Court records obtained by the Dayton Daily News show Foley’s attorney Dennis Lieberman on Wednesday filed a notice of dismissal for the petitions against both Starline and Esrati. These petitions had scheduled hearings with a visiting judge that are now canceled.
Lieberman said that although Esrati’s and Starline’s comments were “very serious,” they were “one-off” instances. No “patterns of conduct” have been established.
He said the petitions were filed without prejudice, meaning Foley can again petition the court if other behavior is reported.
Though Esrati has said his comments about harming Foley were a joke, Lieberman said they were “not funny in today’s world.” Lieberman also said he and Starline’s attorney agreed Starline would steer clear of Foley — “which is the whole objective,” the attorney said.
“What we didn’t want to do was cause (Starline) the collateral damage a court order would bring,” Lieberman said.
Esrati called the petition against him “a huge waste” of his and his attorney’s time. He also felt the way Foley sought media attention of the civil protection orders — announced via press release from Foley’s county office — was “disconcerting.”
“This was a bad joke told to the public, with me as the punchline,” Esrati told the Dayton Daily News Wednesday.
Starline in a press release sent by his attorney, Terry Posey Sr., on Wednesday expressed relief. But he also posed a question: “Where do I go to get my reputation back?”
“This petition should never have been filed,” Starline said in the release.
Starline’s attorney accuses Foley of attempting to “weaponize the court system” ahead of Starline testifying in Foley’s criminal trial next month.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
Starline allegations
Foley sought the protection order against Starline based on a conversation that allegedly happened over the summer that was reported to Huber Heights police Oct. 15.
Montgomery County Treasurer John McManus told an Ohio Auditor of State investigator of a phone conversation he’d previously had with Starline, in which Starline allegedly disclosed thoughts of killing Foley. Starline allegedly told McManus he had spoken with a therapist and “decided he would not follow through with killing him.” The auditor’s office investigator reported that to police.
Foley is facing charges brought by the Ohio Auditor of State of misusing his office for political purposes, including using county equipment for campaign purposes and improper electioneering. Foley’s trial in his criminal case is scheduled to begin in December.
Starline was questioned in 2022 by investigators from the Ohio Auditor of State about allegations surrounding improper campaign activity and other claims about Foley. Posey said his client is to testify in Foley’s upcoming criminal trial as “a key witness.”
Starline has alleged in interviews with state investigators that while working at the clerk’s office, he “observed (Foley’s) administrative assistant, who is also his campaign treasurer … doing campaign finance documents on the County computers where she was filling out his campaign finance report, asking him questions, he was answering from his corner office,” according to court records.
“Mike Foley had no duty to fear Tyler Starline,” said Posey Sr. “Tyler is a fine man, known and respected by all who know him. This protection order was not about safety — it was about intimidation.”
Esrati allegations
Foley said Esrati in a conversation with an assistant county prosecutor threatened to “murder” the clerk of courts and to take zip ties to the county building and physically remove Foley from office. A transcript of the conversation was filed by Esrati himself in a separate civil case he has against Foley.
Esrati this summer filed a writ of quo warranto in Ohio’s Second District Court of Appeals against Foley, calling on the court to remove the clerk of courts from his office. This legal action began after Foley asked the judge presiding over his criminal case to withdraw a plea deal he made with the state.
Esrati has argued that Foley lost his eligibility to hold a public office when he was convicted in June. His quo warranto case against Foley was dismissed last week in the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, with Judges Mike Powell, Robin Piper and Matthew Byrne claiming Esrati’s status as a “resident, elector and taxpayer” in the same jurisdiction as Foley’s office “are not sufficient” qualifications for the quo warranto petition.
Esrati this month filed for a reconsideration hearing for the quo warranto, asking “Is this still a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, if no citizen may act to enforce the plain text of our Constitution?”
Esrati told this news outlet he thinks the community “needs to take a long, hard look” at who they have elected to lead them.
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