SANTA FE – The total value of the Santa Fe County property that former Sheriff Greg Solano stole and sold on eBay for his own profit surpassed $73,000, according to an audit by the State Auditor’s Office.
But the audit released Friday mainly deals with “internal control weaknesses” and an “overall lack of policies and procedures” for keeping up with property and evidence at the sheriff’s office.
Solano resigned last year and has admitted taking and selling items such as bulletproof vests and handcuffs. He has been charged with 252 counts of embezzlement or fraud.
The former sheriff has apologized publicly for selling the items, saying he was cash-strapped and in a bad mortgage.
The audit released by State Auditor Hector Balderas provides little new detail on Solano’s thefts but does describe a sheriff’s office with sloppy property management that might have made it easier for Solano to embezzle items.
For example, the audit says there was “open access and no inventory” for office supplies.
Staffers noticed supplies decreasing quickly but told auditors that they had been “new, learning and were too trusting.” The staffers added, “When an elected official tells you to do something, you do it.”
The audit is particularly critical of how evidence for criminal cases has been maintained by the sheriff’s office, although current Sheriff Robert Garcia on Friday maintained that evidence is properly secured.
The audit states that the evidence room is “cluttered” and “disorganized.” The report states that there are 38 missing pieces of evidence that include marijuana, cash and an unidentified item from a homicide case.
Garcia said he’s been addressing issues raised in the audit, but he defended how evidence is kept.
“My evidence room is not compromised,” he said. “When you go to look for an item for court, it’s there.”
The audit was conducted by an independent auditor, Moss-Adams LLP.
The investigation that led to Solano’s downfall was started in September after an eBay customer in Texas bought a bulletproof vest online from Solano and then called the vest manufacturer about resizing. The vest company then contacted authorities.
State Police have said that Solano sold 49 protective vests online going back to April 2009. Solano also stole handcuffs, printer cartridges, digital recorders and dozens of cellphones, the auditor’s office said.
— This article appeared on page C2 of the Albuquerque Journal
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