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Donald B. Smith

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Donald B. Smith
A white man in a US Army uniform is facing the camera, smiling and looking into it.
Brigadier General Smith in January 1994
Born (1947-09-18) September 18, 1947 (age 77)
Danbury, Connecticut, US
Education
Occupations
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Jane Powell
​
​
(m. 1972; died 2015)​
ChildrenTwo; nine grandchildren
Military career
BranchUnited States Army
Years1969–
RankBrigadier general
ConflictsVietnam War[1]
Awards
54th Sheriff of Putnam County, NY
In office
January 1, 2002 (2002-01-01) – December 29, 2017 (2017-12-29)
Preceded byRobert D. Thoubboron
Succeeded byRobert L. Langley Jr.
Signature

Donald Blaine Smith (born September 18, 1947) is an American former sheriff of Putnam County, New York, and a retired United States Army officer.

Personal life

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Donald Blaine Smith,[2] born on September 18, 1947[3] in Danbury, Connecticut, grew up in the Putnam County town of Patterson, New York.[1] Smith married Jane Powell (born 1951) on June 24, 1972, at the Holy Trinity Church in Pawling, New York; she died of breast cancer on December 6, 2015. Smith has two children (Christopher and Cherilynne)[4] and, as of December 2017, nine grandchildren.[1] That same year, records showed that Smith owned multiple properties in New York, Florida, and Virginia with a summative value of US$1.149 million (equivalent to about $1.428M in 2023).[5]

Education

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Smith graduated from the New York Military Academy in 1965, and the United States Military Academy in 1969. After receiving his Bachelor of Science from the latter, Smith was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. Smith later earned his Master of Science in systems management from the University of Southern California.[1]

Military career

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While in the Army, Smith attended and graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the National Defense University (1986). From 1993–1996, Smith served as the chief of the United States delegation to the International Military Sports Council.[1]

Awards received during his military service include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, two Legion of Merits, the Bronze Star Medal, three Meritorious Service Medals, and two Army Commendation Medals.[1] Smith's promotion from colonel to brigadier general was scheduled to go before the United States Senate on March 3, 1992;[6] he later retired from the Army at that higher rank.[7]

Sheriff's career

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Robert D. Thoubboron was elected as the Putnam County, New York sheriff in 1985, but by 2001, he and his office were embroiled in controversies including abuse of civil and political rights, drunken law enforcement officers, and retaliatory abuse of power.[8] Smith, then the deputy county executive for Putnam County (since 1999),[1] had no law-enforcement experience. Despite this, he secured the endorsement of the Democratic, Conservative, Independence, and Green parties[8] before defeating Thoubboron in the 2001 Putnam County Republican Party primary election. With the single-purpose platform of "bring[ing] integrity back to the Sheriff's Department leadership,"[9] Smith received 62% of votes to Thoubboron's 38%.[10] Instead of conceding however, Thoubboron ran against Smith again in the general election under the banner of "Safe County", a political party created solely for the incumbent sheriff;[9] on November 11, 2001, Smith defeated Thoubboron again, this time with 76% of the vote.[11]

Elected as the 54th sheriff of Putnam County,[12] Smith took office on January 1, 2002. According to the Putnam County Sheriff's Department biography of Smith, during the sheriff's tenure he has focused his efforts on community policing, "increasing the intensity of the war on drugs," and promoting "drivers’ safety programs and safety belt usage". Smith's biography also said that his leadership is responsible for the expansion of school resource officers in Putnam County middle and high schools.[1]

Smith has been a three-time officeholder with the New York State Sheriffs' Association (NYSSA), serving as their president, chairman of their legislative committee, and as a trustee on their executive board.[1] In 2013, while representing the NYSSA, Smith evoked the United States Declaration of Independence and the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution when he spoke out against the NY SAFE Act. The NYSSA and Smith personally joined the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association's lawsuit alleging the legislation violated the constitutions of the United States and of New York.[13] After the 2016 death of Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, the lawsuit was dropped out of fear that the court could rule against them, setting precedent.[14]

By 2017, Smith's county salary was $142,818 (equivalent to $177,524 in 2023).[5] Running that year for his fifth term as sheriff, Smith lost to Robert L. Langley Jr. by 341 votes. After 16 years as sheriff, Smith stepped down as Langley was sworn-in on December 29, 2017.[15]

Electoral history

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2001 primary, Sheriff, Putnam County, New York[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Donald B. Smith 3,536 61.75
Republican Robert D. Thoubboron 2,189 38.23
2001 general, Sheriff, Putnam County, New York[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Donald B. Smith 15,741 75.63
Safe County Robert D. Thoubboron 5,068 24.35
2005 general, Sheriff, Putnam County, New York[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Donald B. Smith 13,254 99.98
2009 general, Sheriff, Putnam County, New York[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Donald B. Smith 11,563 59.72
Democratic Kevin J. McConville 6,440 33.26
Working Families Jim Borkowski 1,351 6.98
2013 general, Sheriff, Putnam County, New York[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Donald B. Smith 11,524 98.76
2017 general, Sheriff, Putnam County, New York[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Robert L. Langley 12,330 49.67
Republican Donald B. Smith 12,006 48.37

Adam Levy controversy

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Adam Levy served as the Putnam County, New York district attorney (DA) from 2007–2015, and his relationship with Smith quickly befouled when each began arguing with the other over "perceived intrusions into each man's respective county agency." By January 2013, Smith had begun writing to New York and United States federal law enforcement agencies about Levy's alleged interference.[7]

Alexandru Hossu was a Romanian in the United States on a years-expired travel visa. A friend and personal trainer to Levy, Hossu was arrested by the Putnam County Sheriff's Department on March 20, 2013, and charged with raping a 12-year-old girl. Levy claimed the arrest was a political stunt by Smith in an effort to embarrass the district attorney; the sheriff's office issued press releases declaring Levy's address as Hossu's, though the latter "had not stayed there for months." Smith responded by saying that Levy was interfering with the investigation and that "Levy, 'or someone acting at his direction,' had even tipped off Hossu and coached him on what to say during a monitored call with the alleged rape victim prior to the arrest."[7]

DA Levy contributed $30,000 to his friend's defense, and Hossu's lawyer was Levy's brother-in-law. Levy denied interfering in the criminal investigation nor knowing Hossu's visa status at the time of the arrest. Smith released a retraction "in which he apologized and acknowledged statements he made about Levy were 'untrue.'" In June 2017, Levy's defamation lawsuit against Smith was settled with the sheriff agreeing to drop his own lawsuit against Levy and pay $150,000 (equivalent to $186,451 in 2023).[7] Of that amount, Smith paid $25,000 while Putnam County paid the rest. In late 2019, Hossu's lawsuit against Smith and the county was finalized: the government's insurer paid the man $500,000 (equivalent to $595,861 in 2023), while the county itself owed half as much.[20]

Community involvement

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In the Putnam County region, Smith has been involved in community organizations including as president of the Westchester–Putnam Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the Mental Health Association in Putnam County.[1] As of December 2017, Smith was the chairman of the American Security Council Foundation's board of directors.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Sheriff Donald B. Smith". Putnam County, New York: Putnam County Sheriff's Department. June 2017. Archived from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  2. ^ "West Point Association of Graduates". Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  3. ^ Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Episcopal Diocese of New York Church Records, 1767-1970 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.
  4. ^ "Jane Powell Smith, 64, Of Kent Lakes". Putnam Daily Voice. Kent Lakes, New York. December 10, 2015. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Fitz-Gibbon, Jorge (October 26, 2017). "Putnam sheriff Don Smith's $150K defamation settlement against Adam Levy under scrutiny". The Journal News. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  6. ^ Hackett, Gerald A. (March 3, 1992). "Executive Calendar" (PDF). United States Senate. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d Fitz-Gibbon, Jorge (September 28, 2017). "Putnam Sheriff Don Smith wanted ex-DA Adam Levy charged by feds, records show". The Journal News. White Plains, New York. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  8. ^ a b Chen, David W. (June 14, 2001). "Critics Say Sheriff Is the Law; In Bucolic Putnam County, an Election Stirs Passions". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Putnam Sheriff Won't Concede Despite Defeat by Newcomer". The New York Times. September 28, 2001. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  10. ^ "Putnam County Primary Election" (PDF). Putnam County, New York: Putnam County Board of Elections. September 11, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 8, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  11. ^ a b c "Putnam County General Election" (PDF). Putnam County, New York: Putnam County Board of Elections. November 6, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 8, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  12. ^ "Sheriffs of Putnam County". Putnam County, New York: Putnam County Sheriff's Department. Archived from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  13. ^ Okyay, Raquel (May 24, 2013). "Empire State sheriffs, Cuomo SAFE Act showdown". Human Events. ISSN 0018-7194. OCLC 818923121. Archived from the original on October 25, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  14. ^ Mann, Brian (May 8, 2016). "Gun rights group drops SAFE Act challenge". North Country Public Radio. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  15. ^ Taliaferro, Lanning (December 31, 2017). "2018 Ushers In New Era At Putnam County Sheriff's Office". Southeast-Brewster Patch. Patch.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018. A new leadership team headed by Robert L. Langley Jr. took the reins Friday after a swearing-in ceremony at the historic courthouse.
  16. ^ "Putnam County General Election" (PDF). Putnam County, New York: Putnam County Board of Elections. November 8, 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  17. ^ "Putnam County General Election" (PDF). Putnam County, New York: Putnam County Board of Elections. November 3, 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  18. ^ "Putnam County General Election" (PDF). Putnam County, New York: Putnam County Board of Elections. November 5, 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  19. ^ "Putnam County General Election" (PDF). Putnam County, New York: Putnam County Board of Elections. November 7, 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 13, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  20. ^ Cunningham, Douglas (February 9, 2020). "Cunningham's Corner: The Costs of Having Donald Smith as Sheriff". The Putnam County News. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  21. ^ "Board of Directors". Washington, D.C.: American Security Council Foundation. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
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