SHERIFF BUSTED FOR PEDDLING PRISON LABOR

SHADY Sheriff Paul Thomas ran a racket in rural Tennessee to illegally profit off the work of jail inmates, authorities say.

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The Gibson County law dog was indicted on 22 charges - including official misconduct, theft, forgery and computer crimes involving inmates in his custody.

Investigators say Thomas was an investor in Alliance Group, three for-profit companies that offered staffing assistance to local businesses, housed current and ex-inmates in a transitional facility, and provided transportation to work-release inmates and former prisoners traveling to and from jobs. But officials allege Thomas failed to disclose his interests to the state's ethics commission!