Investigator believes ex-YSU chief used university vehicle for personal use
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
High mileage and fuel fill-ups throughout Ohio “would lead a reasonable person to believe” that former Youngstown State University Police Chief John Beshara “was using his Jeep for personal use other than travel to and home from work,” an internal investigation report said.
Beshara, chief since 2012, was placed on administrative leave in late April and informed that his contract, which expires June 30, would not be renewed. He retired May 31 from the $86,700-a-year job.
Lt. Shawn Varso has been acting chief since Beshara was placed on leave.
The investigation began last April and centers on Beshara’s use of the university-owned Jeep, a trip to Florida, a BMW car rental and an oceanfront hotel room.
Shannon Tirone, associate vice president for university relations and Beshara’s direct supervisor, generated a spreadsheet showing the gas fill-ups/usage and mileage for Beshara. It detailed by week the number of miles driven, location of gas fill-ups, transaction dates and times and whether Beshara had any days off during a particular week.
The document indicated Beshara drove an average of 89.7 miles per day in September, 98.7 miles in October, 56 miles in November, 73 in December, 63 in January and 62 in February.
It also indicated gas fill-ups on Sundays in Columbus, Mansfield, Sunbury (near Columbus) and Seville (west of Akron).
In his response, Beshara contends “the conclusions within the investigative report omit or overlook several critical points and in some instances reflect a fundamental lack of understanding of the role of law enforcement.”
The Vindicator obtained the documents by submitting a public-records request to YSU. The report of the internal administrative investigation was submitted by Melisa Fisco, a senior consultant with Clemans, Nelson & Associates Inc. of Akron, a law firm.
Beshara’s response to the investigation said his duties and responsibilities as chief aren’t limited to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“He was available and worked 7 days a week and it was not unusual to work beyond 4 or 5 o’clock or be called to the university in the evening or on weekends,” Beshara’s response said.
His use of the vehicle was consistent with his predecessor’s use and with the responsibilities of his position, he said.
“During the fall and winter of 2015-16 Chief Beshara’s wife was terminally ill,” Beshara’s response said. “It was not unusual for him to drive back and forth to his home several times a day to check on her before she passed away in February 2016.”
Last March, Tirone emailed Beshara, directing him to keep the Jeep on campus property when he is not actively working for the university. Tirone also told the chief to leave his Jeep key on campus while he is on vacation.
Tirone had matched fuel fill-ups for the vehicle throughout the state and some on weekends.
When the investigator inquired, Beshara said he couldn’t recall where he was visiting those days.
“Furthermore, it is reasonable to conclude the high mileage driven on the vehicle was not due to Chief Beshara’s patrol of the campus as the area covers approximately 140 acres,” the report said.
Beshara also told the investigator that he hadn’t received the university’s vehicle-use policy until April.
William Rogner, the YSU police department’s Clery Act officer, planned a trip at the end of March to Miami to attend training. The Clery Act is a federal law dictating that colleges and universities disclose information about campus crime.
According to the report, Rogner told the investigator that a few weeks before the trip, Beshara asked Rogner if he minded if Beshara went on the trip, too. Rogner said he didn’t mind.
Rogner’s flight was early March 27, and he drove his car to YSU and parked it. He and Beshara then took the YSU Jeep to the Pittsburgh airport. Rogner drove as Beshara directed.
That drive was three days after Tirone’s email directive about Beshara leaving the Jeep on campus.
Beshara told the investigator that Rogner drove “‘because Officer Rogner is the rookie and he is the veteran.’”
Beshara said he checked with both a university official and the Ohio Ethics Commission to determine if his going on the trip was ethical.
“It is absurd to conclude he did something improper when he checked” with those entities “because he inquired about whether there was anything improper if there was no additional cost,” the former chief wrote.
He was told there would be no additional cost, he said.
Rather than booking a room in the hotel across the street from the location of the training, Rogner booked a beachfront room at another hotel that wasn’t within walking distance.
That room was more expensive.
Rogner told the investigator the only reason he booked that hotel was because Beshara “wanted to be on the beach/have an oceanfront room.” The other hotel didn’t have that, the report said.
Beshara’s administrative assistant checked travel websites and found no cost difference between the two hotels. She didn’t, however, call the hotels and ask about a government rate. The report said the other hotel would have cost $90 per night less than the hotel where the two men stayed.
Rogner’s airfare was prepaid by YSU. Rogner put the remainder of his expenses on his credit cards and submitted the expenses for reimbursement.
Rogner rented a car and upgraded from a sedan to a BMW 528i, which cost an additional $36 per day. Rogner and Beshara told the investigator that only he, not Beshara, drove the car. Rogner said it was his idea to upgrade.
When Beshara’s assistant asked him what to do about the upgrade, he told her to submit the forms and receipts for reimbursement and if “‘they pay it, they pay it,’ and if it gets kicked back, he and Officer Rogner will split the cost of the upgrade,” the report said.
Beshara, who did not actually attend the conference, told the investigator that he thought the rental upgrade was a good decision for the university since Rogner would be representing YSU at training.
“When asked why a Chevy Cruze would not have been acceptable, Chief Beshara indicated that driving a BMW in Miami was a better decision than driving a Chevy Cruze because people drive fast in Miami, the BMW handles the roads better and it is generally a better vehicle,” the report said. “He indicated it looks better for the university to show up to a training seminar in a BMW versus a Chevy Cruze.”
In his response, Beshara “acknowledges that the university should be reimbursed for the cost incurred as a result of the upgrade of the rental car. This was something which was discussed with Officer Rogner prior to the investigation and intended to be paid by Chief Beshara.”
The rental car company’s records show the BMW was driven 775 miles. Rogner disputed that number and contacted the company to get it corrected.
Rogner told the investigator he drove the car from the airport to the hotel, about 11 miles, and then from the hotel to the training site, about 16 miles round trip, and about 3 miles to South Beach and 3 miles to North Beach. He said he had “no idea how that was possible and there was no way he drove that many miles,” the report said. “Again, he confirmed that Chief Beshara did not drive the car.”