Thursday, February 23, 2017
YOUNGSTOWN — Nearly all of the 26 Youngstown Water Department employees accused of falsifying their credentials will plead guilty Monday, pay a fine, make restitution to the city and lose their Class 2 water licenses for a year, their attorney said today.
Atty. Charles Dunlap, who represents 25 of the 26 workers, said all but one of his clients will take the plea deals in Franklin County Municipal Court to charges of falsifying their contact hours.
After a year, the convictions will be dismissed, Dunlap said.
The employees were charged by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Environmental Unit after the state Environmental Protection Agency discovered the issue.
Water department employees attended only part of a training class for state Class 2 water distribution certification in 2013 and 2014.
The workers don’t need the certification to do their jobs, but receive extra pay for having it, said city Law Director Martin Hume.
Workers receive $1.03 to $1.08 more an hour for the certification, according to the water union contract.
That amounts to $2,142 to $2,246 in annual salary per employee.
The city will consider potential disciplinary action after the cases are resolved in court, Hume said.
Dunlap said Anthony Vigorito, who teaches the certification course, let the workers leave early from the training, and they were not aware it was an issue.
Vigorito, the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District’s plant operations manager, and his attorney, Martin White, couldn’t immediately be reached today by The Vindicator to comment.
For the complete story, read Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com