The news of former Undersheriff Robin Cronk’s arrest signals problems within the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office.
Cronk faces charges of embezzlement of public funds and misconduct after an investigation by agents of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation revealed evidence that Cronk allegedly had used his MCSO-issued credit card to purchased “items for personal use over an extended period of time.”
Pulling the wrong credit card out of a wallet is an easy mistake to make — once. It’s also easy an easy mistake to rectify. Using a government credit care for personal purchases over an extended period of time is not such an easy crime to explain away — hence the felony charge of “embezzlement of public funds.” That the numbers apparently are fairly small doesn’t excuse a lack of integrity on the part of a person sworn to uphold the law. That’s on Cronk.
An occasional unexplained charge on a credit card is easy to miss; a pattern of them should catch someone’s eye, especially in an agency charged with finding evidence and analyzing it correctly. That’s on the sheriff, as is the apparent failure to adequately investigate Cronk’s employment history and then to replace him with someone whose credentials don’t meet state requirements — shortly before departing the state and leaving that person in charge.
Dennis Spruell needs to pay closer attention to important details. His participation in a lawsuit to protect gun rights may be popular among constituents, but the constitutionality of new gun laws in no way depends on Spruell’s presence. The running of the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office does, and if he can’t do both well, he needs to make the right choice.
