NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A former Tidewater Virginia sheriff has been found guilty on all counts in a federal bribery trial.
The jury deliberated for more than five hours before finding former Norfolk Sheriff Bob McCabe guilty of 11 counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering on Tuesday, news outlets reported. He faces up to 20 years in prison for each count.
McCabe served as Norfolk’s sheriff from 1994 to 2017. He won by significant margins in each of his six elections, but came in a distant third in a 2016 bid for mayor. He was already under federal investigation when he abruptly resigned in 2017 and was indicted two years later.
McCabe was accused of using his position to solicit bribes and campaign donations from people linked to two companies that had large Norfolk City Jail contracts. When McCabe testified last week, he admitted to violating campaign finance laws and getting loans and gifts from businessmen, but denied taking bribes.
He testified that he consistently waited until the last minute to file campaign finance reports and probably failed to report some contributions and expenditures, but claimed it was never intentional.
McCabe was taken into custody after the verdict and will be sentenced Jan. 21.
