In law director's race, mud is flying

By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- Pre-election chatter about the city law director's race is at an all-time high, but one candidate says stories about his past are unfair and not exactly true.
Information about Harry DePietro's spending eight months in a Florida jail for assault, battery, criminal mischief and shooting into a building was anonymously sent to The Vindicator and has been circulating in the community.
DePietro is running against incumbent Mark Standohar for law director.
DePietro concedes that he was jailed on the charges.
He explained the allegations were levied against him during a divorce in 1999. He said there was no conviction, but he did sit in a Florida jail from August 1999 to April 2000 because his bank account was depleted and he could not make bail.
"I have never been convicted of a crime," he said.
DePietro also said there is an explanation for a public reprimand he received from the Ohio Supreme Court in 1994. It said his "professional judgment was reasonably affected by personal and financial interest -- engaging in conduct adversely reflecting on fitness to practice law."
According to the court's records, DePietro began representing a woman in a personal injury matter, but eventually engaged in a consenting, romantic relationship.
In February 1991, DePietro and the woman married. After 31 days, they separated.
What happened
During their separation, disagreements between DePietro, his wife and her family caused a significant decrease in communication between the two -- including discussions concerning her personal injury claim.
Records say there is no evidence that DePietro failed to competently represent the woman while she was his wife. But DePietro conceded that his personal relationship with her adversely impacted his attorney-client relationship.
DePietro said it is important to point out that his wife refused to accept any other legal counsel in that situation.
Supreme court records also show that DePietro became romantically involved with a second woman he represented. In that case, he said, he assigned the case to another attorney and thought he was no longer the woman's legal counsel when the relationship began.
DePietro contends mud-slinging and unfair campaign practices against him have been high in the last weeks.
He filed a police report Monday after finding trash thrown outside his Liberty Street campaign headquarters. Police said the trash appeared to be deliberate and directed toward DePietro.
DePietro has also filed a complaint against his opponent and Edward Semple, former city clerk of council, with the Ohio Elections Commission. He said both men have made disparaging and false comments about him.
Standohar called the complaint baseless and said the complaint shows DePietro's desperation in the campaign.
"Filings of complaints with the election commission is an old trick," Standohar said. "He realizes that I have the support of the good people of Girard, and I am not going to allow this to distract me from the work of the people of Girard," he said. "This is an absolutely baseless, frivolous complaint."
jgoodwin@vindy.com