Thief receives 30 days in jail

He will serve his jail sentence after his children are out of school for the year.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Convicted thief Barry Jacobson had to turn away from Judge Peter Kontos.
He had just started to read a statement to the court, but a few sentences in -- while recounting the effect his criminal behavior has had on his three children -- he handed the paper over to his lawyer to complete, apparently overcome with emotion.
His lawyer, Roger M. Synenberg of Cleveland, completed the statement. In it, Jacobson said, "Hopefully, one day I will be able to go back to doing the things I was good at doing."
Jacobson, 37, from Chagrin Falls and former mayor of Lyndhurst, has admitted stealing $200,000 from Trumbull County.
He pleaded guilty 21/2 years ago to bribery and complicity to theft in office in the Trumbull County purchasing probe. On Monday, he was sentenced to five years of probation on the two third-degree felonies and 30 days in the Geauga County Jail -- starting June 19.
What prosecutor said
Assistant Trumbull County Prosecutor Chris Becker told Judge Kontos that the prosecutor's office was in agreement with Jacobson's serving the sentence outside of Trumbull County and after Jacobson's kids are out of school for the year.
Synenberg said Jacobson had lived up to his bargain with the prosecutor's office, providing the information prosecutors sought so they could prosecute cases against other individuals. Jacobson also took a lie-detector test, Becker said after the hearing, and prosecutors believe Jacobson has told prosecutors everything he knows.
Judge Kontos said the crimes would have warranted a different sentence under normal circumstances, but he was imposing this one because Jacobson had cooperated with investigators fully.
Before leaving the courthouse, Jacobson paid $20,000 to the clerk of courts office, bringing his total restitution to the county to $120,000. He has agreed to pay $40,000 more this September and $40,000 more in September of 2007 -- a total of $200,000.
Here was the crime
While working for a Cleveland-area cleaning supplies company, Jacobson worked through Tony Delmont, the county's former maintenance director, to steal the money between 1999 and 2002 by giving bribes so that he could sell overpriced cleaning supplies.
In an affidavit, Jacobson said he gave Delmont money to buy fundraising tickets for political candidates and officeholders. To date, no officials have been charged with wrongdoing, however.
Delmont and his wife, Karen, have been convicted of various crimes in the scheme. Tony Delmont has been sentenced to prison but is too sick to report. Karen Delmont was sentenced to probation.
In all, the prosecutor's office said various individuals schemed to steal $400,000. Some cases are still pending.