Special prosecutor to handle allegations against Trumbull engineer
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The same special prosecutor who is handling allegations into possible illegal activity by Niles government officials and others is appointed to prosecute possible criminal charges against Trumbull County Engineer Randy Smith.
Judge Andrew Logan of common pleas court appointed Daniel Kasaris of the special prosecutions unit of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office on Friday to serve as special prosecutor in the investigation of Smith by the Ohio Ethics Commission, according to a news release from Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins.
The investigation centers on “alleged illegal activity ... which include[s] but is not limited to Having an Unlawful Interest in a Public Contract and various possible violations of Ohio Ethics Law for Public Officials,” according to a judgment entry signed by Judge Logan.
Smith could not be reached Friday to comment.
The ethics commission has conducted the investigation since 2013 with assistance from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the entry says.
The specific types of illegal activity alleged are not listed in any of the documents, but in April 2014, investigators from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Ohio Ethics Commission seized records from Smith’s offices and other locations relating to several issues.
One was whether Smith had a conflict of interest because of the $390,727 he earned from BP America.
An affidavit says Smith earned $390,727 in 2011 when he signed a lease with BP America to allow BP to use land he owns in Hartford and Fowler townships for gas and oil drilling.
Smith disclosed the earnings in a filing with the Ohio Ethics Commission, but Ohio law says Smith must not participate in matters involving BP to avoid a conflict of interest, according to an affidavit filed in Trumbull County Common Pleas court by state investigators in 2014.
Smith may have had a conflict of interest because of his participation in the writing of Trumbull County’s Road Use and Maintenance Agreements (RUMA), which spell out the responsibilities BP had to prepare and repair roads used in drilling activities it was engaged in around that time, the affidavit says. The agreements were overseen by Smith and his department.
Watkins’ office cannot handle a Smith prosecution, the entry says. It would be a conflict of interest because Watkins’ office provides legal counsel to Smith’s office.
The cost of Kasaris’ work will be paid by the Trumbull County commissioners.