Thursday, September 22, 2016
By Sarah Lehr
LOWELLVILLE
Village Police Capt. Donald Coppola has hired a lawyer to contest a three-day unpaid suspension handed down by the mayor last week.
Mayor James Iudiciani Sr. said the suspension related to violation of a village “records-keeping” policy.
Citing an ongoing legal matter, the mayor, however, declined on Wednesday to specify which policy or to immediately release the letter notifying Coppola of the suspension.
Coppola declined to comment on the specifics of the allegations against him. He did not work Monday through Wednesday of last week, though he declined to sign the suspension letter.
Coppola’s attorney Thomas Haren of the Cleveland-based law firm Seeley, Savidge, Ebert & Gourash Co. would not name the specific allegation against his client.
“We are just now getting involved in this issue,” Haren said. “Right now, we are concerned with making sure the process is followed. He’s well-respected in the community. ... He follows the rules.”
The mayor said he followed the advice of Village Solicitor James E. Lanzo that an outside agency would not be necessary to investigate the matter because, the mayor said, the violation concerned internal procedure rather than alleged criminal misconduct.
Lanzo did not return requests to comment Wednesday.
Village police officers do not belong to a union. Therefore, the matter is not undergoing union arbitration, Iudiciani said.
The mayor announced last month that Coppola and Capt. Stacy Karis would fulfill the duties of Lowellville’s police chief pending appointment of a new chief. Applicants should send resumes to lowellvillemayor@yahoo.com or ATTN: Mayor Iudiciani, 140 E. Liberty St., Lowellville, OH 44436.
Former Chief Richard Jamrozik resigned in August after the Mahoning County Domestic Relations Court granted a five-year civil-protection order against him.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, a division of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, continues to investigate Jamrozik for alleged criminal misconduct.
Struthers Judge James R. Lanzothis month approved a motion for city Law Director Dominic Leone to appoint Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, or any of his assistants, as a special prosecutor in a case against Jamrozik. The attorney general’s office has not yet filed charges against Jamrozik.