AVALON SOUTH Probe looks at allegations that officials golfed free

The former mayor said the course operator is blaming everyone but himself.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The FBI is investigating allegations that city officials golfed free for years at Avalon South Golf Course.
Atty. Maridee Costanzo, who represents course operator Tony Joy, has confirmed the probe, putting the value at more than $10,000.
"City officials are complaining that Mr. Joy didn't pay taxes, but they went up and golfed and didn't pay him," Costanzo said. "This is something the FBI has discussed at length with my client."
She said Joy kept records. She declined to name those who played free.
"There are boxes and boxes of records," Costanzo said.
Joy and city officials have said that Greg Hicks, the city's law director, took three years to pay for a 1999 golf outing he sponsored at the city-owned course and that Dave Robison, a building inspector, owed $400 for an outing held last year.
Hicks called it "a bookkeeping error" and as soon as he found out he owed the money, he paid the bill.
Robison said he has paid his $400 and admitted he may have "golfed for free from time to time."
Officials have also noted that Dan Sferra, former mayor and current state representative, also golfed for free.
Sferra, reached in Columbus, said he golfed at Avalon South and would "throw Tony a $20 from time to time."
He emphasized, however, that he paid for all his golf outings.
"Tony Joy is blaming everyone but himself for losing money," Sferra said.
"He must [have] the only golf course in America that is losing money. If he felt that people were golfing and not paying, he should have told those people not to come back."
'Hard to say no'
Costanzo said Joy is a professional golfer first and a businessman second.
"If somebody comes to you and hypothetically makes a request to golf for free, and they are in a position of power, it's hard to say no," Costanzo said.
She has said Joy is scheduled to testify in front of a federal grand jury soon.
The grand jury convened last month and began hearing testimony concerning, among other things, construction of a clubhouse at the course, officials said.
Costanzo said the FBI has also discussed with Joy loans he got to build the clubhouse and communication towers built on the city-owned land.
"Remember, my client is a witness. He is not a subject of an investigation," Costanzo said.
Joy sued the city in February when it tried to evict him as operator, saying officials told him he would be credited for the improvements he made to the facility and that in 1988 the city's safety-service director told him he would not have to pay taxes.
A hearing is set for June 13.
According to city officials, Joy, who has operated the course since the 1980s, has missed rental payments and is defaulting on property taxes and a $425,000 loan.
Joy is seeking an injunction to halt the eviction.
sinkovich@vindy.com