TRUMBULL COUNTY Panel fines 2 commissioners over records

The fines could have been as high as $1,000.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Trumbull County Commissioners James G. Tsagaris and Joseph J. Angelo Jr. say they are pleased with the outcome of an Ohio Elections Commission hearing that resulted in small fines to both.
"My records were kept correctly; they were kept exactly the way they should," Tsagaris said. "This was the smallest fine they can give you."
The elections commission voted Thursday to fine Tsagaris $150 for failing to keep records of people who donated less than $25 at fund-raisers in 2001 and 2002.
Angelo was fined $50 for the same infraction.
His fine was smaller because Angelo had the records at one time. They were destroyed, however, when the basement of his home flooded at the end of August, said Atty. Don McTigue, who represented both commissioners at the hearing.
"After reviewing my election reports, they found that they were in good order, except for a minute, insufficient oversight," Angelo said. "I will not appeal the ruling."
Required by law
State election law requires candidates to keep a list of people who donate less than $25, although the list is not generally required to be submitted to elections boards.
The Trumbull elections board requested the lists of names from Angelo and Tsagaris in September after a public-records request was filed for the information.
The local board referred a complaint to the state elections commission when the commissioners failed to produce the lists.
The maximum fine for the violation is $1,000, said Atty. Paul Richter, elections commission executive director. The commissioners' campaigns brought in between $1,500 and $2,500 from the fund-raisers in question, he said.
"I'm not going to get into whether it was serious or a victory," Richter said. "All I'm going to say is the commission saw a violation of statute and imposed a penalty."
Although Tsagaris never submitted documents to the elections board relating to the under-$25 donations, he turned in heaps of bank records which included copies of contributions from corporations.
Candidates are not permitted to accept corporate contributions.
The Ohio Secretary of State's campaign finance administrator is reviewing those records, a spokesman said.
siff@vindy.com