Capt. Ron Talbott, an employee of the sheriff’s office and director of the 5th Judicial Drug Task Force, was apparently involved in the transactions. Blount County Sheriff James Berrong said the transactions have been internally investigated and it was found that no policy, procedure or state law had been violated.
He said Talbott had been reprimanded for not using good judgment and that related policies and procedures had been strengthened within the sheriff’s office.
The 1998 Ford F-150 pickup truck was traded in at Neill Sandler Ford on April 5, 2007, with the seller listed as the 5th Judicial Drug Task Force, according to documents filed at the Blount County Clerk’s Office — which, among others, include the vehicle’s certificate of title, a state of Tennessee lien satisfaction form and an odometer statement.
The documents list Ronald Talbott as the buyer of the same vehicle when it was sold by Neill Sandler five days later for $400 more than the trade-in amount. The purchase price was several thousand dollars less than the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) book value for the vehicle.
Ron Talbott of the 5th Judicial Drug Task Force has a father named Ronald Talbott. Berrong said it was found that Ronald Talbott, the father of the drug task force member, was the one who purchased the truck.
Blount County Clerk Roy Crawford Jr. told The Daily Times Wednesday that he did not wish to comment on the investigation but that the FBI had contacted his office about three months ago in regards to the pickup truck.
Blount County Mayor Jerry Cunningham said he could not comment on a possible investigation. He said it would not be appropriate for him to comment if there was a federal investigation because he would “want (the investigation process) to work the way it’s supposed to work.”
He said he was aware of the documents that were filed at the Blount County Clerk’s Office that list “Ronald Talbott” as the buyer of the truck that was first traded by the task force.
“When the document was called to my attention, I immediately contacted the sheriff and (Blount County Attorney) General (Mike) Flynn,” Cunningham said.
Cunningham said he was sure Berrong talked to Flynn about the trade-in and purchase of the vehicle and believed there was probably an internal investigation at the sheriff’s office.
“Just knowing the way he (Berrong) operates, I’m sure there was an internal investigation,” Cunningham said.
Berrong said he immediately asked Flynn whether or not he would for like an outside agency or Blount County Sheriff’s Office internal affairs to investigate the purchase. He said Flynn suggested that internal affairs investigate the transaction. “Internal affairs did do an investigation and found no violation of state law, and it is my understanding that there is a federal investigation and I’m not able to comment on that,” Flynn said.Internal investigation
“We determined that there was no policy or procedure violation,” Berrong said. “(Internal affairs) made the determination that no state law had been violated.”
Berrong did not comment on whether or not there was an FBI investigation, but said the FBI is very thorough in checking into complaints, as is the sheriff’s office. He said that although Talbott did not violate a policy or procedure, the sheriff’s office strengthened those rules. He said in many cases the sheriff’s office goes “above and beyond” state laws.
“We have strengthened our policies and procedures to assure that this will not happen again,” Berrong said. “We’re concerned about the appearance and perception in everybody’s eyes.”
Berrong also said he had “dealt with” the situation and took action against what he considered bad judgment by the captain.
“He was reprimanded for using poor judgment,” Berrong said.
David Weltner, general manager for Neill Sandler Ford, 3699 Alcoa Highway, Alcoa, said the 1998 Ford F-150 pickup truck was traded in, along with another vehicle, on a Ford Expedition. He said Dexter Heaton was normally the sales representative with the company who handles “fleet sales,” which would include transactions with the sheriff’s office.
“(The trade-in value of the vehicle was) $2,700 and he (Talbott) turned back around and bought it for $3,100,” Weltner said.Truck’s book value
According to multiple sources who contacted The Daily Times about the investigation, the truck was a NASCAR Edition. Ford produced 3,000 Ford F-150 NASCAR Edition pickup trucks in 1998 because it was NASCAR’s 50th anniversary and Ford had the contractual status as the official truck of NASCAR at the time.
Because of the limited number of NASCAR Edition trucks made and because it had options unavailable in a standard 1998 Ford F-150 pickup truck, the edition had a greater value.
According to information from NADA, a 1998 Ford F-150 NASCAR Edition pickup truck has a low retail value of $6,200, an average retail value of $8,125 and a high retail value of $11,300. Information was not available to determine what the vehicle would have been worth at the time it was sold. According to the odometer statement, when Ronald Talbott purchased the truck it had 56,283 miles on it.
Weltner said that if someone is interested in purchasing a vehicle, they would sell it — and he said there was no way for the company to know whether or not it would be a conflict of interest for the purchaser.
Because records reflected that Ronald Talbott purchased the vehicle just five days after it was traded in by the task force, The Daily Times asked Weltner if there was any way of knowing whether or not the truck was actually ever at Neill Sandler Ford.
“I don’t know if we would ever have a way of knowing if it was ever here or not,” Weltner said.
Berrong said the vehicle had been seized by the drug task force during an operation in 2004 or 2005. He said it was used as an undercover vehicle for the task force until “word circulated it was being driven by a narcotics enforcer.”
The sheriff’s office narcotics unit is part of the larger 5th Judicial District Drug Task Force, which is comprised of nine officers from area law enforcement agencies.
Special Agent Gary Kidder, media relations coordinator for the FBI, said he could not comment on whether or not Talbott was being investigated.
The Daily Times was unable to reach Capt. Ron Talbott for comment.