Official says to let truth be known

The company gave the county results of a lie detector test taken by its salesman.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- One company that was implicated in the Trumbull County purchasing probe says it deserves to be exonerated of any wrongdoing in the scandal, which resulted in convictions for a number of other cleaning supply vendors.
William A. Barnett, vice president and general counsel for State Industrial Products of Cleveland, a multinational cleaning supplies vendor, said the position the Trumbull County prosecutor's office has taken regarding the company is unfair.
Even though State Industrial testified before a grand jury, supplied results of a lie detector test to the prosecutor's office, and won a civil lawsuit it filed last year against the county, the prosecutor's office has refused to clear State Industrial's name, Barnett said.
In December, Judge Peter Kontos of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court ruled on behalf of State Industrial, saying the county owed the company 2,133 for products it sold to the county in 2002. County commissioners followed that ruling by approving payment to State Industrial.
No one from State Industrial was charged with any crime in the case.
"State Industrial Products knows that it conducted business with the county fairly and honestly. The prosecutor knows that. The public should know that as well," Barnett said.
What happened
Chris Becker, an assistant county prosecutor who handled cases against a number of other product vendors, said the prosecutor's office recommended against paying State Industrial the 2,133 because State Industrial failed to cooperate with prosecutors during the purchasing investigation.
Becker said State Industrial failed to provide a price list for its products until after it sued the county for the money. The county wanted that to see whether it was charging the same prices to everyone, he said.
Jeff Adler, another assistant prosecutor, said the price list State Industrial turned over at the request of Judge Kontos during the civil trial suggested that State Industrial had charged the county the same as its other customers.
Adler, however, said he still felt State Industrial's prices were too high, and gave these examples:
* A case of 16-ounce cans of citrus disinfectant -- 13.08 per can.
* Two cases of 6-ounce cans of insect repellent -- 12.37 per can.
Adler said it appeared that Judge Kontos ruled in favor of State Industrial because a county official later convicted of theft in office and bribery agreed to pay the prices, regardless of whether they were reasonable or not.
Barnett, in response to Becker's assertion that the company didn't cooperate, said he never knew that prosecutors wanted a price list until after the civil suit was filed.
As for prices State Industrial charged, Barnett said Adler doesn't have the expertise to judge what is a reasonable price for industrial-quality cleaning supplies. The products are diluted differently than those purchased in a supermarket, he noted.
Reason for higher prices
He added that industrial-strength products can be higher than supermarket prices because the product is "proprietary," or only available from that supplier. The price also might include costs related to having a representative pick out the right product for the job and for having the product delivered.
Barnett said State Industrial provided the county with lie detector results indicating that its sales representative had not paid kickbacks to do business with Trumbull County.
Becker said State Industrial's lie detector test isn't proof to him of anything because it was not admissible as evidence in court. Becker said he would have asked different questions on such a test.
The county's purchasing investigation followed revelations that some vendors were paying kickbacks to former maintenance supervisor Tony Delmont in exchange for selling products to the county at exorbitant prices.
Delmont and several vendors were convicted for their role. Delmont was sentenced to three years in prison. The county recovered fines and restitution in the amount of 400,000 -- the amount prosecutors believe was stolen from the county.
runyan@vindy.com