TRUMBULL COUNTY Trips, condo use listed as bribes

A vendor said Delmont wouldn't let him give money directly to officials.
By STEPHEN SIFF
and PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Trumbull County's maintenance director vacationed in a condo owned by one vendor, accepted fishing trips from another and took checks for thousands of dollars from others, county prosecutors say.
One of the salesmen, Envirochemical owner Barry Jacobson, says maintenance director Tony Delmont gave him access to county account numbers and fund balances so he could sell his products without even talking to employees.
In exchange, Jacobson said he paid Delmont about $40,000 in bribes. The bribes were paid two to three times a month, generally in cash, Jacobson stated in a sworn affidavit signed Tuesday.
"I essentially had carte blanche to write orders for janitorial supplies in Trumbull County, Ohio," Jacobson stated in the affidavit. "I would write orders for janitorial supplies whether or not Anthony Delmont was present. As opposed to other customers, Anthony Delmont would rarely question why I was ordering anything for Trumbull County. The majority of my ordering was not based on the actual needs of Trumbull County."
The allegations are detailed in a several-hundred-page file prosecutors prepared for a pre-disciplinary hearing, scheduled for Monday, at which they are expected to argue that the 27-year county employee should be fired.
What happened
County commissioners put Delmont on unpaid leave after Jacobson pleaded guilty to bribing him and helping him to steal taxpayer funds.
Delmont subsequently pleaded innocent to felony charges of bribery, money laundering and theft in office.
According to the allegations of misconduct, Delmont is facing administrative charges of dereliction of duty and committing acts of dishonesty.
Robert Shaker, one of the attorneys representing Delmont, declined to comment.
In addition to the cash, Jacobson stated that he took Delmont on two fishing trips, one to Olcott, N.Y., and another to the Niagara River. Both trips were in the mid-1990s, the affidavit states.
"I spent hundreds of dollars on these trips," Jacobson stated. "Anthony Delmont asked me for specific items such as sporting events tickets and other merchandise such as VCRs as gifts for county commissioners. I gave these items to Anthony Delmont."
On a number of occasions, Jacobson asked Delmont if he could give money directly to the county commissioners and other elected officials and Delmont said no, the affidavit states.
The commissioners said they never received anything from Delmont.
Affidavits
Attached to the allegations of misconduct is an affidavit from Marietta R. Brzeczek, who has been a friend of Delmont's since 1996.
On at least three occasions, Brzeczek went with Delmont to Florida and stayed in a condominium. It was her understanding that the condominium was owned by a vendor to Trumbull County, the affidavit states.
"The use of the condominium was free for Anthony Delmont and myself," Brzeczek's affidavit states.
She also stated that on May 28, 1998, Delmont gave her an $800 check to deposit in her bank account. The check was drawn on an account belonging to Lid Chemical of Girard and Canfield, the affidavit states.
The affidavit further notes that she deposited checks from Northern Engineering Co. of North Jackson into her bank account. She stated in the affidavit that she would eventually withdraw the money and return it to Delmont.
Brzeczek has not been charged.
Patti J. Patros, a maintenance department employee, also signed an affidavit saying there were times she would sign packing slips but she did not verify whether the items listed on the packing slips were in the shipment.
The county prosecutor's office, along with the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation and the state auditor's office, began probing the maintenance department after a series of Vindicator articles about excessive spending and sloppy bookkeeping.
Patros noted in her affidavit that shortly after the investigation started, she asked Delmont how he was doing, and he replied that "they're going to try to pin this all on me. I'm probably going to go to prison for one or two years."