Suspended sheriff pleads guilty to fraud
SHALIMAR (AP) – A Panhandle sheriff arrested on a Las Vegas gambling trip with $5,000 in his pocket and $30,000 in a hotel safe pleaded guilty to fraud, money laundering and other charges Tuesday.
Charles Morris avoided trial by pleading guilty to six counts of conspiracy, theft, fraud and money laundering.
The popular Okaloosa County Sheriff who headed the Florida Sheriff’s Association and served on the state board that disciplined law officers for violations of ethics laws was suspended by Gov. Charlie Crist after his arrest.
Morris faces up to 85 years in federal prison and more than $1.5 million in fines.
“I apologize to you and to the court for being here today,” Morris told U.S. District Judge Lacey Collier before pleading guilty to each of the six counts against him. Collier set Morris’ sentencing for July 28.
Morris refused to answer questions from reporters following Tuesday’s brief hearing.
Crist’s spokesman, Sterling Ivey, said Morris would remain suspended until his formal sentencing. The governor appointed an interim sheriff after Morris’ arrest.
Morris pleaded guilty to pocketing more than $114,000 since 2007 in an illegal employee bonus scheme. His former office manager, Teresa Adams, is also charged in the scheme.
Prosecutors say the pair deposited bonuses in employees’ accounts and asked the employees to return a portion of the money to them in cash. They used some of it to finance several first-class Las Vegas gambling trips for themselves and an inner circle of sheriff’s office associates.
Morris and Adams were arrested in Las Vegas in February.
Collier said Tuesday that Morris’ plea agreement included a provision for him cooperate with federal prosecutors and State Attorney Bill Eddins’ office in their ongoing investigations of others in the department.