The State - News from July 8, 1988

The Tehama County Grand Jury has cleared former Sheriff Ron Koenig of charges that he was involved in pornography payoffs. The panel’s report said eight months of investigation failed to find any evidence of criminal wrongdoing involving Koenig, who currently heads the state Board of Prison Terms. Koenig, 55, was cleared of similar charges by state Justice Department investigators last September. The grand jury report said “accusations of drugs and sex parties involving county officials are baseless rumors with no evidence of any kind to support such a charge. . . . No one witness was able to provide evidence of criminal wrongdoing by any Tehama County public official. Many of the key witnesses recanted or are no longer sure of their statements to last year’s county government committee.”