A former Fairfield County sheriff convicted on 32 counts of illegal activity is a free man. A judge granted Gary DeMastry's request for early release from prison Friday in Fairfield County Common Pleas Court. He served five years of a six-year sentence.
DeMastry was convicted in 2002 for charges that included theft in office. Later he pleaded guilty to more charges. DeMastry requested that he be freed from prison after serving most of his sentence. But at the hearing, Greene County prosecutor Suzanne Schmidt, who participated in the original trail, argued against early release.
"The cost to Fairfield Count was enormous in terms of the amount of money the citizens ultimately had to pay for the prosecution of Gary DeMastry," Schmidt says. "It took its toll both financially and on the citizenry as a whole."
DeMastry's defense attorney, Kort Gatterdam, said the former sheriff had had a hard five years in prison and had to keep an "eye out" for inmates who might seek revenge. After hearing comments from the prosecution and defense, visiting Judge Richard Markus announced his decision.
"These are not easy decisions for any judge to make," Markus said. "Mr. DeMastry I'm going to grant your motion. You're going home."
An audit of the sheriff's office found more than $300,000 for which DeMastry was unable to account. That led the former sheriff, Judge Markus said, to engage in a pattern of corrupt activity.
"The evidence did not show that you misused those funds for your own personal purposes. But you failed to account for them. And then you deliberately falsified the manner in which they were used. In this case, as I said at the time of original sentencing, the cover-up was worse than the offense."
Judge Markus told DeMastry that as a convicted felon, he could not hold another law enforcement position.
After the hearing DeMastry told reporters he had not gotten any offers of employment but believed he could pay the $210,000 he owes for the cost of prosecution. And he says he beleievs some people in Fairfield County will disagree with the judge's decision.
"All I can say is, the 20 years I was the sheriff and chief deputy of Fairfield County, I risked my life numerous times. I worked hard for this county. I made a mistake. We need to move on and let me spend some time with my family," DeMastry said.
DeMastry will be on state supervised probation for the next five years.