Grand jury says Ridenour doesn't receive special treatment at the Sheriff's Department

submitted by After_Deadline on Wed, 2009-07-01 14:51.

* Modesto Bee Staff
* Politics/Social Action

Mayor Jim Ridenour doesn't get special treatment in his part-time job as a reserve sheriff's deputy, the county Civil Grand Jury has concluded.

The grand jury looked into allegations that Ridenour was getting paid for work he didn't do at the Sheriff's Department.

"There was no documented evidence that the Sheriff's Office had mismanaged this individual's time and pay," the grand jury wrote.

"I had no doubt about it. We had done it right," Ridenour said today.

Ridenour has worked at the Sheriff's Department since 1992. His work there became an issue a year ago when former Mayor Carmen Sabatino looked at Ridenour's mayoral calendar and suggested that Ridenour was attending events while he was supposed to be at the Sheriff's Department.

Sabatino is unlikely to drop his charges. Ridenour is giving Sabatino a copy of his mayoral calendar every week.

Sabatino at last week's City Council meeting suggested that Ridenour was getting extra hours at the Sheriff's Department as a political favor.

http://thehive.modbee.com/node/14399