RALEIGH -- As the top law enforcement officer taking over a
scandal-plagued bureaucracy in 1994, Sheriff Glenn Maynor gave Robeson
County hope for a fresh start.

But an end to the corruption never came, and on Thursday a federal
judge gave the now disgraced former sheriff six years in prison. "I
dropped the ball. I should have kept up with it, and I didn't," Maynor
told the court, his voice cracking and trailing off. Although evidence
failed to prove Maynor knew the full extent of corruption around him,
U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle held Maynor responsible for
running a dirty Sheriff's Office with a history of scandal that
preceded him.

Boyle had already sentenced 20 of Maynor's deputies,
including almost the entire command staff and all of the drug
enforcement deputies. "If you were a broom to sweep clean, why didn't
you fire these deputies, arrest them, get rid of them?" Boyle asked.
"The only implication is you either turned a blind eye or were part of
it." Maynor, who turns 62 next week, has until Aug. 1 to report to
prison.

He and his lawyer declined to comment as they left the
courthouse following the 40-minute hearing. Several family members
attended and also declined to comment.

Noah Woods, chairman of the
Robeson County Board of Commissioners, said he hopes Maynor's
sentencing will ease controversy surrounding the Sheriff's Office.
"It's a very sad situation," Woods said. "There's a lot of other
things that have gone on, and nothing was done. I think this will
bring some closure to it."

Maynor resigned in 2006 and is now the 21st
former county lawman sentenced in Operation Tarnished Badge, a
six-year state and federal corruption investigation. He received five
years for paying on-duty deputies to work at his home and at a golf
event to raise campaign funds. He received 12 months for lying to a
grand jury by claiming he didn't know his deputies were selling
counterfeit satellite TV cards.

Boyle frequently has added to recommended sentences in the case, and
Maynor's sentence was no exception. At Maynor's request, Boyle delayed
a hearing last month when he initially said he would ignore a
recommended 18- to 24-month sentence and give Maynor seven years. At
the time he cautioned Maynor, saying he would consider handing down
the maximum of 10 years allowed for the crimes.

On Thursday, Maynor's lawyer, John O'Hale of Smithfield, told Boyle
that Maynor had led an honest life, including service as a Lumberton
city councilman, before becoming sheriff. But Boyle stopped O'Hale and
traced a history of Robeson County corruption that went largely
unchecked while only two sheriffs reigned from 1950 to 1994.

Allegations about the county's corrupt law enforcement made national
news in 1988 when Eddie Hatcher, a community activist, and an
accomplice stormed the Lumberton newspaper offices and held more than
a dozen people hostage at gunpoint. Hatcher, who later went to prison,
said he wanted to bring attention to corrupt lawmen trafficking
cocaine and terrorizing county residents. Then-Gov. James Martin
intervened and agreed to begin an investigation. Hatcher surrendered,
and no one was hurt. A state investigation failed to uncover any wrongdoing.

Boyle asked Maynor why he let corruption continue. "How did this
rampant, invasive, institutional corruption get rooted out? It didn't,
did it?" Boyle asked. "There's this wall of silence and resistance
from public officials who are willing to go to jail and willing to
keep quiet." O'Hale said Maynor knew he broke the law.

"He takes full responsibility for the things he committed as well as
the things he allowed on his watch," O'Hale said. "He was the captain
of this ship ... and he is willing to accept the punishment." Boyle
said it was a difficult sentence, and he took a few moments at the
bench before announcing his decision.

"I've never imposed a sentence in a political corruption case that I
didn't think was too light," Boyle said. "They're willing to go to
prison as long as they don't have to give up the system. That's the
case right here." He rejected leniency as a reward for Maynor's
cooperation with the U.S. Attorney's Office, saying Maynor -- as a law
officer -- was already duty-bound to enforce the law and root out criminals.

Maynor must serve three years on probation after his release and was
ordered to pay $17,550 in restitution.

2002 Beginnings

Operation Tarnished Badge began in 2002, but the
investigation did not become public until three former deputies were
arrested in 2006. The case brought to light deputies who kidnapped and
brutalized drug dealers -- shooting one in the leg. In another case,
lighter fluid was doused on an innocent man who was set on fire after
being mistaken for a drug dealer. Deputies stole tens of thousands of
dollars in drug money and lived lavishly off the proceeds. They also
stole from a federal drug enforcement fund managed by the county.
Other deputies stole satellite TV services or worked for Maynor while
on duty for the county.

Sentences have ranged from a few months in prison to 34years.
Sentencing for one deputy is pending. Federal prosecutors say the
investigation continues.