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Investigation finds no ‘no criminal intent’ by candidate for Warren auditor
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office has advised the board of elections that it has found “no criminal intent” on the part of a candidate for Warren auditor relating to an invalid signature on his candidate petition.
William Danso, an assistant county prosecutor, advised the board in a March 12 letter that the actions of auditor candidate Anthony Natale do not appear to “rise to the level of a felony criminal offense.”
The letter adds, “At no time does it appear that there was any intent to defraud or violate the integrity of the elections process.”
Natale remains on the ballot.
At issue was the signature of John Robertson, who at the time was planning to run for Warren City Council president. He has since withdrawn his candidacy.
Robertson and Natale agreed to sign each other’s candidate petition at Enzo’s Restaurant on Elm Road in late January, but Robertson is a quadraplegic, and the tables at Enzo’s are high, so he asked his wife, Linda Robertson, to sign his name on Natale’s petition, according to Danso.
Natale observed this but thought it was OK because he believed Linda Robertson had power of attorney for her husband, Danso said.
The elections board said the signature for John Robertson did not match the one on file for him, and there was no document on file giving his wife permission to sign on his behalf.
The board ruled the signature to be invalid, but Natale still had enough valid signatures to be placed on the ballot in the May 5 Democratic primary.
Also on the ballot is former Warren City Councilman Andy Barkley.
Danso said he referred the question of whether Natale had violated an elections law by indicating he had witnessed the John Robertson signature to the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office to investigate.
The charge in question, election falsification, is a fifth-degree felony.
Detective Michael Yannucci handled the investigation, talking to the Robertsons and Natale.