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Former SLO County employee sentenced to six years prison

August 21, 2024

Norman Hibble

By KAREN VELIE

A San Luis Obispo County judge on Wednesday sentenced a former county employee to six years in state prison.

Norman Hibble pleaded no contest in July to seven embezzlement counts. He also admitted to the sentencing enhancement of stealing more than $100,000.

In 2008, Hibble began working for the county. While he worked as a supervisor in the Information Technology Department, Hibble was issued a county credit card in 2016 which was to be used for official county business only.

Over several years, Hibble used his county credit card for countless personal and often exorbitant purchases. Hibble concealed his crimes by falsifying records and modifying invoices to disguise his thefts as legitimate purchases.

Hibble used the stolen funds to purchase items such as disc jockey and lighting equipment believed to have been used in his personal event company Light and Sound, high-end photographic gear, an electric scooter, a telescope, a crossbow, and even large shipping containers which Hibble appears to have used to store many of the items he bought with stolen county funds.

County administration terminated Hibble in Jan. 2024.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Superior Court Judge Crystal Seiler also ordered Hibble to pay restitution to the county.

It is estimated Hibble stole more than $500,000 from the county. A hearing to determined the exact amount of restitution owed is scheduled for Oct. 2.

 


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The corrupt County of SLO should be required to display the DJ and lighting equipment, cameras, electric scooter, telescope and crossbow in a display case at the government center.


1

What ever happened to the crook(s) who embezzled public funds from the IWMA of SLO County. If I recall Carolyn Goodrich was charged with embezzling funds and moved to Tennessee, then years later Peter Cron alleged it was all an accounting error, but the funds were still missing. So where is the county at in recovering those funds?


11

SLO County is so corrupt. I went to a conference where I was mistakenly charged $7 for for bottled water from the room bar, my public employer’s finance department was all over it. 500,000? That is systemic Rita Neal-style corruption.


21

How does a county employee, just using a credit, make $500,000 in purchases without any obvious supervision. There must have been some sort of budget guideline that was egregiously ignored by his Supervisors.


46

Actually it is a lot easier than you think. The people above that are in charge of authorizing purchases are not tech savvy and/or usually never question any purchases. They are paid rubber stampers.


24

Not where I worked. All purchases using cards were to be pre-approved and if over $1,000, finance had to override my limit.


0

This sounds oddly similar to when the administrator of the IWMA was caught using the office credit card for vacations, flowers and shopping trips, among other things. His employees used it to pay home phone bills! All he got was an early retirement, and split so fast that they never did go after him for restitution. I guess if you wait long enough, people will just forget…NOT!


37

He’ll be out in less than 3 years, more likely less than 2, then he can retire on his government pension. Unlikely he will have to payback the entire $500,000+ he stole


31