YSU union chief to be arraigned this morning

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Ivan Maldonado

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Ivan Maldonado, president of the Association of Classified Employees union at Youngstown State University, has been charged with one count of menacing by the city prosecutor’s office.

“In layman’s terms, that is making unlawful threats,” said Prosecutor Jay Macejko. The charge is a misdemeanor.

Maldonado, president of the 380-member union, has been on paid administrative leave since March 13 after a criminal complaint was filed against him by an ACE member.

Macejko said Maldonado was notified of an arrest warrant, and he expected that Maldonado would turn himself in at 5 a.m. today at the Mahoning County Jail.

A video arraignment is to occur at 10:30 a.m. in Youngstown Municipal Court, with Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly presiding.

A 42-year-old female facilities department employee prompted the YSU police investigation when she told them March 11 that she believes Maldonado will cause her physical or emotional harm.

In the harassment complaint, the woman told YSU police that Maldonado had raised his voice to her and made a comment about her “health.”

A call to Maldonado seeking comment was not returned.

University spokesman Ron Cole declined to comment. Cole and YSU police referred questions to Macejko Tuesday night.

The woman’s complaint stems from a telephone call from Maldonado regarding the circulation of a Nov. 28, 2007, letter of agreement signed by him and former YSU chief human resources officer Craig Bickley, according to information presented to the university’s board of trustees.

The union said the letter was only part of an arrangement worked out between the university and ACE regarding the employment of another ACE member, Christine Domhoff, former union president.

The letter — containing a directive that it be shredded “upon completion” of the agreement — was widely circulated on campus and in the community.

The Ohio attorney general’s office declined to offer an opinion on the shredding issue last week but said there is such a thing as a “retention schedule” that government entities employ in the destruction of public records.

The Ohio Public Records Law stipulates that every record kept by a public office should be covered by such a schedule dictating how long the record must be kept and when it can be destroyed.

Whether a shredding clause in a letter of agreement constitutes such a “retention schedule” is a matter for legal interpretation, the attorney general’s office said.