GOOD RIDDANCE, SHAMELESS SHERIFF

Gerald Hege left the Davidson County Courthouse on Monday a common criminal -- although the self-appointed "toughest sheriff'' in America got off with a mere slap on the wrist.

Hege had faced 15 felony counts, including obstruction of justice and embezzlement.  But he struck a sweet deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to only two charges and resigning from office.  He also must pay $6,200 in restitution and spend three years on intensive probation.  The remaining charges will be dropped.  There will be no trial.

The plea deal brings to an anticlimactic conclusion one of the biggest law-enforcement scandals in North Carolina history.  It does, however, spare Davidson County the expense of a lengthy court battle.  And, finally, it allows the sheriff's department and the citizens to put the Hege era behind them.  There's a lot to be said for that, considering the former sheriff and his attorneys had seemed determined to draw out the trial longer than necessary.

Hege could have gotten prison time, and perhaps that's why he was agreeable to a plea.  The state had no fewer than 67 sworn affidavits from deputies who said they feared for their jobs after being told by Hege that those who spoke against him "were going to be gone.'' The affidavits allege that he harassed employees, private citizens and political rivals, engaged in racial profiling, falsified crime statistics and endangered the public.

Hege's Blue Line Foundation also was under investigation.  The so-called charity paid the sheriff's wife, its only salaried employee, more than half as much as the fallen officers' families it was supposed to serve.

A shameless self-promoter who spent more time polishing his national persona than pursuing criminals, Hege apparently believed he was above the law.  Superior Court Judge W.  Erwin Spainhour put that notion to rest when the disgraced sheriff appeared before him in court on Monday.  "No one is above the laws, not the president, not the judge and certainly not the sheriff of Davidson County,'' the judge said.

Within hours of word getting out about Hege's resignation, at least a half-dozen candidates had stepped forward to express interest in serving out the remainder of his term.  The executive committee of the Davidson County Republican Party is expected to make that call within the next 30 days.  The new sheriff will serve through 2006.

Several candidates have considerable experience in law enforcement, including Maj.  Dallas Hedrick, the acting sheriff who has done a fine job of moving the department forward under difficult circumstances.

Ideally, the party will pick the best man for the job, leaving politics out of the picture.  After all, a great many of Hege's problems can be traced to politics and its corrupting influence.