Adams sheriff faces charges

BOISE – Idaho’s attorney general filed a criminal complaint Thursday against the Adams County sheriff, alleging in nine felony counts that Richard Leo Green misused more than $1,000 in public money and tried to cover it up.

Green is accused of using a county credit card to make unauthorized personal purchases starting in August 2003, according to a statement from the office of Attorney General Lawrence Wasden.

The charges include two nights in a Holiday Inn totaling $130.80, a tank of propane gas for $176.75, and nine purchases between Dec. 23, 2004, and Jan. 25, 2005, totaling $888.85, the attorney general said.

In all, Green is accused of misusing public funds in the amount of $1,247.93.

Messages left on Green’s answering machine at his office in Council weren’t immediately returned.

Adams County Prosecuting Attorney Myron Dan Gabbert asked Wasden to prosecute the case, according to the statement.

For each of six counts of misusing public funds, Green faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, the release said.

Green also is charged with three counts of presenting fraudulent accounts to a bank. That charge carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison.

If he’s convicted, Green would have to resign as sheriff in his central Idaho county. People convicted of misusing public funds can’t hold public office in Idaho.