TRUMBULL COUNTY Mayor who sold supplies to resign

The county prosecutor would say only that the investigation is ongoing.
By STEPHEN SIFF
and PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The Lyndhurst mayor is resigning.
Barry Jacobson, who owns Envirochemical Inc. with partner Brian A. Fox, told Lyndhurst officials and city council he will step down as mayor at 6 p.m. June 11, to coincide with the sale of his Lyndhurst home.
"Due to the fact that my family and I will be relocating to another area outside the city, I will resign as the mayor of the city of Lyndhurst," Jacobson wrote in a two-paragraph letter of resignation.
"I would like to reiterate and stress that my resignation is due solely to my leaving the city and no longer being able to perform my duties."
Company sold supplies
Jacobson's company, Envirochemical, sold more than $923,000 worth of janitorial supplies to Trumbull County over six years, much at exaggerated prices.
Air freshener listed in Envirochemical's catalog for $59 a case sold to Trumbull County for $120; spray cleaner listed in the catalog for $34 a case sold to Trumbull County for $90.
The supplies were never made available for competitive bidding, and officials in the county maintenance department made no bones about the fact they could have bought many supplies cheaper had they shopped around.
The county cut off Envirochemical in September at the recommendation of Prosecutor Dennis Watkins.
Watkins is investigating Envirochemical and several other companies that did business with the Trumbull County Maintenance Department.
Investigations are also being conducted by the FBI and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.
Jacobson said he complied with a subpoena to provide Watkins with business records.
A short term
Jacobson, a second-term ward councilman, became mayor of the Cleveland suburb 18 months ago when the previous mayor resigned.
He has not filed to run for re-election in November.
He did not return phone calls to comment.
In the past, Jacobson refused to say why he was moving or where he planned to go. Councilman Marty Puin said Jacobson also refused to divulge that information when he announced his resignation at the council meeting.
"Who cares where he is going," said Councilwoman Lillian Turjanica, who has described Jacobson's tenure as mayor as "turbulent."
Watkins declined to give the status of the investigation, except to say that it is ongoing.
The county's expenses for toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning supplies dropped more than 85 percent after investigations of the maintenance department began amid a series of stories in The Vindicator in August.
Officials attribute the drop to several factors, from layoffs among custodians to a change in vendors.
siff@vindy.comsinkovich@vindy.com