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Hanni urges authority to release 120 documents to ethics panel
By Ed Runyan
YOUNGSTOWN
Don Hanni III, a member of the Western Reserve Port Authority, says 120 documents protected by attorney-client privilege should be released to the Ohio Ethics Commission as part of its investigation of a land deal at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.
Hanni, who believes his letter to the ethics commission started the investigation, says a July 27, 2011, letter from the attorney handling the matter for the port authority, Charles Richards, to the ethics commission, said “there are 120 documents that have been withheld on the basis of attorney-client privilege.”
Hanni said he just received the letter this week.
Hanni has said he believes the investigation is focused on the role of board member Scott Lewis, vice president of the real-estate company Edward J. Lewis, which was the listing agent for a building on airport property. The company Millwood Inc. purchased the building as a result of securing a lease from the port authority.
Richards told the ethics commission the documents “may be responsive” to a May 12, 2011, subpoena the port authority received regarding the land deal.
Richards adds in the letter that he will forward any additional documents to the ethics commission in the event that the port authority decides to release them.
The port authority took a vote May 18 that tied 4-4 on whether to release those same privileged documents. Because it was a tie, the measure failed.
Hanni said at last week’s port-authority meeting at the Youngstown Business Incubator that he thinks the public would want all of the information available regarding the land deal to be turned over.