Meeting to weigh Delmont's job

The grand jury is expected to meet again Wednesday to hear more testimony.
By STEPHEN SIFF
and PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Trumbull County commissioners were expected to decide today if the county maintenance director will lose his job.
Shortly after Bedford Heights businessman Barry Jacobson admitted Thursday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to paying thousands of dollars in bribes to maintenance director Tony Delmont, commissioners decided to call a special meeting.
"We will be discussing whether he should be fired," said Commissioner James Tsagaris. "I am really surprised by this. I think he should be fired, but I don't know the legal aspects. I don't know if he will turn around and sue us."
Delmont, who has worked for the county since 1975 and earns $71,081 annually, has not been charged.
Delmont has been off work on workers' compensation since February when a county snowplow he was driving crashed. He is receiving full salary.
No one answered the door at Delmont's Willard Avenue N.E. home Thursday. He has an unpublished telephone number.
Robert Shaker, Delmont's attorney, declined to comment on the case or to say if his client would testify before the grand jury Wednesday. Delmont and several others received subpoenas ordering them to appear Wednesday.
County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins and Chris Becker, an assistant prosecutor, declined to comment.
Background
Jacobson is the former mayor of Lyndhurst, a Cleveland suburb, and an owner of Envirochemical Inc. He pleaded guilty to one charge each of bribery and complicity to theft in office, both third-degree felonies, in a continuing investigation into Trumbull County purchasing practices. The probe was prompted by a series of stories in The Vindicator last year.
"I never saw Jacobson before, and I learned about the problems with the maintenance department when The Vindicator started writing about it," Tsagaris said.
Paperwork submitted to the court includes photocopies of two checks totaling $17,000 that Jacobson said he wrote to Delmont's wife, Karen, as a bribe to secure county business. The checks were deposited into an account for an ITAM Lodge that Delmont owned.
Jacobson said in a sworn statement that he paid "tens of thousands of dollars" in bribes from 1999 to 2002.
As part of a plea agreement, Jacobson agreed to give $200,000 back to Trumbull County. He wrote a $30,000 check to the county Wednesday, court officials said.
He faces up to six months in jail.
Jacobson served as Lyndhurst mayor from January 2001 to June 2002.
"He is a good guy who made a bad mistake, but he acknowledged it, and he wants to get on with his life," said Atty. Roger Synenberg, who represents Jacobson.
What happened
Watkins said Jacobson's company was selling supplies to the county at prices inflated as much as 500 percent. He cited a can of wasp spray for $73 as an example.
Records uncovered by The Vindicator indicate that 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.
In an interview with The Vindicator last year, Delmont acknowledged that supplies could have been bought cheaper had the county shopped around.
Watkins is investigating several other companies that did business with the county maintenance department.
In a press release, Envirochemical announced Jacobson has resigned as vice president and salesman, although he remains a co-owner. The other owner is Brian Fox.
The company sold more than $923,000 worth of janitorial supplies to Trumbull County over six years, until it was cut off last September.
"Envirochemical remains dedicated to providing quality cleaning and paper products at competitive prices," the company's release says. "This incident will not affect our commitment and service to our customers."
From August 2001 until August 2002, when The Vindicator began examining Trumbull County's purchasing procedures, the county spent more than $300,000 for janitorial supplies.
From January until now, the county has spent only $44,385 for maintenance supplies, according to the county auditor's office.
siff@vindy.comsinkovich@vindy.com