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Commissioner pleads guilty to theft
The state auditor said the health commissioner was using county money for personal gain.
LISBON — Columbiana County Health Commissioner Robert Morehead faces a year in prison, will lose his job and still owes thousands of dollars in restitution to the program he still heads.
Morehead, 59, of Wellsville, on Tuesday entered a guilty plea in county common pleas court to one count of theft in office for improper spending. He originally was charged with seven felony counts that could have resulted in a prison sentence of 7 1‚Ñ2 years.
Morehead actually entered an Alford plea in which a defendant maintains his innocence but admits there is evidence that could convict him.
Morehead is to resign before the next health board meeting Dec. 17.
He is to be sentenced at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 13.
County Prosecutor Robert Herron sought a special prosecutor since he represents the health department. Atty. James Manken of the state auditor’s office was appointed to handle the case.
Under the plea agreement, Manken will not take any position on sentencing. Morehead could be sentenced to prison, a low-security facility, or given probation.
State auditors are working on an audit of the health board finances for 2006 and 2007.
State Auditor Mary Taylor said her “office has been involved in this case since 2004 when our audit revealed that Mr. Morehead spent thousands of taxpayer dollars by misusing a health department credit card for personal gain. Subsequent audits show that Mr. Morehead continued to misspend public funds. Our auditors, investigators and special prosecutor worked hard to build a case against Mr. Morehead that ultimately led to today’s plea.”
The investigation started after a Vindicator probe into spending by county officials on trips in 2004.
Manken said some of Morehead’s spending did not rise to the level for a criminal charge. But, he added, some of it did.
Morehead has repaid $1,257 of the findings against him from three state audits. He still owes $10,700.
Morehead spent $1,080 on books that had no relation to the health department, including “Teach Yourself Ethics,” “Harry Potter Hogwarts Journal,” “Pocket Wine Guide” and “America’s Santa Assortment.”
Morehead also used the county credit card for $666 in gasoline for his car from September 1998 to November 2003. He was accused of putting in for mileage and then seeking credit card reimbursement.
Morehead also made duplicate reimbursements for restitution totaling $276 at restaurants and supermarkets from March 1997 to November 2003.
Morehead makes about $89,700 a year, county auditor’s office records show.
Manken said Morehead even put in for reimbursement of some expenses under the name of another health department employee.
Morehead told The Vindicator in 2004 that, “I don’t like carrying around a lot of credit cards.”
One item that caught the eye of state auditors was that Morehead charged tickets to a Rolling Stones concert on the county card. Manken said, however, that Morehead immediately repaid the cost of the tickets.
The health board has appeared to be supportive of Morehead even after he was indicted last year.
“Some board members resigned and some remained in his corner to the end,” Manken said.
The health department has had a rocky road over the years. It lost control of the Women, Infants, and Childrens supplemental nutrition program that provides food to pregnant women and mothers long before Morehead became health commissioner.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency recently permanently ruled that the county health department would not oversee a construction debris landfill near Lisbon because of poor local administration.
wilkinson@vindy.com