SHERIFF'S MONEY USE IN QUESTION

A State Investigation Of The Davidson County Sheriff Also Focuses On
Reporting Of Crime Stats, A Newspaper Reports

LEXINGTON, N.C. -- (AP) A state investigation of Davidson County Sheriff
Gerald Hege is focusing on his handling of money and reporting of crime
statistics, The Dispatch of Lexington reported Tuesday. The newspaper said
State Bureau of Investigation agents are asking about the finances of a
Hege-run foundation for law-enforcement officers injured or killed in the
line of duty. Agents also are asking about how Hege has spent
drug-forfeiture funds obtained from the county government for conducting
drug investigations, the paper said.

The Dispatch said it spoke to current and former sheriff's office employees
and others who had been interviewed by investigators and who spoke to the
newspaper on condition of anonymity.

Hege is known nationally for his pink jail cells and the paramilitary
uniforms worn by deputies who patrol largely rural Davidson County, south
of Winston-Salem.

Since being elected in 1994, Hege has claimed a 62 percent reduction in
crime. The Dispatch said SBI investigators were asking whether the sheriff
has mislabeled crimes to boost that statistic, which is based on numbers
his department reports to the state.

One former deputy told the paper he was asked, "Was I ever ordered to do
any changing of records? I said no."

The Dispatch said others it talked to refused to say whether they had been
questioned by the SBI or what was asked.

Hege has previously declined a request by The Associated Press for comment
on the investigation, and his office phone was not answered Tuesday. The
Dispatch said he could not be reached for comment.

The SBI has confirmed it is investigating Hege at the request of District
Attorney Garry Frank. All parties involved have refused to discuss the
investigation's focus.

Frank has said only that it grows from a probe of a former county public
buildings director who resigned in January but has not been charged with a
crime.

Last year, three of Hege's officers were sent to federal prison for their
involvement in a drug ring. Hege narrowly won re-election to a third term
in November over challenger Roy Holman.

Hege and his wife, Geri, started the Blue Line Foundation in 1999. The
group's Web site says it has provided more than $120,000 in aid to officers
or their families in North Carolina and other states. Recipients include
the family of former Davidson County Deputy Todd Cook, who was shot to
death in the line of duty in January 2000.

Hege's use of county resources to conduct DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance
Education) classes in county schools has been the subject of controversy in
the past. The program has been funded partly by the sale of Hege posters,
action figures and other memorabilia, raising questions about whether Hege
was using DARE to promote himself politically.

And in 1999, the sheriff drew criticism when he used more than $26,000 in
drug-forfeiture money to buy a pair of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The
motorcycles later were auctioned by county commissioners.