GROWING PAIN

If there were any doubt remaining, it has now melted: Federal
investigators are slowly moving up the food chain in Operation
Tarnished Badge by using the strategy of shaking down the grunts with
their eyes on bigger game. Last week, that strategy was unmistakable
when former sheriff's Deputy James O. Hunt pleaded guilty in federal
court to conspiracy to commit money laundering. As part of the plea
bargain, Hunt has agreed to testify against other deputies similarly charged.

Three of those deputies, C.T. Strickland, Roger Taylor and Steven
Lovin, were recently released without explanation after doing some
hard time for a short time in prison. Their unexpected release
suggests that they are prepared to tell investigators what they want
to hear. A fifth former deputy charged in the case, Kevin Rudolph
Meares, is also expected to cooperate with investigators.

Robesonians are learning the value of the federal Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organization laws - known as RICO - which
expose defendants to such harsh penalties that their choices are to
cooperate or waste away in prison. The evidence presented during
Hunt's hearing paints a disturbing portrait - deputies acting
criminally and with impunity, without regard to potential
consequences. At best, this suggests a Sheriff's Office that was
without oversight; at worst, it's something much more sinister. We
have also heard the rumors and will watch as more indictments follow.
How far up the chain they climb remains to be seen, but anyone who
cares about Robeson County hopes they fall far short of former
Sheriff Glenn Maynor and don't crash through the walls of the
Sheriff's Office to grab - as rumored - other officials in this
county, some of whom have been elected. If that happens, then Robeson
County will again be put through a PR-ringer, one that makes
forgettable the fallout that followed Feb. 1, 1988, and the 1993
murder of James Jordan.

As the investigation continues, we urge Robesonians to be patient and
to withhold judgment until evidence is not only heard, but
scrutinized. We all must trust that the investigators will not allow
this hunt to devolve into a witch hunt.