GUILTY(ish)

Perjurer-at-large Joe Albero blinked today:

A Delmar, Del. man best known for his Web blog and ongoing disputes with Salisbury officials was sentenced to probation before judgement on a perjury charge this morning.

Joe Albero, 46, entered in Alford plea in Wicomico County Circuit Court. By using an Alford plea, Albero does not admit guilt but acknowledges that the prosecution had enough evidence to convict him if the case were to go to trial.

Albero was indicted in April for perjury in connection with a 2005 land deal in Pittsville in which he reportedly stated his was a Maryland resident. However, voting records indicate Albero has been registered to vote in Delaware since 2005.

I would also note that the Daily Times broke the story before sbynews.com did. Looks like Albero "got blogged" by the Times....

Incidentally before Albero tries to weasel his way out of this and say that he didn't plead guilty, don't forget that an Alford plea is in fact a form of a guilty plea:

More recently, the Supreme Court has approved so-called Alford pleas, in which defendants plead guilty while simultaneously protesting their innocence.³ Far from criticizing these practices, Judge Frank Easterbrook and most other scholars praise these pleas as efficient, constitutional means of resolving cases.⁴ Even Albert Alschuler, a leading critic of plea bargaining generally, supports Alford pleas. He views them as a lesser evil, a way to empower defendants within a flawed system. As long as we have plea bargaining, he maintains, innocent defendants should be free to use these pleas to enter advantageous plea bargains without lying. And guilty defendants who are in denial should be empowered to use these pleas instead of being forced to stand trial.

Emphasis mine.

I'd say that now that Albero has copped a guilty plea that he would lose his credibility, but given his antics, criminal history and plagiarism, it's not like he had any credibility to begin with....