Betrayal is a tough pill to swallow. The word betrayal implies at least some layer of trust or loyalty existed.

The implication is that a trusted individual turned his back on you or perhaps even outright stabbed you in the back.

Betrayal is what we feel as the saga of Adams County Circuit Clerk M.L. “Binkey” Vines continues to unravel.

Vines is a two-term, elected official. That shows a majority of the voters trusted Vines. Yet for several years now, as audit findings have shown, he has violated the public trust. Yet, many of his supporters, feeling a sense of loyalty to Vines, have given him the benefit of the doubt.

Vines was indicted last year on 13 counts of embezzlement of public funds — read: your money. Through some kind of amazing feat of what can only be described as the good old boy system, Vines cut a sweetheart deal this month.

Ten charges dropped, pleaded guilty to three, but serve no jail time, stay in office and preserve all other rights, normally stripped from people found guilty of similar charges.

Throughout the process, Vines’ supporters have shown their trust in him by saying, “He’s just going through a rough patch in life.”

That’s always a possibility. None of us are perfect.

But when does a rough patch become a rocky road of deceit?

When the patch becomes a pattern, the rough spots became craters.

In Vines’ case a pattern has developed, a pattern of breaking the rules and mishandling public money and only paying it back and apologizing when he’s caught.

Vines would do the county a huge favor by stepping down now before he soils our reputation further through his actions and further betrayal.