Friends bid Commissioner Angelo farewell

The commissioner has a license to be an insurance agent.
WARREN -- Commissioner Joseph J. Angelo Jr. is preparing to step away from 20 years of involvement in Warren and Trumbull County politics.
Angelo, a commissioner for 12 years and a former city councilman, was feted by his friends Monday at the county administration building.
"It's not ticking," he joked as he examined a boxed gift from county department heads. There also was a large cake.
"He has been a pleasure to work with, despite what everybody else might think," chided Commissioner James Tsagaris. Commissioners presented Angelo with a resolution and said he "deserves a medal of honor for courage under fire."
Angelo's last day in office is Dec. 31.
He cited among accomplishments the county's work during his tenure to establish 911 service, and to make improvements at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.
He noted that the county has worked to bring the best people on board to fill county jobs.
"I believe I'm leaving Trumbull County in a better place than where I found it," he said.
Controversies
He has been under fire at times in recent years.
Paul Heltzel, a former assistant Trumbull county prosecutor, pulled off a major upset in the Democratic primary race in defeating the three-term incumbent in a the seven-way race.
Angelo had to deal with a faltering economy, local bankruptcies and increased state taxes, making it impossible to sell Trumbull County voters on a permanent 1 percent county sales tax.
In 2003 the public learned that some vendors were ripping off the county for hundreds of thousands of dollars for janitorial products. A special prosecutor's investigation continues.
Commissioners have since changed the purchasing system, begun keeping paper trails of purchases, and started putting inventory under lock and key.
Also during his tenure, Angelo pleaded no contest in Niles Municipal Court in June 2001 to a misdemeanor attempted gambling charge. Angelo had said he'd done nothing wrong in February 2000 when he was inside a Niles home that was raided by police and officers from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
There was no mention of this on the application he filed with the Ohio Department of Insurance this year to be an insurance agent, and he wouldn't say if the case was expunged. A spokesman with the agency said officials did a background check on Angelo and no misdemeanor or felony convictions were found.
According to the ODI Web site, Angelo received his license in July.