Although state law sets the fee for concealed-carry permits at $25, Lehigh County Sheriff Ron Rossi was
charging $38 until very recently. County lawyers ruled this higher fee was justified because those permits are encased in plastic and will last 1,000 years. Last week, Commissioner Andy Roman called Rossi the "stealth sheriff" when he failed to appear at his Inquisition on this very, very, very important matter. Like the Energizer Bunny, Roman keeps going and going and going. Yesterday, he fired off this strange mass email, addressed to other commissioners, the DA, and Colonel Sanders:
"With all due respect there seems to be a concerted effort here to cover the Sheriff's mis-deeds at all costs, even if it defies logic.
"The Sheriff, according to this Controller report, charged $38.00 for thousands of applicants, and did not give an option to pay $25.00, thus violating State Law according to Mr. Sorrentino's own legal opinion, and I quote; 'However, so long as the Sheriff has always offered a paper permit for the $25.00 fee, an additional charge for photographic and lamination services is compliant with the law'.
"So. if he DID NOT offer the $25.00 option then he is NOT compliant with the law. Period.
"Now if someone violates State law, do we as a County sweep it under the rug or does the Sheriff face consequences and refund those over-charged? Common Sense says yes!"
Hmm. Would you like coffee or tea, Andy? "Common Sense says yes!" Should the County raise or lower taxes, Andy? "Common Sense says yes!" Andy continues with his indictment:
"The evidence includes an instruction form that outlines a fee of $38.00 dollars with no other option, a Controller report outlining thousands who paid $38.00 and a Sheriff who has not explained or justified his actions but has hidden behind others who make excuses for him.
"I hope we are not being asked to ignore the obvious. I was born at night, but not last night."
Exasperated, Chairman Dean Browning lays the smack down on Andy
"Using 'With all due respect' at the start of your email doesn't excuse your claim that 'there seems to be a concerted effort here to cover the Sheriff's mis-deeds at all costs'. There have been numerous emails on this subject, most of which have been copied to the County Executive, to the District Attorney, to the Controller, to the County Solicitor, to the entire Board of Commissioners and to me as Chairman of the Board. The fact that no one else sees the issue in the same fashion as you do should be an indication that your view might not be correct rather than being used as the basis for making an irresponsible and inflammatory claim that we everyone that I listed above is engaged in a cover up. That accusation simply is not supported by the facts some of which are as follows:
"* The District Attorney, who is the chief law enforcement officer for the County, has responded to an email stating that there is no basis for criminal charges.
"* Subsequent to that and following a review by Legal, I asked our Solicitor to make a presentation of his findings to the Board of Commissioners. This presentation was made at a public meeting that was covered by reporters from two separate newspapers and was also filmed by a member of the audience.
"Exactly what part of the above process leads you to conclude that there 'is a concerted effort to cover the Sheriff's misdeeds'? Was it the fact that the issue was discussed in a public setting? Was it the fact that there were reporters present? Or was it the fact that a State Representative (who is intimately involved in this issue) was present?
"With all due respect, the claim that there is a cover up in this matter not only questions the integrity of everyone on this email it is also absolute rubbish."
Lehigh County Sheriff Ron Rossi will hold a news conference to announce his candidacy for sheriff at 11:30 AM on Thursday, February 10 in the Sheriff’s Office at the Lehigh County Courthouse.
