Convicted cattle rustler and former McAnsh Park resident Scott Eric Smith has avoided a second criminal trial by taking a negotiated plea deal which adds crimes to his rap sheet, but will not add years to the time he’ll serve in state prison.
Smith worked as a ranch manager at Bhakta Farms on State Road 60, a job he got after fleeing pending cattle rustling charges in Wyoming. The owner of the ranch, craft whiskey distiller and entrepreneur Raj Bhakta, had his sights on raising high-end Angus-Wagyu beef cattle west of Vero Beach.
According to the case file, Smith took advantage of his absentee boss by having a herd of cattle hauled to the Okeechobee Livestock Market, selling them, and depositing the $279,000 proceeds into his own account instead of turning the money over to Bhakta…