Was felon's past checked when hired?

No policy exists for screening part-time job candidates, a spokesman said.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State University officials are offering no explanation why a drug felon who had been stripped of his pharmacist license was hired to teach a prescription drug course in the university's health professions department.
The same man, Kevin Chakos, 28, of New Middletown, now faces new drug charges in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Though Chakos no longer teaches at YSU, it's alleged the crimes were committed during the same period he was conducting classes at the university -- the spring 2004 semester.
There is no indication the offenses occurred at YSU or with his teaching job, an investigator said.
An indictment alleges that on or about Jan. 13, Chakos illegally processed a prescription for oxycodone, a fourth-degree felony, and illegally possessed oxycodone, a third-degree felony.
Oxycodone is a painkiller sometimes known by the trade name Percocet.
Chakos stole prescription forms, filled them out and illegally obtained the drugs, Doug Lamplugh, agent in charge of the Youngstown-based U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency Task Force, said Friday.
A court hearing was set Aug. 25, but Chakos failed to appear and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Hiring
Last October, YSU hired Chakos to teach a course in pharmacotherapeutics, a job that does not require a pharmacy license.
Though Chakos was, at the time, a felon, YSU officials said Friday they don't know if there is any policy in place forbidding the hiring of felons as full- or part-time instructors.
Appointing full-time faculty at YSU typically involves a review by a screening committee, yet "there is no policy that guides the screening process for hiring part-timers," said Walt Ulbricht, a university spokesman.
Each department is permitted to handle such appointments as it wishes, Ulbricht added.
Chakos was recommended for the $3,150 job by Joe Mistovich, YSU's health professions department chairman.
In a written statement Friday, Mistovich said Chakos served as an instructor only during the spring 2004 semester, that he taught only the one course, and that "we have no intention of hiring him in the future as a part-time instructor."
What's uncertain is whether any YSU officials knew of Chakos' legal entanglements before he was hired in October, and whether he was questioned about his background before he got the teaching job.
Mistovich failed to respond to a request for an interview.
Trouble with the law
When Chakos was hired, he already had been convicted of felony drug charges in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
In late 2001, he pleaded guilty to drug theft, illegal processing of drug documentation and attempted aggravated drug possession.
In January 2002, Chakos was given two years' probation. He was hauled back into Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in late 2002 for failing to comply with his probation terms. In early 2003, the court ordered Chakos to be placed under intensive supervised probation.
Chakos' problems extended beyond the courtroom.
His pharmacy license, originally issued in September 2000, was suspended indefinitely by the Ohio pharmacy board in November 2001.
The suspension, in place when hired by YSU, remains in place now.
In pulling Chakos' license, the pharmacy panel concluded that he was addicted to drugs, that he admitted stealing drugs while practicing pharmacy and that he confessed forging prescriptions.
The pharmacy board also determined that Chakos' record constituted "gross immorality" and dishonest and unprofessional conduct.
Employment records provided by YSU show that the r & eacute;sum & eacute; Chakos submitted for the teaching job reflected none of his criminal or licensing problems.
Though the r & eacute;sum & eacute; listed a history of pharmacy and research-related jobs, it noted that he was managing a pool hall in Youngstown at the time he applied to YSU.
Chakos' employment records gave no indication of whether he submitted references.
The health professions department where Chakos worked is part of YSU's Bitonte College of Health and Human Services, whose dean is Dr. John Yemma. The same college includes YSU's criminal justice department.
Serowik case
YSU President Dr. David Sweet has ordered a review of an Aug. 9 hiring in the criminal justice department that entailed naming Joseph Serowik as a full-time forensics science professor.
Serowik was hired though some YSU officials knew his previous work in Cleveland is being questioned.
Serowik is accused of offering flawed forensics testimony in a 1988 trial that helped send an innocent Cleveland man to jail for 13 years for rape.
Yemma did not respond Friday to a request for an interview on the Serowik and Chakos matters.