COLUMBIANA CO. Task force money missing

The county is asking a state agency to investigate.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Operations of the Columbiana County Drug Task Force are suspended while authorities probe a report of money missing from the agency.
It's unclear right now whether the money, absent from the task force's Center Township office, was misplaced or stolen, Sheriff Dave Smith said this morning.
"That's what we have to determine," Smith said. "We aren't taking any chances," he said of the task force board's decision to close the agency Tuesday afternoon, hours after learning of the missing money.
The task force will remain idled until the matter is resolved, Smith said.
Reported by director: The situation was reported to the sheriff's office by Eric Boggs, an East Liverpool police officer who serves as task force director.
Smith declined to say how much money is missing.
Typically there are two sources of cash kept at the task force office. Some is confiscated from suspects in drug crimes. The other is general operating money.
It's unclear which is the source of the missing cash, Smith said.
Today the sheriff's office is waiting to hear from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation regarding the county's request that the state agency investigate.
"It's appropriate for an independent agency to do the investigation," Smith said. "I don't want any misconceptions that we didn't do enough," he added.
If BCII refuses to probe the matter, then the sheriff's department will handle it, because the task force office is in the sheriff's jurisdiction.
Smith noted that he is a member of the task force's board of directors. That's why he want's BCII brought in, to avoid any appearance of impropriety that could arise if the sheriff's office investigated.
Also on the task force board of directors is the prosecutor and the police chiefs of each department with a member on the task force. Those departments are Columbiana, East Palestine, Lisbon, Salineville, East Liverpool and Washingtonville.
Salem previously had a member on the task force, but he has been reassigned to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, Smith said.
Smith was uncertain of the task force's annual operating budget, most of which comes from a grant. Additional funding comes from money raised through confiscating drug dealers' property. Smith said a relatively small amount of funding comes from that source.