Sheriff demotes Budd to deputy

The major will be vindicated at trial, his lawyer says.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Michael Budd will still collect a paycheck pending his inmate-abuse federal trial, but as a deputy -- not as a major -- with the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department.
Sheriff Randall A. Wellington demoted Budd from major, a management position, to deputy, a union position, after conferring Tuesday with county Prosecutor Paul J. Gains. Budd had taken a leave of absence as a deputy when promoted to major in March 1999, so the demotion returns him to union status, the sheriff said.
Budd's annual pay as a major was $60,590. It drops to $37,627 as a deputy, the sheriff said. Budd has been with the sheriff's department since 1991.
Lt. Marc Masto will temporarily assume Budd's responsibilities.
Contract language
Pat Dougherty, Fraternal Order of Police/Ohio Labor Council senior staff representative, has said the deputy union's contract language states that employees under indictment can take unpaid leave or be assigned to a position that does not require them to possess a gun or make an arrest.
Because Budd's indictment contains crimes of violence, the sheriff reasons that he can't have him work anywhere at the department. Therefore, the sheriff placed Budd on paid leave. Gains said the contract language will have to be changed to address crimes of violence.
Budd, 43, was arrested at his Boardman home Tuesday by FBI agents and pleaded innocent in U.S. District Court. Budd faces conspiracy to violate civil rights and obstruction of justice and three counts of deprivation of rights under color of law.
Budd is accused of ordering the beating of one inmate, Tawhon Easterly, and ordering or personally beating inmates Brandon Moore and Stephen Blazo.
Magistrate Judge George J. Limbert allowed Budd to remain free on an unsecured bond after ordering that he relinquish his passport by noon today and restrict his travel to northern Ohio.
If convicted, Budd faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The case, now assigned to a federal judge in Akron, is expected to be transferred to U.S. District Judge Lesley Brooks Wells in Cleveland, who has companion cases.
Attorney's comments
After court Tuesday, Budd's lawyer Martin Yavorcik described Budd as an "upstanding cop," and said he believes his client will be vindicated at trial.
"There's been rumors. This is a small town, everybody said 'it's coming,'" Yavorcik said of the indictment. "Just because they allege it in this document doesn't make it true."
In reaction to Budd's indictment, Gains said: "I'm sickened by it. It's another black eye for the sheriff's department. On the other hand, it shows that law enforcement officers are not above the law."
Wellington said the allegations are severe and, if Budd is convicted, he'll have great consequences to face.
The case against Budd and his co-defendants was investigated by the FBI and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Steven M. Dettelbach and Kristy Parker, assistant U.S. attorneys.
"When a high-ranking law enforcement officer repeatedly flouts the law, as is alleged in this indictment, it unfairly hinders the vast majority of law enforcement officers [who] execute their difficult duties with the utmost integrity," said U.S. Attorney Greg White.
Others
In all, the case involves four current and four former sheriff's department employees. Budd is the fourth to be placed on paid leave.
Two former employees -- Ronald Kaschak and Bill DeLuca -- have pleaded guilty and will cooperate in the prosecution while they await sentencing.
In April, Kaschak, 29, of Austintown, resigned as a deputy and pleaded guilty to depriving Easterly of his constitutional rights by aiding and abetting others in using excessive force on the inmate. Budd is accused of ordering the beating of Easterly in December 2001, after the inmate punched a female deputy.
Budd's indictment states that he threatened to fire Kaschak in September 2002 if the deputy did not provide a false statement about the beating of Easterly. Kaschak then provided a false statement, the government said.
Last month, DeLuca, 53, of Youngstown, a retired sergeant, pleaded guilty, admitting that he passed on an order from "senior management" at the Mahoning County jail to beat Easterly and drag him naked to his cell. Budd is now identified as the person referred to as "senior management."
The remaining defendants are: Deputy Raymond Hull III, 35, of Poland; Deputy John Rivera, 32, of Youngstown; Deputy Ryan C. Strange, 28, of Vienna; Mark Dixon, 31, of Youngstown, a former deputy also charged in an unrelated sex case; and Ronald Denson, 49, of Austintown, who retired as a corporal Sept. 20, 2003.
Hull, Rivera and Strange were placed on paid leave pending the outcome of the charges against them.
meade@vindy.com