Local News Comments

Proof that it is all about the money, not about whats right.

I think paying back two years of wages is a little harsh, after all he did some work, His supervisor should pay back all their wages for letting this happen, after all i guess that no one was in control of the that department.

If you want to hear about a racket..it's THEFT.
If you are charged with a misdameanor...etc..
they keep you for a few hours..and then you get a debit card.
Instead of giving your money back.
Guess what? you never get it back. See, since the local law enforcement makes MONEY off of it...they make sure..you have to close your ACCOUNT to get it back..
Guess what that takes.....to get that last bit back>
I call that THEFT.
The govt is TOTALLY Corrupt. It's like calling the kettle black.
Walk around the city offices..
and LISTEN to them.
Sickening.
Parasites.

So why didn't they just drop all charges, pat him on the back and say we are sorry to have interfered with you being able to carry on your private business while working for the taxpayers? How about the daily out of the country use of the taxpayer's County phones? If one wants to steal, make sure it's from the government (taxpayers)

Either he's guilty or not, why the need to reduce his sentence?

Is our justice system broken? White collar crime is negotiable? The man is caught red handed and gets off free and clear. Misdemeanors like traffic tickets? How about a few hundred hours of community service?
This sounds like Mexico or some other Third World Country where you can bribe the local authority in power to stay out of jail.
$132,000 means this guy was making $66,000 a year to do what exactly? Plan Transportation in Tuolumne County? Who took his job after he was fired? If the guy had enough time to run a second job from his county office it sounds like his Supervisor was not Supervising for TWO LONG YEARS! Maybe we can get that paycheck back too!
It also sounds like probably a lot more people signed off on this prosecution than just DA Knowles.
DUIs get more jail time.

Cattle dog - it's a non-violent, white collar crime, and the guy has made full restitution of his salary. Why waste a good jail cell on him, and prevent the incarceration of people who really need to be locked up, like the faux bomber and the arsonist sentenced the same day?

Thousands of employees use their internet/work phone to do personal stuff. This may have been over excessive personal use. In general, County lines have unlimited local/long distance on them & their internet useage is not billed per minute but for a monthly packaage. That still doesnt entitle one to personal use, but the bigger picture is the time not spent on the job.

Even more baffling is the fact that if a series/pattern of non personal phone calls/internet data activity appears on the bill, this should have been spotted long, long ago when it began, rather than 2 and half years into the problem. The Supervisor, HR personnel, County telephone bill accounts officer, internet data useage reviewer(if any)should all be taken to task legally as well. Not fair to blame the employee only.