Officials investigating use of city truck

The man said an employee lent him the vehicle.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- City officials are trying to determine how and why a city-owned vehicle was in the possession of a noncity employee who does not have a driver's license.
According to police reports, several juveniles Saturday told officers they witnessed a maroon 1990 Ford Ranger truck owned by the city being stolen. The juveniles, reports said, told the officer they recognized the person taking the truck.
Officers found the truck a short time later in the North Ward Avenue driveway of a 38-year-old man. The man is not an employee of the city.
According to police reports, the man told officers that John Scirocco, an employee with the recreation department, had lent him the truck so he could move something into his home. The man, reports said, told officers Scirocco lent him the truck because Scirocco is friends with the man's grandfather.
Reports also state the man has no valid driver's license. The man at first admitted driving the vehicle, then said it had been driven to his residence by another individual, the report states.
Officers impounded the truck.
Conflicting accounts
According to reports, Scirocco called the police department after the vehicle had been towed and told officers that he did lend the man the truck for the man's personal use.
Scirocco, in a brief phone interview Tuesday, called the entire situation a misunderstanding. He said the man has done work for him in the past.
"He did a lot of electrical work for me up there, and I was just returning the favor," he said.
City officials are still looking into the matter. Mayor James Melfi said he could not comment on the situation until he has had a chance to thoroughly review the police report and speak with Scirocco.
jgoodwin@vindy.com