NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A federal court has denied a conviction appeal by former Norfolk Sheriff Bob McCabe, which means he will stay in prison.
McCabe was sentenced in 2022 to 12 years in prison on public corruption charges.
He was convicted of making deals with vendors in exchange for cash, travel and entertainment perks.
That decision to deny his appeal came down from the U.S. 4th Circuit Court Monday. McCabe’s attorneys had argued that his trial was not fair because it came before that of another codefendant, Gerrard Boyle. They also argued that the trial court erroneously allowed hearsay statements by a so-called “Undersheriff,” and they contested jury instructions, especially pertaining to bribery, and they challenged “the court’s application of an 18-level sentencing enhancement.”
Boyle was sentenced in February 2022 to three years in prison and a $35,000 fine after pleading guilty in October 2021 to a federal felony charge of conspiracy, that plea coming just six weeks after a jury convicted McCabe.
“We are satisfied that each of Sheriff McCabe’s appellate contentions lacks merit, and we affirm his convictions and sentences,” the ruling states.
The maximum sentence could have been more than 200 years in prison, and prosecutors had asked for 20. McCabe will also have three years on supervised release, and he also could be released on good behavior after serving 85% of his sentence, which is roughly 10 years.
McCabe was convicted in August 2021 on all 11 charges he faced, including conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud, honest services mail fraud, conspiracy to obtain property under color of official right, obtaining property under color of official right, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
In a statement at the time of his sentencing, McCabe said that “I sit before you today a humble, convicted, 40 year public servant. I deeply regret and truly [am] remorseful for my misguided and reckless decisions that caused me, among other things, to blur lines between professional business relationships and personal relationships. I take full responsibility for my selfish actions. It’s clear I’ve used very poor judgment and [am] ashamed by my decisions.”