Report fails to list missing cash

The commissioner declined to say where the other money was.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
and STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Not all of the money Commissioner Joseph Angelo took out of his campaign fund burned a hole in his pocket.
One third of the $6,000 was in another location, Angelo said Tuesday.
The commissioner originally had told Trumbull County Board of Election officials and police that he took $4,000 out of his campaign fund to invest, but the money was stolen from his pants pocket.
His pants were hanging in his bedroom closet at the time, Angelo stated in a city police report filed in May.
The money was not accounted for in Angelo's most recent campaign finance report.
In conversations with elections board officials about reporting requirements, Angelo mentioned that the actual amount of money he withdrew from his campaign account was $2,000 higher than previously stated, board director Norma Williams said.
But although he said that he withdrew $6,000 from his campaign, he said only $4,000 was stolen, Williams said.
Angelo declined to say where the other money was or why he waited until now to say he took out $6,000.
"The other $2,000 was in another place; that's all I want to say about that now," Angelo said.
Sought higher interest
Angelo said that he took the $6,000 out of his campaign account so he could put it in a higher interest-bearing account. He took the money out in cash and placed it in a pants pocket.
He said he thinks the money was taken the weekend of April 26, but he waited about a month to file a report because he was searching for the money.
Angelo said he did not file an insurance claim. Police Chief John Mandopoulos said the case is still open, and no arrests have been made.
The missing money should have been noted and explained as an expense in the annual campaign finance report Angelo filed last Friday, Williams said.
If the money was paid back -- as Angelo says it was -- that should have been reflected elsewhere, she said.
Williams has asked Angelo to submit a letter to the elections board explaining the missing funds.
Angelo said he plans to send the letter soon. He said he cashed in a stock to pay back his campaign. "It's all paid back," Angelo said.
sinkovich@vindy.comsiff@vindy.com