A BRISTOL COUNTY deputy sheriff discovered crime can pay even if you get caught.
Floyd Teague, a deputy sheriff whose duties included holding public auctions of seized boats, cars, trucks, and homes, got caught illegally steering a modular home to his wife for $20,000. His wife then invested $45,000 in the property and sold it five months later for $309,900, a gain of nearly $245,000.
According to a disposition agreement released Thursday by the State Ethics Commission, Teague violated the state’s conflict of interest law by using his official position to benefit himself and his wife. The agreement required Teague to pay $40,000 in ethics fines and $25,000 in “economic advantage damages.”
Even with those payments deducted, however, Teague and his wife turned a profit of $179,900 on the deal.
Teague was hired in March 2023 to seize and sell at auction a modular home in an undisclosed neighboring county. He required bidders to come with $5,000 in cash or certified check, and pay that amount immediately if they won the auction, with the balance to be paid by the end of the business day. “No exceptions,” said his notice of sale.
“Teague agreed to place a $20,000 bid for his spouse on the unit knowing and intending he would use his official position as the deputy sheriff conducting the auction to place and accept her absentee bid,” according to the disposition agreement, which Teague signed.
A walk-through of the property was held and then Teague announced he had a $20,000 bid in hand, nearly $1,500 more than the minimum set by the homeowner’s association, which was attempting to recover fees unpaid by the previous owner.
“None of the other dozen or so attendees at the auction uttered a bid before Teague closed out the auction by saying ‘going once, going twice, sold for $20,000,’” according to the disposition agreement.
Teague’s wife did not pay the $5,000 immediately after winning the bid, but later that day she delivered a $20,000 check for the property. The couple subsequently spent $45,000 renovating the unit and landscaping the outside. In October 2023, she sold the home for $309,900.
“The Teagues filed a joint federal tax return in 2023. The Teagues did not report any gains from the sale of the unit on their 2023 federal tax return,” according to the disposition agreement.
The state’s conflict of interest law prohibits state employees from participating in matters in which they or their immediate family have a financial interest. Teague violated the law four times by placing his spouse’s bid, by conducting an auction in which his wife was bidding, by awarding his wife the home, and by not requiring her to produce the $5,000.
Teague was fined $10,000 for each ethics violation and ordered to pay an amount equal to his “economic advantage” up to a maximum of $25,000. Even so, Teague, who worked at the Bristol County sheriff’s office from 2019 until January 23, 2024, turned a hefty profit on the deal.
Gerry Tuotti, a spokesperson for the Ethics Commission, said he is not aware of any current proposal to raise the economic advantage penalties.
The Bristol County sheriff is Paul Heroux, who fired Teague when he learned of the investigation into his activities. Heroux in 2022 defeated the incumbent sheriff, Thomas Hodgkins, who had held the position since 1997.
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