We test your knowledge of high jinks in our clink

4/16/2009

Pop quiz, Toledo!

Sharpen your pencils, put away your books and cell phones, and get ready for the Sheriff Jim Telb Quiz: Retrospective Jailhouse Edition!

We've got a full smorgasbord today - some multiple choice, a few true-false questions, and even an essay.

Good luck!

And no, we're not grading on a curve.

•

No. 1: Two inmates used a hacksaw in 1996 to cut through a county jail fifth-floor window, crawling down the exterior steel bars to flee into the night.

What object was used to conceal the hacksaw?

(a) a cake

(b) a greeting card

No. 2: What year did the following appear in a Blade editorial?

"When the FBI is investigating a former deputy sheriff on as-yet unspecified charges, and a triple-murder suspect in maximum security in the county jail gets his hands on a gun, a wad of cash, and a cell phone the night before a court date, something stinks in Sheriff James Telb's Spielbusch Avenue lockup."

(a) 2003

(b) 1988

No. 3: When county officials discovered that a retired sheriff's office command officer was driving a marked police cruiser 10 years (!) after his retirement, what was Sheriff Telb's reaction?

(a) "For real? Go figure "

(b) "That's outrageous! I promise this to the taxpayers: Heads will roll!"

c) "We didn't think it was a big deal because he was only driving it a few thousand miles a year."

No. 4: What year did the following appear in a Blade editorial?

"Sheriff James Telb needs to put some bars over the 'window of opportunity' an inmate used to escape from the Lucas County jail and allegedly rob a bank while at large for 25 hours. Speeding up a planned video surveillance system would be a good first step. This week's escape was the third major security lapse at the jail in four years."

(a) 2006

(b) 2001

No. 5: True or false:

A jail counselor was sent to prison for taking bribes to bring an inmate bullets, a cell phone, pizza, and champagne.

No. 6: True or false:

While sentencing a onetime corrections officer caught in an undercover drug sting in 2003, Lucas County Common Pleas Court Judge Gene Zmuda said he was "shocked at the [jail] security," and that Sheriff Telb was both his "close friend" and "asleep at the switch."

No. 7: Essay question:

Find something positive to say about years of hard-to-believe incidents in the county jail and sheriff's department.

----

ANSWER KEY:

1: (b)

2: (a)

3: (c)

4: (a)

5: False (There was no champagne. That we know of.)

6: False (Actually, that was Judge James Bates.)

7: It's an essay question, folks. You're on your own.

Roberta de Boer is a columnist for The Blade.

At toledoblade.com on Tuesdays, she and sports columnist Dave Hackenberg offer point-counterpoint on issues large and small.

Contact Roberta at:

roberta@theblade.com

or 419-724-6086.