HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A longtime Alabama sheriff removed from office after being convicted of theft and ethics violations is giving five-star reviews to the jail where he spent more than two weeks in custody. Perhaps he should: He ran it for decades.

Ousted Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely addressed the news media on Tuesday in his most extensive public comments since being convicted in August. Free on bond while appealing, Blakely maintained his innocence but had no complaints about doing time in the Limestone County jail in Athens.

“Best jail in the state of Alabama — that’s another thing I’m proud of,” Blakely said during a news conference outside his attorney’s office in Huntsville. “The food was real good, the staff took very good care of me.”

Blakely, 70, was convicted in August of taking no-interest loans from a Limestone County jail fund that held prisoners’ money and of stealing $4,000 from his campaign account. He was in his 10th straight term at the time of his removal from office, making him Alabama’s longest-serving sheriff at the time.