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- Witness Interview: Bob Gilbert
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- Bob Gilbert was interviewed at the sheriff's
department, after attorney Harold Mazza last week
alleged that Gilbert might have helped the late
Sheriff Lamar win the election.
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- G = Gilbert
- N = Det. Terry Nelson
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- N: Thanks for coming in today. Maybe you could
start by describing your relationship to Sheriff
Lamar.
- G: I don't know if you'd call it a relationship.
We just knew each other through business, you know,
professionally.
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- N: Since when?
- G: I've known Chuck forever, I've seen him around.
You know, I'm active with the Chamber, so I'd see him
at Red Ribbon Day and mixers and sometimes he'd come
if there was a problem out at a site, you know,
vandalism, whatever. But we never really talked that
much. I think it was really the Dickerson project that
it changed, back in March. I got a call from him
saying how much he supported the project and offering
to help, and after that he was always a real big
supporter.
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- N: Why was he so interested in it?
- G: What he told me was he thought it would be
great for the county, you know, with the university
and all, to have a business park here it town, to have
jobs for all the people graduating from the college.
He was thinking it would be like for computer
companies, high-tech stuff. He was really a visionary
in that way. He spoke up at that board meeting back in
April, saying it would be a great way to help give a
future to our kids. He was always thinking of the
kids.
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- N: What else did he do to support the project?
- G: He was just a great spokesman for it, all the
time. He was really helping build support for it.
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- N: Kind of like you supported his election bid?
- G: What?
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- N: Mr. Gilbert, Harold Mazza has made some serious
allegations that you helped get the sheriff into
office, maybe illegally.
- G: No! It wasn't anything like that. We didn't do
anything illegal, it wasn't illegal at all. I've
always voted for Chuck, this year was no different. As
far as I'm concerned, it was completely natural.
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- N: what exactly happened?
- G: Like I said, nothing out of the ordinary at
all. Nothing illegal. I was just supporting Chuck as
best I could.
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- N: Mr. Gilbert, we're trying to investigate what
caused Sheriff Lamar to commit suicide. This is a very
serious matter and we need some straight answers from
you. Could you please tell us what exactly you did for
the election?
- G: I'll tell you one thing for sure. Chuck didn't
strike me as the type to do that kind of thing. He
seemed to like where he was in life, he appreciated
life.
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- N: Mr. Gilbert, please answer the question.
- G: Look, it was hardly anything at all. I just
said I'd try to help get everyone I knew together to
support him, that's in no way illegal as far as I
know. I got the Chamber board to endorse him, and I
talked with the builders in town and got them on board
too. I got them to support him and donate a little
money, nothing big, just whatever they could give. You
know, 10, 20 dollars. I did Rotary, and Dottie helped
with the DAR. He asked me to help, so I did.
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- N: Did the sheriff pay you to do this?
- G: No, not really. Like I said, it's nothing
illegal. I just wanted to support him.
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- N: He didn't offer you anything in return? Was
this why he supported the project?
- G: No! No, no, it all happened after that. He
liked the project from he beginning, this was just in
September or so.
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- N: What exactly happened in September?
- G: Like I said, he asked me to help and I said I
would.
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- N: But there was some kind of payment? You said -
- G: No, not really payment. Look, I'll lay it out
on the line. I was getting pretty fed up with the
project - the EIR consultant up and quit on me, and
the county was supposed to be helping me find someone
else, cause I only know this one guy, and he said he
had too many other projects going on, down in Jackson.
It didn't seem to be too much of a priority though,
everyone I talked to was real slow, it turns out their
records are all out of date so they didn't know who
was still available, like I said it was just taking
forever. So as a favor Chuck said he would look into
it. Then, like as a way to thank him, I went ahead and
helped with the election. It was just him doing me a
favor and me returning it, happens all the time.
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- N: Did Sheriff Lamar help speed things up?
- G: No. He couldn't really figure it out, and then,
well, he was distracted by his daughter going missing
and everything. It was awful for him.
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- N: And there was nothing else related to the
election?
- G: No. Just that one favor. Nothing, no money or
anything like that.
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- N: Who was it you were dealing with at the county?
- G: The supervisors' office, and then I think they
were dealing with their planner and the permit
department, I think that's part of the assessors
office.
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- N: Do you remember any specific names?
- G: No, just Janine at the supervisors office,
she's an aide there.
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- N: All right. Mr. Giblert, when was the last time
you spoke with Sheriff Lamar?
- G: I guess it was last Wednesday. I called him to
congratulate him and he said he wanted to get back to
looking into the project, he apologized it was taking
so long.
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- N: You didn't see or talk to him after that?
- G: No. That was it.
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- N: All right, Mr. Gilbert. I think that's it for
now. Let us know if you can think of anything else.
- G: Okay.
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