Ohio AG's office closes Sciortino investigation

YOUNGSTOWN — An Ohio attorney general spokeswoman confirmed today the office has closed its investigation into the May 26 traffic stop by the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office of county Auditor Michael Sciortino giving him a citation for failure to control.

“What we found was there was insufficient evidence of impaired driving,” said Jill Del Greco, an AG spokeswoman. “There were no blood, breath or urine tests. None were taken. Because of that, we decided to resolve the case with failure to control.”

A Summit County Sheriff’s Office investigation into the May 26 traffic stop in Canfield requested by Sheriff Jerry Greene found that Sciortino “failed miserably” a field-sobriety test after Sgt. James Touville, a deputy sheriff, pulled him over in Canfield Township on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Instead of an operating a vehicle while impaired charge, Sciortino was cited for a marked-lanes violation and he was driven home by T.J. Assion, then a sheriff’s department supervisor.

When a public agency compels a person to testify in an internal investigation, any statements they make are protected from being used against them in other investigations under what is called “Garrity Rights,” Del Greco said.

“Those in public positions are compelled to tell everything [in the internal investigation] or you could lose your job,” she said. Because of that, “any statements are constitutionally protected.”

The information obtained by the attorney general’s office “was full of statements like that and couldn’t be used by us,” Del Greco said.

For the complete story, read Saturday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com