Tuesday, June 17, 2014
A couple of months ago, Athens County Sheriff Patrick Kelly, indicted in a corruption case, was suspended by the Ohio Supreme Court. A three-judge commission appointed by Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor recommended the suspension.
The charges against the sheriff include theft in office, tampering with records and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. Kelly is suspected of improperly using public funds to buy meals and personal apparel, selling county property to a scrapyard and stealing wire from a county garage, among other allegations.
He has denied the charges and says he intends to fight them in a trial in September.
However, the sheriff did not challenge the suspension from office.
In Mahoning County, Michael Sciortino, the county auditor who is seeking re-election this year, has been charged with 16 felony counts stemming from his participation in a criminal enterprise that sought to derail county government’s purchase of Oakhill Renaissance Place, according to prosecutors.
The Democratic officeholder will face Republican Bill Reese, a former Canfield Township trustee, in the November general election.
Sciortino can still run for office while under suspension.
Regardless, he should not be allowed to continue performing his duties as county auditor. As his state criminal case progresses, he will find himself spending an increasing amount of time preparing his defense and less time on his public duties.
Indeed, if the three-judge commission appointed last week by Chief Justice O’Connor recommends his suspension, and the justices of the Supreme Court adopt the recommendation, Sciortino would still get paid as county auditor — even while not working.
The reason for continuing to pay him is that despite the numerous criminal charges against him, he’s presumed innocent until he either pleads guilty or is found guilty in a trial.
So, why get him out of the way?
Because his presence in the courthouse is a constant reminder that government corruption — real or alleged — is again front and center in Mahoning County.
There’s also the issue of credibility. The auditor has a dark cloud hanging over his head, which will affect the way taxpayers and other officeholders deal with him. And, as his trial nears, he will be the subject of even greater press coverage than he has received since his indictment last month.
The state law on suspension applies because Sciortino was the county auditor when he is alleged to have committed the criminal acts.
On the other hand, the law does not apply to Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally, who also is charged in the Oakhill Renaissance Place conspiracy stemming from actions when he was a county commissioner.
Slew of charges
Were he still a commissioner, McNally would be targeted for suspension. That said, a change in offices does not negate the fact that he faces a slew of serious criminal charges.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty are leading the prosecution, and documents they released in support of the charges show that this isn’t a witch hunt or a case of overzealous investigators.
Sciortino, McNally and Youngstown Atty. Martin Yavorcik, who also has been charged in the Oakhill Renaissance scandal, are just the tip of the iceberg with regard to the participants in the criminal enterprise. The mastermind of the conspiracy is identified in court documents as Businessman 1, but he isn’t the only private- sector participant.
There are others, along with several from the public sector, who were involved in the campaign to undermine the county’s purchase of the former South Side Medical Center and the relocation of the county’s Job and Family Services agency from the Garland Plaza, which was owned by the Cafaro Co.