TRUMBULL COUNTY Board asks Tsagaris to return funds

The commissioner fired his campaign treasurer and replaced him with his wife.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The Trumbull County Board of Elections is asking county Commissioner James Tsagaris to return more than $800 in campaign donations that appear to have been improperly accepted, then misrepresented on campaign finance reports.
Acting on the advice of the Ohio Secretary of State's office, the board also voted Monday to refer complaints about Tsagaris' former campaign treasurer William Watson and five donors to the Ohio Elections Commission.
In a letter to the board of elections dated Friday, J. Curtis Mayhew, Secretary of State's campaign finance administrator, presented photocopies of checks and campaign finance reports that appear to show that in 2002, Tsagaris' campaign accepted donations from corporations, which is illegal, then listed them on reports as though they were personal checks.
Potential fines
Candidates are not allowed to accept contributions from corporations. By making the contributions, each of the five companies appear to be in violation of a section of the Ohio Revised Code that carries a fine of $500 to $5,000, said Atty. James Saker, an assistant prosecutor who represents the elections board.
For preparing and signing campaign reports in which the checks appear to have been misrepresented, Watson could face a fine up to $10,000, Saker said.
"From the information, it is fairly clear that the contributions to the campaign committee have been misrepresented," Mayhew said in a letter. "Because of the seriousness of the alleged violations, it is recommended that the board require additional disclosure of the Tsagaris Election Fund to determine whether additional corporate contributions have been received, and perhaps misrepresented by the campaign committee and/or its treasurer."
Neither Tsagaris nor Watson could be reached to comment.
Replacement
Last month, Tsagaris replaced Watson as campaign treasurer with his wife, Patricia.
The board of elections normally does not have access to campaign bank records. Tsagaris' 2002 records were turned over to the board by Watson a few months ago, when the board was seeking a list of under-$25 donors to his campaign.
The bank records did not contain the required list, and Tsagaris was ultimately fined $150 by the Ohio Elections Commission for failing to keep one. However, officials noticed that some donation checks appeared to be drawn on corporate accounts and asked the secretary of state to investigate.
siff@vindy.com