WATERLOO - A former sheriff drew a two-year sentence Thursday for trying to pin crimes on critics and retaliating against a deputy in a scandal that rocked the Seneca County sheriff's department in upstate New York.
Leo Connolly, who was convicted in August of two misdemeanor counts of official misconduct, was sentenced to one year on each count and fined $1,000.
He was ordered released pending an appeal.
Connolly took a personal leave as sheriff after he was charged in August 2007 and did not seek re-election last fall.
He was found guilty of using his office to retaliate against two residents who had criticized him on a popular Web site in western New York's Finger Lakes region. Nobody was ticketed or arrested.
He also was convicted of retaliating against a former deputy for repeating unsubstantiated rumors that Connolly had been stopped for drunken driving a few years ago.
Connolly was acquitted of perjury, offering a false instrument for filing and falsifying business records.
Four of his deputies have also been charged. His former undersheriff, James Larson, pleaded guilty in February to a variety of theft and official misconduct charges and drew a 21-month sentence.
He was ordered released pending an appeal.
Connolly took a personal leave as sheriff after he was charged in August 2007 and did not seek re-election last fall.
He was found guilty of using his office to retaliate against two residents who had criticized him on a popular Web site in western New York's Finger Lakes region. Nobody was ticketed or arrested.
He also was convicted of retaliating against a former deputy for repeating unsubstantiated rumors that Connolly had been stopped for drunken driving a few years ago.
Connolly was acquitted of perjury, offering a false instrument for filing and falsifying business records.
Four of his deputies have also been charged. His former undersheriff, James Larson, pleaded guilty in February to a variety of theft and official misconduct charges and drew a 21-month sentence.
