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OKALOOSA SHERIFF CHARLIE MORRIS ARRESTED, SUSPENDED
Okaloosa County Sheriff Charlie Morris and one of his top employees have been arrested on federal charges of fraud, theft and money laundering, the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday.
Morris immediately was suspended by Gov. Charlie Crist and replaced by interim sheriff Edward Spooner, undersheriff at the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office.
Read the FBI's criminal complaint against Sheriff Morris.
"I will say this is a very, very sad day for Okaloosa County," said state Sen. Don Gaetz. "We're a law-respecting, law-abiding community... We teach our children to respect and look up to men and women who wear badges, and that's the way it oughta be."
Morris, 59, was arrested by federal agents in Las Vegas and was expected to make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada later Friday.
Also arrested was Teresa Adams, 50, Morris' director of administration at the Sheriff's Office. She was scheduled to appear before a federal judge in Pensacola.
Investigators said Morris and Adams "created fictitious bonuses to sheriff's department employees," according to a statement from the Department of Justice.
"The complaint alleges the employees were directed to return all or a portion of the bonuses in the form of cash and cashier's checks under the pretense that these returned funds were to be used for charitable purposes."
Okaloosa County Sheriff Charlie Morris has been arrested on federal theft-bribery charges and suspended by Governor Charlie Crist.
Morris was chosen as the 2009 president of the Florida's Sheriff's Association. His charges include theft or bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, wire fraud, deprivation of rights to honest services, engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity and conspiracy to commit the aforementioned offenses.
Governor Crist spokesman Sterling Ivey said the arrest occurred Friday morning and the governor's office issued its notice of suspension after learning of the arrest.
Gaetz said he'd heard of something brewing Thursday night at a charity event, but was "as shocked as anyone" to hear of Morris' arrest.
"A person who is close to law enforcement in this community came up to me after the event and said, 'Don, there are going to be some shocking developments in the next couple of days involving the Sheriff's Office, so stay tuned,'" Gaetz said. "I had no prior knowledge of an investigation."
