By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
Paul Tanaka, a former Los Angeles County undersheriff, was sentenced to five years in prison Monday after he was convicted in April of conspiracy and obstructing an FBI investigation into deputy jail abuse.
Prosecutors alleged Tanaka, 57, gave deputies permission to use violence against inmates and protected them from recourse, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Tanaka also was accused of directing his underlings to intimidate the FBI during the investigation and conceal the whereabouts of an inmate working as a federal agent.
“Not only did he fail to identify and address problems in the jails, he exacerbated them,” the judge said of Tanaka.
