(NECN: Tom Langford) - Middlesex County Sheriff James DiPaola was found dead Saturday afternoon in a hotel room in Maine.
Wells, Maine police say he was discovered with a gunshot wound to his head and a multiple page note left in the room.
In a statement, Governor Deval Patrick said, "this is a shocking and tragic event. I extend my deepest condolences to the DiPaola Family and to the Sheriff's staff, all of whom are certainly reeling with this news. Sheriff DiPaola had a 30-year record of public service. Tonight we honor that service and pray for his family."
NECN Political analyst George Bachrach says, for most of his career, DiPaola served with distinction.
"(He was a) police officer in the city of Malden, served in the state legislature, long time sheriff of Middlesex County - which is not an easy job, it's the largest county in Commonwealth and has a very large inmate population that he had to preside over, without any hint of trouble. His predecessors had difficulty controlling that prison population, but he - perhaps because he was a former police officer - seemed to handle it quite well."
In fact, he was just re-elected to a third term as sheriff on November 2nd.
But soon after that - he got caught up in a pension controversy, when the Boston Globe reported that he exploited a loophole in the Massachusetts pension law and tried to collect his pension and his sheriff's salary at the same time.
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Then he came under investigation for mis-use of campaign funds.
And last weekend, he announced he would resign as sheriff in January.
Bachrach said, "this was an awkward moment recently, when this issue of the pension came up. But you think for someone who is well-rooted, this would be a surmountable moment, so this is quite a surprise."
The contents of that note found in the room have not been released.
Special sheriff John Granara will take over operations of the sheriff's office.
