Tag Archives: George Contois

He Was the Very Model of a Modern Major-General

He was way, waaaaay worse than we realized.

And we already knew he was pretty bad.

And he was, somehow, a legit national figure in his field.

Submitted for your consideration: Bill Bohnyak, former Orange County Sheriff and second runner-up in the Tunbridge Fair’s hotly-contested Alexander Lukashenko Lookalike Contest, now revealed to be a financial mismanager on an epic scale.

Reminder: This guy was president of the National Sheriffs’ Association. Well, he was until he somehow managed to lose his bid for re-election last year, after which he no longer qualified to hold the position. In the past I’ve wondered if Vermont really needed sheriffs at all; if Bohnyak was a prominent national leader of his kind, I wonder if the whole country would be better off without them. Actually, check that. I don’t wonder. I’m convinced.

Bohnyak was also a frequent and respected presence in the Statehouse, strutting around in his physics-defyingly skin-tight uniforms, advocating for the interests of law enforcement in general and the sheriffs in particular.

And now here we are, with auditors throwing up their hands and walking away from a mandatory audit of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department because its financial records were a complete shambles.

Credit to his profession, I tell you.

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Our Sheriffs Continue to Cover Themselves in Glory, Or Something

Our county sheriffs are engaged in a Sideshow Bob rake routine, and the timing couldn’t be worse. The Legislature is considering a package of reforms to the system, including an end to profiteering off contract work and tightening up the standards for unprofessional conduct.

And the sheriffs seem bent on ensuring the reforms become law.

We’d previously seen numerous disgraceful aspects of the sheriffin’ trade. Now, just in time for committee hearings on the reform bill, we’ve got a fresh crop including more badness from former Orange County sheriff Bill Bohnyak, a retiring sheriff tossing bags of loot around the office, and the questionable finances of a newly-elected sheriff who won office despite facing an assault charge.

Real bunch of prize specimens we’ve got here.

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