ROTTEN APPLES

Camden County's new sheriff right to give some deputies their walking
papers.

When a law enforcement officer swears to uphold Georgia's laws, that
officer must be willing to live up to that oath, even if it endangers
the officer's job.

That's why Camden County Sheriff-elect Tommy Gregory is to be
commended for holding the command staff of ousted Sheriff Bill Smith
to account for their failure to stand up to their old boss. Mr.
Gregory has fired 27 sheriff's office employees effective Jan. 4; a
drastic measure that's necessary in light of leadership issues at
the coastal Georgia department.

Years of news reports have detailed Sheriff Smith's use of inmate
labor to do favors for private groups and individuals. The Florida
Times-Union, our sister newspaper, even reports that the outgoing
sheriff used inmates, paid through seized assets, to build himself a
hunting lodge south of Woodbine.

Where was jail administrator Jim Proctor at the time of such
wrongdoing? Also, why didn't Mr. Proctor call a halt to the practice
of using inmates accused or convicted of everything from rape and
murder to child molestation in off-site work details?

Sheriff Smith displayed a warped preference for employees with a
checkered past. He hired an officer who had been fired from another
department after stalking an ex-girlfriend. He rehired a deputy two
months after the officer was videotaped beating an unarmed suspect
after a high-speed chase.

Chief financial officer Wanda Easterling, once caught Christmas
shopping on a county credit card, was allowed to maintain her shoddy
watch over the sheriff's office accounts.

Perhaps keeping her job was worth overlooking the sheriff's use of
assets seized from arrests on I-95 - by one estimate up to $20
million during his time in office - as a political slush fund.

While state law requires the seized assets to be used only for law
enforcement purposes, Sheriff Smith apparently handed out cash to
local groups like a parade marshal throws candy, according to
published reports.

The department's accountant also should have questioned the purchase
of 11 boats and two jet skis. Does Camden County truly need such a
navy?

Ms. Easterling had a duty to local taxpayers to ensure the tax
dollars spent providing work details and the assets seized through
drug enforcement went to a public use, not political favors.

While Sheriff Smith is the subject of a Georgia Bureau of
Investigation probe and a federal grand jury investigation, he has
not been accused of any crime. The GBI bull's eye, however, has been
painted only on Mr. Smith's back - his underlings have thus far
escaped notice.

That does not mean they are not culpable for failing to live up to
their responsibilities as public servants.

Newly elected Sheriff Tommy Gregory campaigned on a promise to clean
up the department by clearing out the suspect elements, or as he put
it, "the bad apples."

After this pruning, the Camden County Sheriff's Office should yield
better fruit.