The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif.- The former sheriff of San Joaquin County was sentenced to six months in prison and six months of home confinement Tuesday on a federal fraud conviction.
T. Baxter Dunn, 58, pleaded guilty in January to a charge stemming from his secret financial interest in a company that wanted to build a power plant at the Port of Stockton. He was accused of threatening to use his position to hurt a rival bid and of failing to disclose his involvement on his official statement of economic interest.
Dunn faced up to two years in federal prison but received a lesser penalty because he pleaded guilty and cooperated in the prosecution of a longtime friend. Dunn also was fined $40,000.
Dunn was elected sheriff in 1990 and won a fourth term in 2002. He resigned earlier this year after entering a guilty plea to the fraud charge.
The investigation also ensnared the former head of a state criminal justice agency and two other former public officials.