SOUNDS LIKE OUR VERY OWN ACTING SHERIFF RUB A CHUB

Boy, does this sound like ole Rub a Chub himself. I heard ACTING Sheriff Rub-a-chub got to shake hands with President Bush yesterday. I guess he took ACTING Major Forbis and Rub's Girlfriend (Candy) backstage to meet the man. Wonder if the Prez knew where Rub's hand had been??

This news story sounds like old Rub himself.....

Woman: Rub from official no accident
Hillsborough's tax collector faces an accusation that he touched a woman against her wishes.
By BEN MONTGOMERY
Published October 22, 2006


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TAMPA - Hillsborough County tax collector Doug Belden kissed a woman and intentionally rubbed her breasts with his elbow as he petted her Boston terrier, which sparked the woman to report Belden to Tampa police, the woman's attorney says.

Attorney Jeff Brown explained his client's side of the story in an interview Saturday afternoon. He said his client, Julie A. Irwin, 38, a Harbor Island jewelry maker, would not answer a reporter's questions.

Tampa police confirmed last week that they are investigating a battery complaint involving Belden.

Brown said Belden approached Irwin after 9 p.m. on Oct. 12 at Jackson's Bistro, an upscale steak and sushi restaurant on Harbour Island.

Irwin was reviewing business papers at the outside bar when Belden, who smelled of alcohol, walked over and began making unwanted advances, Brown said.

Belden asked Irwin if she knew who he was, Brown said. He then put his license on the bar and told her he was "the guy you give your money to," an apparent reference to the elected position he's held since 1998.

He said it like he was a celebrity, Brown said.

Brown said his client, who had never before met Belden, was uncomfortable and did nothing to warrant the advances.

Belden then kissed Irwin on the cheek, Brown said, and began petting Irwin's small Boston Terrier, Babar, who was sitting in Irwin's lap.

That's when he rubbed her breast with his elbow, more than once, "completely uninvited and against her wishes," Brown said. Brown said Irwin did not feel the rubbing was accidental.

"She knows where her dog ends and her breast begins," he said.

A bartender stepped in and asked Belden to move along, Brown said. The bartender could not be reached Saturday, nor did Jackson's general manager return a phone call. Irwin left the bar a short time later.

"I never touched her at all," Belden told the St. Petersburg Times last week. He said he may have petted her dog, but only her dog. He said he was making conversation because: "I'm single. She was single."

Belden was at the restaurant with a colleague, a local developer and three friends, he told the Times.

Belden referred calls to his attorney. Norman Cannella could not be reached Saturday.

Irwin contacted police with the allegations the following evening, around 7:30 p.m., a police spokesman said. She waited because she was so shocked, Brown said.

"She was amazed that this had happened," Brown said. "She's a person who had never been in that situation before."

He said she sought counsel from her family and friends before going to police.

"This has got nothing to do with collecting money, nothing to do with her business," Brown said when asked if Irwin had any ulterior motives. "As a woman, there comes a point when she says it's inappropriate."

Battery is when a person "actually and intentionally touches or strikes another person against the will of the other," according to state statutes.

Belden, 52, was elected in 1998 and his office was awarded the 2006 Sterling Quality Achievement Award for "quality leadership."

Ben Montgomery can be reached at bmontgomery@sptimes.com or 813 661-2443.

Does it ever....Someone at the Herald Tribune ought to look into how he interfered with an offical internal affairs investigation of his son. Word on the streets is he and Acting Major Forbis attempted to intimidate the IA Investigator, who I wont name, and he made several other calls to try to kep his son's job.

And this guy want to be Sheriff?? Word is he's trying to get his son in the fire department now. Guess LD thinks Fireman have no ethics and will hire him despite his recent firing and FDLE Inquiry.

Hey Larry, I hear Publix is hiring baggers if your son is seriously looking following the sheriff firing him. Then again, Publix may require ethics!! You remember what ethics are chief??

Then again, after DG becomes sheriff, perhaps you'd like that Publix job?
Hmm, they may not hire you either. You'd for sure fail a polygraph wherever you went?

Hey, being a cop is my calling, but now that I'm older, I sort of envy those firemen. They can lounge around the fire house, lifting weights, running the the treadmill, watching TV, taking naps in the recliner, or just plain sleeping in a cot unless the bell goes off. And they get paid a helluva lot more money than we do and we have that dam MDT computer tied to our ankle like it's a ball and chain. :roll:

Hey, being a cop is my calling, but now that I'm older, I sort of envy those firemen. They can lounge around the fire house, lifting weights, running the the treadmill, watching TV, taking naps in the recliner, or just plain sleeping in a cot unless the bell goes off. And they get paid a helluva lot more money than we do and we have that dam MDT computer tied to our ankle like it's a ball and chain. :roll:

ummm,yeah,,,,and all that "saving lives" stuff....uh, don't forget about that! They do lots more than "lounge around".

Belden publicly denied ever touching the woman. But then the SAO opened an investigation on Tuesday and reviewed the security tape that clearly shows him doing what he denied doing. This afternoon he held a press conference in which he said he regrets "inappropriately groping" the woman, but that he was off duty at the time and his actions that he's apologizing for in no way affect his job performance or the quality of service that he and his employees in the tax collectors office provide.

He said he inappropriately groped her. When is it "appropriate" to grope a stranger? And, because he was off-duty at the time that also makes it ok? What is it called when you "inappropriately grope" a woman while you are ON DUTY? If you're on duty at the time does that mean you can cover it up and deny that it happened and no further action will be taken? Or, is it ok to do this without any discipline only if you hold an elected office or are able to hold the "acting" position of the elected official in their absence? Hmmmm.

Belden publicly denied ever touching the woman. But then the SAO opened an investigation on Tuesday and reviewed the security tape that clearly shows him doing what he denied doing. This afternoon he held a press conference in which he said he regrets "inappropriately groping" the woman, but that he was off duty at the time and his actions that he's apologizing for in no way affect his job performance or the quality of service that he and his employees in the tax collectors office provide.

He said he inappropriately groped her. When is it "appropriate" to grope a stranger? And, because he was off-duty at the time that also makes it ok? What is it called when you "inappropriately grope" a woman while you are ON DUTY? If you're on duty at the time does that mean you can cover it up and deny that it happened and no further action will be taken? Or, is it ok to do this without any discipline only if you hold an elected office or are able to hold the "acting" position of the elected official in their absence? Hmmmm.

Geeze O'Pete, how do you find this stuff!!! Amazing!!!