Suffolk's sheriff is opening up about the fall of former friend and political powerbroker Ed Walsh.

Walsh was convicted yesterday on charges of theft of funds and wire fraud for falsified timesheets and overtime pay received through his position as a sheriff's lieutenant. Suffolk Sheriff Vincent DeMarco was Walsh's boss in the sheriff's department and testified against Walsh. The two used to be political allies.

"It's a stain on the party, but we have to rebuild, we have to come back and obviously reshape the image of the party," says DeMarco. "He betrayed my trust by stealing from the taxpayers, he betrayed his oath ... I'd say we're not friends anymore."

During the trial, DeMarco came under fire from Walsh's defense team. They said he should have known Walsh wasn't showing up for work and called DeMarco a "vengeful narcissist" for not doing anything about it until the two had a falling out.

DeMarco says he wanted to investigate Walsh and was blocked by the Suffolk District Attorney's Office. The DA's office, however, has said it was DeMarco who provided no information to support a prosecution of Walsh.



"I tried to get evidence and subpoenas," says DeMarco.