Under threat of removal, Sheriff Brave agrees to take paid administrative leave

Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave (NHSP booking photo)

DOVER - Under threat of removal from office by the county delegation, embattled Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave agreed on Monday to go on paid administrative leave as requested by County Commissioners.

During a special meeting on Monday, County Commissioners Chair George Maglaras laid out the reasoning behind commissioners' insistence on the paid leave, saying part of his bail conditions are no-contact orders for most of the personnel at the Strafford County Sheriff's Office.
"The no-contact orders practically covers the entire operation, including command staff and administrators," Maglaras said. "We want to strengthen the integrity of our operation and for those folks who work in that department we're concerned with witness tampering and retribution."
Monday's demand for Brave to take the paid administrative leave was the commissioners' third request, but the first time he was threatened with removal by the county delegation if he didn't comply.
The deadline to agree was today at noon, but later on Monday Brave capitulated in a Facebook post to commissioners.
."While I maintain that I am innocent, and none of my spending of out of state line items was to deceive the county or the people of Strafford County, I do want to make sure that the wonderful team at SCSO is able to function without added stressors to their already difficult positions," he wrote. "I do not want to add any distractions to their lines of duties. This is a personal fight, that should not impact the office. While this was a difficult decision to make, it is the right one. My physical and mental health has taken a major turn and I need to start thinking about taking care of myself and my daughter."
Several members of the public who spoke at the meeting said they were appalled that Brave had just recently used his county-issued credit card at a Lawrence, Mass., nightclub.
"When you started seeing these credit card charges, why didn't you shut the card off right away?" asked Susan Rice of Rochester.
"Until Thursday, (when Brave was arrested) we had no basis to cancel anything for anybody," Maglaras replied.
Maglaras also noted that a $600 check Brave had donated toward a golf fund-raiser to benefit residents of the county nursing home had bounced.

Brave is charged with one count of theft by deception (a class A felony) for stealing about $19,000 in Strafford County funds by submitting personal expenses for reimbursement with fraudulent justifications;
two counts of falsifying physical evidence (both class B felonies) - one for submitting false reimbursement justifications, and one for altering a receipt submitted for reimbursement;
five counts of Perjury (all class B felonies) for lying in his testimony before the Strafford County Grand Jury during the course of the investigation.

Brave is facing up to 31½-to-64 years in prison and fines of up to $32,000.00 if convicted on all counts.