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According to New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave used taxpayer money to subsidize his love life and lied about it to a grand jury.

“The decision to charge an elected constitutional officer was not made lightly,” Formella said. “However, no person is above the law, and the evidence in this case required action. It is my hope that the public will be reassured that there will be equal justice under the law for every person in this state – including public officials.”

Brave denied any wrongdoing Thursday morning when he turned himself in to state police. He has blamed his downfall on county politics, not his multiple affairs.

“I will go in civilian clothing, no weapons, and bring my $40 for the bail commissioner,” Brave told Foster’s Daily Democrat prior to his arrest. “I expect I will be photographed and fingerprinted. What I want is to get ahead of this situation and to get a trial date.

“I will fight this all the way. If I had done anything wrong, I’d own it. But I, 100 percent, did nothing wrong.”

Brave also blamed racism by county officials for the investigation that resulted in criminal charges. Formella said Thursday saw no evidence that racism played a part.

“That is unsubstantiated,” Formella said.

Brave allegedly stole $19,000 from Strafford County taxpayers through a scheme in which he submitted fake receipts for expenses related to his affairs, according to Formella. He also repeatedly lied about his actions, at one point roping U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-Manchester) into his fabrications.

He is charged with one count of theft by deception, two counts of falsifying physical evidence, and five counts of perjury. If convicted on all counts, Brave would face a 31-to-64-year prison sentence.

According to Formella, Brave tried to hide the fact his spending was connected to his affairs by falsifying one receipt to remove the identity of a female companion, and by submitting numerous false justifications for reimbursement. They included attending conferences and meetings that he did not attend or did not occur, or for organizations that did not exist. 

Formella said that county officials became suspicious about Brave’s spending and alerted the state in April. Once the Attorney General’s Office began to investigate, Brave lied to investigators and a grand jury, Formella said.

The first perjury charge involved a female employee who traveled with Brave to Florida. The woman told investigators she did not stay in the same hotel room as Brave. Instead, she claimed, she stayed with family.

The woman later admitted to the grand jury that she did stay in the same hotel room as Brave. But the sheriff is alleged to have repeated her earlier version of events.

The second perjury charge concerned allegations that Brave stated he attended events for a fictitious law enforcement organization. 

The third perjury charge related to a trip Brave took to Maryland. Brave told the grand jury he was scheduled to meet with Pappas, but that the congressman had to cancel the meeting and gave Brave a flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol as an apology. 

“Records from the congressman’s office indicate that no such meeting was ever scheduled, and no such gift of a flag as an apology ever took place. Rather, based on investigation, Sheriff Brave is alleged to have actually met a paramour who lived in the area,” Formella said.

The fourth and fifth perjury charges concerned a dinner cruise and hotel stay for Brave in Boston. He told the grand jury he purchased the tickets in advance so he and a male deputy could attend a charity fundraiser. But the investigation found Brave bought the tickets on the same day as the cruise for himself and another paramour to attend the event together – which was on the paramour’s birthday.  

Brave is further alleged to have alternatively claimed in his testimony that he did not remember the trip, that no one stayed with him at his hotel, and that he did not recall if his paramour spent the night with him. After hotel surveillance video showed he was lying, Brave then admitted the paramour spent the night with him at the hotel for romantic and sexual purposes, according to Formella.

Brave is still the head of the Strafford County Sheriff’s Department. Formella said his office does not have the legal ability to remove Brave from office.

“There’s a process to remove him, but that will be up to county officials,” Formella said.

County Administrator Ray Bower did not respond to a request for comment. 

Brave, a Democrat, became the state’s first elected Black sheriff in 2020. During his campaign, he aligned himself with the Black Lives Matter movement, promising to get police officers out of schools. However, he contracted with a local school department to have a deputy assigned to schools once elected.

Brave has been considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, and he still has some powerful political allies. He is represented by the influential and well-connected Democratic law firm of Shaheen and Gordon — the “Shaheen” being Billy Shaheen, husband of U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

In July, when news of the investigation broke, Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington continued to list Brave on the endorsements page of her Warmington for Governor website.

After Brave’s arrest, his name was removed from the list of endorsements.

New Hampshire GOP state chair Chris Ager released a statement after Brave’s arrest.

“Sheriff Brave’s corrupt acts are yet another example of Democrats’ brazen lack of consideration for the communities they serve,” said Ager

“While hard-working Granite Staters struggle to make ends meet, Democrat Sheriff Mark Brave thought it was okay to defraud taxpayers for his personal gain, and then lie about it under oath.”

“Contrary to what Brave clearly believes, Democrats are not above the law.”

The feud between Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave, who is currently under criminal investigation, and his fellow Democrats on the County Commission took a turn Friday with the three commissioners accusing Brave of leaking confidential information and misleading the public.

Brave is facing allegations of theft and abuse of office which are being investigated by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Public Integrity Unit. Brave broke news of that investigation, and also revealed he has already been investigated by outside firm Municipal Resources Inc. in a separate matter initiated by the commissioners.

Brave said he is being investigated for taking a female employee on a trip to Florida using county money, and for allegedly paying the woman’s housing expenses also with county money. Brave is denying any wrongdoing.

Additionally, Brave claims the dispute is a case of political bullying. Brave and all three elected commissioners are Democrats.

Now, Commissioners George Maglaras, Robert Watson, and Deanna Rollo are pushing back, issuing a letter accusing Brave of “misleading the public.”

“For whatever reason, Sheriff Brave has made the choice to disclose parts of the MRI report while answering questions about the separate Attorney General criminal investigation. It is unfortunate that Sheriff Brave has chosen to release only portions of the MRI report to the public, portions that when taken out of context are helpful to himself, but misleading to the public,” the letter states.

In January, MRI was hired to look into Brave. The report from MRI is not being released to the public, and County Attorney Tom Verlardi denied NHJournal’s Right to Know request. Velardi stated in his response to NHJournal that the MRI report is considered a personnel record, and therefore exempt from the Right to Know law, 91-A.

Financial records obtained by NHJournal show the county paid more than $2,500 for the investigation and report. In other words, even though Strafford County taxpayers paid for the MRI report, they are not allowed to see it.

The commissioners stated that while they want to release the full report, they are unable to do so under New Hampshire law. They also argued Brave is using the MRI investigation to muddy the waters around the unrelated inquiry by the Attorney General’s Office.

“We are disheartened that Sheriff Brave would choose to go on a publicity tour using parts of the MRI report to defend himself in the totally separate Attorney General criminal investigation. We would very much like to have the contents of the MRI report made public so that confidence is restored in those county officials trying to hold all county employees responsible for their noncriminal actions, even an elected sheriff. Our wish for disclosure of the report, however, does not change our statutory obligation to maintain the confidentiality of the report as a confidential disciplinary record,” their letter stated.

The MRI investigation was initiated weeks after Brave’s wife, Jamie Brave, was arrested for DUI in Portsmouth. NHJournal learned Brave was a passenger in the car at the time of the arrest and that he was too intoxicated to drive, according to police reports. A police officer brought the sheriff to the house of a friend and placed him in the friend’s custody, raising questions about whether Brave received special treatment.

Brave has claimed in the media that he was investigated for allegedly not telling the truth to the commissioners about the arrest. He also accused Maglaras of using a racial slur. Brave told the Rochester Voice that Maglaras called him “the token Black guy and the token’s gonna be up soon.”

Jimenez’s letter to Brave recommends that Brave place himself on the state’s Laurie List, or EES, for police officers with known credibility problems.

Brave’s name is not on the most recent public EES released on July 6 by the New Hampshire Department of Justice. Under state law, police officers placed on the list have the opportunity to keep their identities secret pending appeal.

Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave and his deputies are getting the boot from Frisbie Memorial Hospital as the Rochester healthcare facility is moving its security staff in-house. Hospital administrators say it’s about money, but observers suspect the recent scandals involving Brave and his wife, Jamie, also played a role.

Brave’s contract ends on July 22, according to a letter sent to Brave this week. The hospital’s Chief Financial Officer Matt Untch told Brave the reason for the termination is finances.

“I am writing to inform you that Frisbie Memorial Hospital will be terminating our contract with the Strafford County Sheriff’s Office effective July 22nd, 2023, due to budgetary constraints and improvements to Security staffing,” Untch wrote. 

The contract with Frisbie is worth up to $100,000 annually for Brave’s department. Brave thanked the hospital administration for the contract in place for the last year and a half.

“I would like to thank the Frisbie Hospital administration and staff for utilizing my office as a resource and a tool during a time of need,” Brave said in a statement. “The SCSO team will always be available in the future to your organization if needed.”

News of the cancellation comes months after Mark Brave’s wife, Jamie Brave, left her job as Frisbie’s Chief Nursing Officer following a drunk driving arrest in December. According to police reports, Mark Brave was a passenger in the couple’s Mercedes at the time of his wife’s arrest, but he was too intoxicated to drive home. Police took the sheriff to a friend’s home nearby while his wife was booked.

The hospital has stated Jamie Brave was not involved in the original negotiations that gave the six-figure contract to her husband’s department. However, a whistleblower recently told NH Journal that Jamie Brave was key to initially bringing the sides together.

Senior Director of Marketing and Communications for Frisbie, Ellen Miller, did not mention the DUI arrest as a reason for the contract termination. Instead, she said hiring Brave’s department was always meant to be a temporary fix until the hospital could hire more of its own staff.

“Frisbie’s contract with the sheriff’s office, while valuable, was intended to be a short-term solution. As of this April, we are pleased to share that our hospital security team is once again fully staffed and able to provide 24-hour coverage,” Miller said. “By moving security services back in-house, we are able to employ full-time security staff who receive health benefits.”

According to Miller, the contract was necessary to give the hospital time to find qualified people to work as in-house security. However, the hospital previously maintained it contracted with Brave’s department to boost security following a 2020 incident that left a hospital security staffer fatally injured. Rick Semo, a Frisbie security guard, was assaulted by Tyler Thurston outside the hospital’s emergency room in December 2020. Semo died days later from his injuries.

Raising more questions is the fact that, at the time Frisbie was giving Brave’s department the $100,000-a-year contract, the hospital’s parent company was recommending cuts to the security team. 

Weeks after Semo’s death, an executive with Frisbie’s parent company, Tennessee-based HCA Healthcare, issued a report recommending the cuts to security staff. To cut security, according to an internal report obtained by NHJournal. HCA’s Kat Kemper’s report stated Frisbie needs only one security officer on duty at all times, 24/7, and one supervisor on duty 40 hours a week.

The Frisbie contract was not Brave’s only security contract. The Strafford County Sheriff’s Office also provides a deputy to the Farmington School District to serve as a School Resource Officer/Truancy Officer.

Brave, a Democrat who is New Hampshire’s first elected Black sheriff, ran for office on a platform opposing placing police officers in schools.

Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave’s lucrative contract with Frisbie Memorial Hospital was reached after an internal report recommended cutting back on security at the facility.

How did it happen? Critics say it didn’t hurt that Brave’s wife Jamie is Frisbie’s former Chief Nursing Officer.

Jamie Brave left her job at Frisbie in December, days after being arrested for allegedly driving drunk after a Christmas party. Mark Brave was also in the couple’s Mercedes at the time of the stop and deemed too intoxicated to drive for his wife. Both Brave’s had a reported blood alcohol level of more than 0.15 percent, nearly twice the legal limit of .08 percent.

Hospital officials tell NHJournal there is no connection between Jamie Brave’s senior position at the hospital and the administration’s decision to override recommendations in order to hire her husband.

“We have a signed conflict of interest statement from (Jaimie Brave),” said Ellen Miller, the hospital’s marketing and communications director.

Frisbie started a contract with Brave last year that maxes out at $100,000 annually.

Sources who contacted NHJournal, however, said while Jamie Brave was not in the room during any negotiations between hospital administration and Mark Brave, she was instrumental in bringing the two sides together.

Mark Brave did not respond to requests for comment.

Miller told NHJournal that Mark Brave was contracted to provide extra security in response to an incident that left a hospital security staffer fatally injured. Rick Semo, a Frisbie security guard, was assaulted by Tyler Thurston outside the hospital’s emergency room in December 2020. Semo died days later from his injuries.

While it might make sense for the hospital to add security staff to the campus in the wake of Semo’s death, in reality, Frisbie’s parent company, Tennessee-based HCA Healthcare, wanted to cut security in the weeks after the attack, according to an internal report obtained by NHJournal.

The Physical Security Assessment by HCA’s Kat Kemper and sent to former Frisbie CEO Jeff Cionti and CFO Matt Untch on Jan. 12, 2021, stated Frisbie should cut its number of full-time equivalent unarmed security staffers down to 5.2 full-time employees.

Kemper’s assessment stated the hospital was considered low-risk and needed only one security officer on duty around the clock and one supervisor on duty 40 hours a week. Sources say the hospital followed that recommendation for staffing levels, with deputies on campus supplementing the one staffer.

The report also stated there were security risks in the hospital’s labor and delivery department. The security staff did not have the ability to monitor the department electronically, and the hospital was placing non-labor and delivery patients into the department. In addition, Kemper’s report stated a teenager placed on a “hold” was in a room inside the same department as newborn infants and mothers. “Hold” is a term typically used for people in custody for a mental health crisis.

Frisbie has since announced plans to close its labor and delivery department. Pregnant women will be diverted to Portsmouth Regional Hospital for healthcare services.

Kemper’s report also found the hospital had not completed an annual risk assessment for infant security and pediatric security.

Miller said she was unaware of the report’s existence when contacted by NHJournal.

Sources tell NHJournal the hospital is currently understaffed when it comes to security, even with the addition of deputies from Brave’s department. The security situation puts staff and patients at risk, the sources, said and puts security staffers in the position of having to use force more often in potentially violent situations.

While security contracts like the one at Frisbie are common for New Hampshire sheriff departments, Brave’s department has just two: The Frisbie contract and a contract with the Farmington School District to provide a deputy to serve as a School Resource Officer/Truancy Officer.

Brave, a Democrat who is New Hampshire’s first elected Black sheriff, ran on a platform opposing police officers in schools.