Commission dismisses complaint against Angelo

The elections commission staff indicated it agreed with Angelo's assertions.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio Elections Commission dismissed alleged campaign finance violations against a former Trumbull County commissioner Thursday because the statute of limitations had apparently run out.
The commission unanimously accepted the motion by a lawyer representing Joseph J. Angelo that a one-year statute of limitations had expired in misdemeanor allegations against Angelo that he improperly used campaign contributions for personal benefit.
Donald J. McTigue, Angelo's lawyer, said the statute of limitations -- one year in cases where concealment or misrepresentation have been alleged -- would have begun when Angelo was subpoenaed to testify in an apparently unrelated probe of county purchasing practices in March and May 2004.
The special prosecutor investigating Trumbull County purchasing practices, Victor V. Vigluicci, filed the complaint against Angelo on July 25, 2005.
"We're very relieved," McTigue said. Angelo didn't appear before the elections commission.
"It's a due-process issue," McTigue said. "This is a protection of everyone's rights."
What was alleged
According to the complaint filed against Angelo by Vigluicci, Angelo, from 1999 to 2002, had contributions of $25 or less that "significantly exceeded amounts traceable to the campaign bank account." The complaint alleged that the total amount of contributions received by the Angelo campaign but not deposited, according to records, was $7,805. "Further, there is no indication from available records that the money was used as legitimate and verifiable campaign expenses," the complaint said.
The complaint against Angelo also alleges that three checks totaling $4,100 in 1998 and 1999 were written from Angelo's campaign bank account to him or his wife as "loans." In sworn statements filed with the commission, Angelo, who was defeated in the 2004 Democratic primary, said an analysis by his lawyer of the records Vigluicci provided showed that instead of a diversion of funds, there was actually $5,386 more in his campaign account than was reflected on his campaign's finance reports.
Response
Angelo said he has reported the errors to the Trumbull County Board of Elections and has amended his campaign-finance reports.
As for the loans, Angelo said in sworn statements that two checks for $1,000 apiece were repayments for a $10,000 loan his wife, Toni, and daughter, Alexa, made to his campaign in 1996.
In sworn statements, Angelo said a third check for $2,100 from 1999 was a payment for either money that was lent to his campaign committee or for campaign expenses that were paid out of pocket.
Before the commission ruling, elections commission staff indicated it agreed with Angelo's assertions on the loan allegations. The commission staff said they didn't have enough time to substantiate Angelo's explanation of the other matters.
Vigluicci, who is the Portage County prosecutor, couldn't immediately be reached Thursday. A message seeking comment was left with his office.
Another complaint
Earlier this year, the elections commission found, in another complaint brought by Vigluicci, that Warren Mayor Michael J. O'Brien violated state elections laws in how his campaign handled some political contributions from 2000 to 2003 while O'Brien was a Trumbull County commissioner.
The commission fined O'Brien $1,875 in connection with that case.