Nutting’s wife says he didn’t pursue illegal loans
By Peter Hecht, Sacramento Bee
Taking the witness stand in defense of her husband, the wife of El Dorado County Supervisor Ray Nutting testified Thursday that the embattled supervisor didn’t solicit county employees to bail himself out of jail.
Jennifer Nutting’s testimony in the politically charged case challenged the prosecution’s assertion that her husband violated state laws by borrowing money from people working for his office or government agency.
The El Dorado supervisor faces felony and misdemeanor political malfeasance charges related to state grant money he took for clearing brush on his family ranch. Prosecutors allege that he failed to properly disclose more than $70,000 in state income, and that he committed further offenses by asking county government workers to help bail him out of jail last year.