The AP is carrying a story about an arrest and indictment instigated by the US Attorney for Western Virginia of the sheriff and 12 employees , past and present in the Henry County Sheriff's department on charges of illegal drug and weapons dealings. They would seize firearms, narcotics, and other illegal substances during arrests and then put them back into the community.
http://www.forbes.com/...
Almost the entire department is affected by this corruption.
Cassell has been sheriff since 1992 in the rural county of about 58,000 residents along the North Carolina line.
The region's textile and furniture industries have been in decline and its unemployment rate is higher than the state average. The area is best known for the Martinsville Speedway, where NASCAR races are run twice a year.
Might this affect the Senate race since Henry County is a bastion of Allen votes?
Southwestern Virginia is the heart of Allen's political base. Is the Sheriff's an elected official? Is he a Republican? Does Sheriff Cassell play any significant role in local politics? If any answer is yes, what role might he be expected to play in Allen's GOTV campaign for this essential part of his base.
I don't know VA politics, but I could imagine this might undermine a source of Allen's support. Does anyone know Henry County and the environs well enough to know what this might mean for next week's election, not only Allen's race but the congressional and local contests as well?