The former Fairfield County sheriff is a free man.
A judge granted Gary DeMastry's request for early release Friday in Fairfield County Common Pleas Court in central Ohio.
He had served five years of a six-year sentence.
Gary DeMastry was convicted in 2002 on 32 charges including theft in office and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
He later pleaded guilty to five more charges to avoid more trials on the original 323-count indictment.
He was accused of spending taxpayer money on things like personal meals, travel and entertainment.
But visiting Judge Richard Markus says today that little of the money went to personal use. He says most of DeMastry's crime was trying to cover up his failure to account for how public money was spent. (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)