Commissioners set to mull removal of Sheriff Brave on heels of damning affidavit

Sheriff Mark Brave (left, courtesy; right, NHSP)

DOVER - A damning 20-page affidavit from the Attorney Generals Office will be front and center today as county officials mull whether to seek the removal of New Hampshire's first black sheriff from office.
The affidavit details dozens of instances in which Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave purchased lavish meals at expensive hotels where he is alleged to have arranged romantic getaways with multiple women, including one in Boston in May in which he racked up more than $1,600 in charges on his county-issued credit card.
Brave was arrested last week and charged with eight felonies as part of an ongoing investigation into his misuse of Strafford County credit cards.

In all Brave is accused of stealing around $19,000 in county funds through use of his county-issued credit card during dozens of bogus outings.
The May excursion to Boston saw Brave use county taxpayer funds to purchase a two-night stay at the Marriott Long Wharf hotel for $1,195 as well as two tickets on a Premier Dinner Cruise on the Odyssey for $367.
According to the affidavit filed as part of his arrest, Brave - in a written justification for the money spent - stated that "the hotel stay and dinner cruise were for 'NH Accreditation Commission Celebration Dinner.'"
The affidavit, filed by Attorney Generals Office investigator Allison Vachon, states it was determined that the New Hampshire Accreditation Commission did not host a celebration dinner, retreat or any other event in Boston on May 5, the day of the cruise.
When queried by Vachon, Brave said "he did not know why he wrote that, and that he thought the dinner cruise was actually a charity fund-raiser for the New Hampshire Special Olympics."
During grand jury testimony Brave "contradicted his other testimony by testifying that he did not remember going on this trip for a dinner cruise and stay at the Long Wharf Marriott," according to the affidavit, which also noted, "Brave also testified that no one - including no one with any personal or professional connection to him - stayed with him at the Long Wharf Marriott."
However, after being shown surveillance images showing Brave and a woman entering the Long Wharf Marriott together on May 5, Brave testified "that he did not remember if (she) stayed the night with him. According to the affidavit, Brave initially had trouble identifying (the woman) stating 'Her name, her name is ... um... let me see, I forgot which one this is. I've been dating a lot of people."
One of the first alleged misuses of the county-funded credit card occurred from Aug. 19-29 of last year when Brave took a female employee of the Strafford County Sheriff's Office down to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Expenses for the trip totaled some $3,000 including $1,615 for two first class roundtrip tickets on Jet Blue, $768 for hotel room at Atlantic Hotel with a single king bed, $205 for a meal for two at China Steakhouse, $51 for a meal for two at Casa Del Mare, $70 for breakfast at the Atlantic Hotel, $95 for a meal at Westin Beach Resort and resort fees of $135
In submitting receipts for his expenses Brave cited various justifications, including "Executive leadership final phase community policing, executive leadership and mentorship Broward County Fla., final phase of community policing executive leadership and mentorship Broward County, executive leadership dinner, executive leadership conference Broward County, Fla. and executive leadership conference," according to the affidavit.
No such meetings were held, according to the Broward (Florida) County Sheriffs Office, according to the affidavit.
In the affidavit the female SCSO employee, who admitted she stayed in the same room with Brave, said there never were any meetings cause they were all canceled. She also said Brave had arranged all the meetings.
In June the female employee denied she stayed in Brave's hotel room, but she admitted to the grand jury she had.
Immediately after her testimony to the grand jury, Brave testified again she had stayed with friends. The affidavit then explains that due to sequestration during testimony Brave would not have known what she testified to.
The very next month on Sept. 17 Brave is alleged to have spent $83 for two steak tip dinners at the 110 Grill in Manchester.
In his written justification for reimbursement he stated the meeting was with the NAACP and Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg, who denied having such a meeting and that he had been out of town that weekend, according to the affidavit.
Strafford County officials today will be mulling whether to seek Brave's removal from office, which would also require a vote from the Strafford County delegation.
County officials have been asking Brave to go on paid leave while the investigation continues, but he has refused.
Brave has denied the allegation from the start and says the charges are the result of racial bias from county leadership, including Commissioner Chair George Maglaras, who called him "a token," in an exclusive interview with The Rochester Voice last month.
Today's meeting will begins at 11 a.m. with a nonmeeting during which County Attorney Tom Velardi is expected to brief commissioners on their options regarding Brave's employment status.
They will then hold a public meeting session to discuss the issue followed by public input.
If they vote to seek removal the matter will then go to the county delegation composed of Strafford County's state reps.
Brave, a Democrat, has served as Strafford County sheriff since 2021,
If convicted on all charges Brave could face more 60 years in prison and fines of up to $32,000.