The former sheriff and deputy of Glacier County on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana received sentences and fines on Thursday for stealing from an Indian agricultural program.

Former sheriff Gary Racine and his deputy Gary P. Evans admitted to stealing thousands from the American Indian Livestock Feed Program. The program is meant to provide help for ranchers on reservations who experience drought and other natural disasters but the men submitted false claims.

Racine was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay nearly $17,000 in restitution to the USDA's Farm Service Agency. He will be under probation for three years after his prison term. He pleaded for leniency and said he the Blackfeet Nation offered to employ him.

Evans was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay $5,140 in restitution. He was considered less of a conspirator than Racine.

Get the Story:
Ex-sheriff of Glacier County gets 6 months (The Great Falls Tribune 11/5)

Related Stories:
Ex-sheriff, deputy admit theft from Indian ag program (06/04)
Ex-sheriff, deputy admit theft from Indian ag program (06/04)