Former Humboldt County Building and Planning Department employee Patrick McTigue's sentencing was continued to this morning.
Assuming, it goes forward today, I wil just post the press release and court minutes. I broke the story about McTigue,covered it for months and then as usual, other media stepped in when they saw the benefit. I covered many exclusives and every hearing.
Covering this sentencing in person is not worth my time because the real issue of bribery and preying on the community goes unaddressed.
Nice deal for McTigue. Initially, he was represented by Mr. Neal Sanders. Then he got a public defender appointed.
Probation is guaranteed. McTigue will be ordered to pay restitution. The only thing that Judge Kaleb Cockrum could do is impose no jail time or some jail time. Jail time could be swap eligible.
Was the deal because Deputy Public Defender Casey Russo worked harder for a resolution? Was it pandemic court fatigue? Or is it because a plea is beneficial to more than just McTigue? The plea ends any investigation. No trial means no one from the Planning Department or County has to testify.
I knew when I broke the story, McTigue would be the scapegoat and no one or nothing else else would be investigated. The county made it difficult to get answers when I initially broke the story. It was my persistence or this would have remained a news tip.
McTigue entered a plea on August 13. Mctigue pleaded guilty to one count of PC 68 - Accepting a Bribe as a felony and two counts of PC 487 Grand theft. He is guaranteed probation but jail time is open, up to 365 days.. The rest of the charges were dismissed with a Harvery for restitution.
Deputy District Attorney Steven Steward is the prosecutor.
DA Press Release:
Earlier today, Judge Kaleb Cockrum sentenced 50-year-old Patrick William Francis McTigue, of Fortuna, to serve one year in jail, two years of felony probation and to pay restitution to his numerous victims. The sentencing follows an October 13th hearing where McTigue pled guilty to crimes committed while he was working as an inspector for the Humboldt County Building and Planning Department: one count of felony bribery (Penal Code section [PC] 68) and two counts of felony grand theft (PC 487) involving three separate victims. Additional counts of the same crimes involving three additional victims will be included in the order requiring McTigue to pay restitution. The prosecution agreed to this resolution to secure restitution for all of McTigue’s victims and to ensure that convictions will prevent McTigue from obtaining similar employment in the future.
Throughout 2017 and 2018, McTigue used his position as a County inspector to solicit bribes from individuals seeking permits for commercial cannabis operations. He defrauded his victims by agreeing to expedite their applications in return for money or other assets. McTigue defrauded victims of over $120,000 during his employment with the County.
McTigue faced a maximum sentence of over 5 years in prison. In prosecuting the case, Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Steven Steward argued that incarceration was warranted because the crimes harmed not only individuals but also the public’s trust in government. At the conclusion of this morning’s sentencing, Judge Cockrum remanded McTigue into custody to begin serving his one-year jail sentence. Deputy Public Defender Casey Russo represented McTigue.
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https://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2021/10/you-will-have-to-wait-bit-to-see.html?m=1#more
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