC OFFICIAL TO USE BAD JUDGEMENT.

    -- Posted by skittlebadoodle on Fri, Feb 15, 2008, at 9:23 AM
  • Well unfortunately Alexander has taken the fall for some of Frisbies shady acts.

    -- Posted by duallydriver on Fri, Feb 15, 2008, at 10:07 AM
  • are you guys kidding, do you think george wouldn't cut a deal with the feds by throwing mark to the dogs if he could have, is it possible that mark is not involved with this "ding-dong",

    -- Posted by gottokno on Fri, Feb 15, 2008, at 5:51 PM
  • Yeah he cut a deal all right. But it wasn't with the Feds, he knew that was just a short length of time compared to being compensated for a long time to come when he gets back home.

    -- Posted by duallydriver on Sun, Feb 17, 2008, at 9:36 AM
  • Cutting a deal? why would they even offer a deal, they got him and have a good case against Mr. Sheriff. Mr. Sheriff will get his in the end. Do n't you think Putnam Co. has enough black marks against it , wait til he gets out of office then nail him to the cell wall. good thing I'm not in Greencastle school , I might not be allowed to say black marks.

    -- Posted by victory on Tue, Feb 19, 2008, at 5:51 PM
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