Former East Cleveland police chief Scott Gardner was sentenced Thursday to five years of probation and 600 hours of community service after pleading guilty to a single tax-related charge earlier this month in a plea deal that dropped the other 23 counts against him.
"My intention is to make certain that this does not occur again," said Gardner. "This is not who I am. This is not what I want my perception to be."
During Gardner’s trial, his defense team maintained that Gardner’s alleged financial crimes were really just a case of bad record-keeping, and he is not a criminal but just lacked business acumen.
“Mr. Gardner did choose to accept responsibility for his poor record keeping, particularly in light of the fair and reasonable deal that the prosecutor’s office offered. We felt it was the best choice for him to move forward,” Gardner’s attorney Allison Gibbard told News 5 when her client accepted the plea deal on March 12.
But Judge Jeffrey Saffold said he wasn't buying the notion that sloppy bookkeeping was to blame.
"You were stealing," said Saffold. "To come in here and say something else is somewhat offensive."
Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Gardner to prison, pointing out convictions in two other counties in 2014 for similar crimes. In each case, Gardner was sentenced to probation.
"Each and every time this defendant has been presented with an opportunity to commit a crime he has done it," said Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Samantha Sohl.
More on the details of the plea deal:
The sole count to which Gardner pleaded guilty was for collecting and failing to remit sales tax. It was a charge connected to the former police chief’s private security business, Constant Protective Security (CPACs).
More on the original charges against Gardner:
According to court documents, CPACs collected sales tax, but Gardner failed to repay the correct amount to the state for several years. Hibbard said Gardner has already repaid a quarter of the more than $200,000 owed through a repayment plan he’s been on since 2019.
In Judge Jeffrey Saffold’s words, the 600 hours of community service to be served as part of the sentence is “100 hours for every year Gardner engaged in this scam.”
The former police chief must also repay the state $149,954.54 in restitution.
