By C1 Staff
RUTHERFORD, Tenn. — An e-cigarette vendor has been suspended from doing business at the Rutherford County Jail due to having connections to the county sheriff and his family.
The Post reports that Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold, his wife, and aunt and uncle, along with Chief Deputy of Administration Joe Russell have connections with Georgia-based JailCigs, which markets electronic cigarettes nationwide.
Arnold listed JailCigs as an investment and source of income on a financial disclosure form filed with the Tennessee Ethics Commission in January. His wife, Megan, was also listed as holding investments in the company.
The company is owned by Arnold’s uncle and aunt, John and Judy Vanderveer, and by Russell, Arnold’s campaign chairman and financial chief at the sheriff’s office.
Arnold won election to a second term last August.
Tennessee Law states that official misconduct occurs when a public servant commits an offense with intent to obtain a benefit or use his official capacity to receive a benefit not allowed by law; whether this occurred or not is still under investigation.
Rutherford County started allowing inmates to smoke e-cigarettes in late 2013. The sheriff’s office has posters and business cards in its lobby advertising JailCigs.
It’s unclear if the sheriff’s office took bids for the inmate services, or if it has a contract with JailCigs.
Arnold told reporters last week that he didn’t see a conflict of interest in the arrangement, and also said that he didn’t know his chief financial officer was a co-owner in JailCigs.