5 months later, Gerberry has given only a small amount of campaign funds to charities

YOUNGSTOWN

Despite saying after a criminal conviction five months ago that he would give what was left of his campaign fund to charities, ex-state Rep. Ronald V. Gerberry has given only a small portion of money to those organizations.

And the rest of the donations from his campaign fund may not be given to charities by June 30, Gerberry said.

“It takes time to write a check,” Gerberry said Friday in his first interview since Aug. 21, 2015, the day he was found guilty of a misdemeanor count of unlawful compensation of a public official.

Gerberry, an Austintown Democrat who, with 27 years, was the most-senior member of the Ohio House before his resignation, told The Vindicator that he was too busy after his conviction – completing 500 hours of community service – to write checks.

“From Sept. 9 to the week before Thanksgiving, I was working full time – sometimes 50 hours and six days a week,” he said. “It was two months and eight days. I wanted to get it over.”

The community service was split between the local St. Vincent de Paul dining hall and Goodwill Industries, Gerberry said.

Read more about the matter in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.