TRUMBULL COUNTY Carson to leave private-jail business

Commissioners don't see a conflict of interest in the administrator's roles.
& lt;a href=mailto:siff@vindy.com & gt;By STEPHEN SIFF & lt;/a & gt;
and PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Trumbull County Administrator Tony Carson has decided to get out of the jail business after local prosecutors suggested they would ask the Ohio Ethics Commission to review his involvement.
Carson, whom county commissioners promoted from purchasing director to county administrator this month, owns Warren Area Sentencing Program, a private jail that takes county inmates, and also the Central District Court building, which he rents to the county.
His new job responsibilities include assisting commissioners with a budget that includes the courts and serving as their liaison to "department heads and elected officials," which would presumably include judges.
Commissioner Joseph Angelo Jr. said he sent a letter Wednesday informing county prosecutors of Carson's decision to divest himself of the private jail he operates in rented space in the Warren Police station.
"Tony Carson is going to get rid of the WASP program," Angelo said. He said he did not know if Carson was selling it, or to whom.
Carson could not be reached Wednesday evening to comment. Commissioners Angelo and James Tsagaris said they have no way to contact him after hours. Sought list of duties
The Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office sent a letter to commissioners last week asking for Carson's job duties as administrator, so it could be forwarded along to the Ohio Ethics Commission for an opinion.Tsagaris said he is not bothered that the prosecutor's office may have the ethics commission review the matter.
"At the beginning, everyone said it was OK and there was no problem. Now, they say there may be a problem. I don't know why this is happening. I really don't know," Tsagaris said.
Last week, Carson had a local attorney tell The Vindicator that WASP would no longer accept inmates from Trumbull County, after learning that the newspaper was working on a story about potential conflicts of interest. Although Carson's program did not receive payments directly from the county, each inmate sent there is required to pay about $50 a day.
Judge Ronald Rice of Eastern District Court and Judge Thomas Campbell of Central District Court both said that in the past, Carson has frequently solicited them to send more inmates to his program.
Angelo said there would be no reason for Carson to get rid of the Central District Court building, which he began leasing to the county in 1999, while he was an employee of the county auditor's.
"There was no question at the time of a conflict of interest," Angelo said. "I don't think there would be any conflict now."
State law generally prohibits county workers from doing business with their employer. However, James Misocky, first assistant prosecutor, has said Carson's lease with the county met a set of exceptions that prohibit preferential treatment or inside dealing.
The 10-year lease was awarded through competitive bidding, and the county withstood legal challenges from a losing bidder in both the Trumbull County Common Pleas Court and the 11th District Court of Appeals.
To avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, Carson did not participate in the budget hearing for Central District Court, Angelo said. As well, Carson only makes recommendations on the budget, which commissioners can approve or deny, he said.
"There is no problem," Angelo said.
Carson makes $54,000 a year from the lease and $61,943 as county administrator. Income from his jail program is not public information.