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Retired LA Deputy Gets 3 Years For Embezzlement

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A retired Los Angeles sheriff's deputy has been sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling nearly $500,000 in towing fees that should have gone to the city of La Puente.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Joseph Dyer was sentenced Tuesday.

Dyer supervised the impound program, collecting towing fees from residents. Prosecutors said he pocketed the money between 2001 and 2007 instead of giving it to the city.

The 56-year-old pleaded no contest on April 7 to a felony count of public officer crime. His wife, Lydia Dyer, pleaded no contest to filing a false tax return and was sentenced to 12 months' probation.

As a condition of their plea, the couple repaid the Sheriff's Department $455,000, plus another $100,000 for investigative expenses.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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