Ohio EPA employee accused of running real estate business on state time

COLUMBUS

The Ohio Inspector General has issued a report of investigation initiated after administrators at the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency alleged an employee was operating a personal business during days and times when he was working for the state of Ohio.

The investigation confirmed Edwin Perez, an environmental specialist in the air pollution control division south of Cleveland, had made more than 700 telephone calls in six months that were unrelated to matters involving the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Over the same time period, an analysis of the state-owned computer assigned to Perez showed more than 3,500 visits to websites related to real estate.

In an interview with the inspector general, Perez estimated he owned 13 real estate properties and was in the business of buying distressed properties, hiring contractors to make repairs or improvements, and then renting the properties to tenants.