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Warren worker cleared of lawbreaking, but city plans administrative charges
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The FBI has concurred with two other investigative agencies, as well as two sets of prosecutors, that a Warren wastewater worker did not break any laws by looking at sexually oriented images on his work computer, Warren’s police chief says.
But the city issued a letter to the worker, Robert Stahl, on Monday, saying Stahl is being charged administratively for misusing a city-owned computer.
The matter gained attention recently when Jeff Hoolihan, a Warren police patrolman and former police investigator, contacted a local television news reporter and alleged that city officials were covering up illegal activity.
An internal-affairs investigation determined that Hoolihan violated departmental policy by talking about the investigation with the media. Hoolihan is serving a 30-day suspension for the infraction.
Police Chief Tim Bowers said he recently received a letter from the FBI in which Bowers was advised that the images did not rise to the level of illegal pornography.
That also was the opinion of Detective Wayne Mackey of the Warren Police Department and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, which assisted with the investigation, Bowers said.
The results of the investigation conducted by Mackey and BCII were turned over to the Trumbull County prosecutor’s office and Warren prosecutor’s office, and those agencies also agreed that the images were not illegal to view, Bowers said.
Doug Franklin, Warren safety-service director, issued the letter Monday to Stahl saying he misused his work computer from May 14, 2008, to Sept. 16, 2008, while working in the wastewater department.
“This misuse included, but was not limited to, accessing pornographic images,” the letter says.
His behavior constitutes gross misconduct, gross neglect of duty and malfeasance, the letter says.
Stahl is scheduled for a predisciplinary hearing conducted by Franklin at 1:30 p.m. June 28. A decision on punishment will be made after that.
The letter says the Warren Police Department turned over its investigative file on Stahl to the city’s Human Resources Department on Friday and that Franklin decided that administrative charges were warranted.