Other charges are expected soon against another county vendor, named by investigators in county records, ending the criminal investigation into what Clark County Prosecutor Andy Wilson had dubbed a “culture of corruption” in the county.
The facilities director, former Troy city councilman Jarrod Harrah, apologized to the county and the community before being sentenced by visiting Judge Jonathan Hein in Common Pleas Court.
Harrah, 39, was given one year in prison, fined $7,500 and ordered to pay the county $1,443 in restitution. He was convicted of theft in office and tampering with records and evidence. Harrah could have received up to nine years in prison.
Hein said Ohio sentencing laws today focus on incarceration of violent offenders, not those with crimes such as those committed by Harrah. He said he would consider a request for early prison release from defense lawyer Andrew Pratt when Harrah is eligible.
Following Harrah’s hearing, a businessman with whom Harrah did business for the county at Bob’s Auto Repair on North Elm Street in Troy pleaded guilty to one felony of tampering with evidence.
Robert Coppock III was accused of working on Harrah’s car and billing the county and then, once the investigation started to unfold, assisting Harrah by removing county property that had been put on Harrah’s personal vehicle, Wilson said.
Coppock will be sentenced Dec. 27.
Another individual who Wilson described as “a smaller player in this whole scheme,” likely will plead next month to tampering with evidence and be placed in a diversion program, Wilson said.
“He wasn’t part of purposeful defrauding,” he said, adding the man helped move some evidence in the case, at Harrah’s request.
Investigative records obtained by the Daily News say a man named Edward Wilson of Special Ed’s Handyman Service has pending criminal charges in common pleas court. Records show Wilson turned over video cameras and other audio-visual equipment to investigators.
Those same records list dozens of items found at Harrah’s home, including a lawn mower, lawn edger, numerous tools, a water heater, cabinets and car parts. They also list more than $1,000 in receipts from county property Harrah sold to scrap yards.
Those records also show investigators had much broader concerns with no-bid contracts totaling millions of dollars.
Usage of Tremco Roofing for several projects, investigators estimate, cost Miami County approximately $509,541 since January 2008 in over-charging compared quotes offered by another vendor that was not considered.
Investigative records also spell out millions of dollars of work awarded to the firm Waibel Trane without competitive bidding.
Representatives from this company gave campaign donations to commissioners and gifts — such as Reds baseball tickets, a flat-screen TV and I-Pad — to county employees, according to the investigative records.
The company responded to investigators that the electronics were graphic interfaces for systems they installed though investigators noted the systems did not have such an interface. Company officials said that was only because Harrah failed to set up the interface.
“Waibel provided absolutely nothing that was not intended to be used by Miami County for the benefit of Miami County and its constituents. Even in the instances about which you inquired (a single pizza lunch and a few Red’s tickets) the “benefit” provided was for an employee group and not for any individual/decision maker,” according to a response to investigators from Waibel.
Neither Waibel nor Tremco have been charged with any wrongdoing. Investigative records show the findings were turned over to the state auditor’s office and Ohio Ethics Commission for further investigation.
Summarizing the investigation, sheriff’s office officials wrote “assets were not properly tracked, records as to expenditures were falsified, theft and unauthorized usage of county property occurred, gifts and gratuities were solicited and received from vendors, frauds were perpetrated by contractors, and questionable contract procurements were conducted. “
Wilson, named special prosecutor in the case because the defendants know local law enforcement, said a conservative estimate of county property recovered from Harrah’s house was $18,602 and much was returned to the county. If the county wants to receive payment for lost property or property it no longer can use, it would need to take action against Harrah in civil court, he said.
In addition to Harrah, Bruce Ball, former maintenance department team leader, has pleaded to theft in office and was sentenced to up to five years of probation and spent five days in the county jail involving possession of a county-owned mower and blower. Two other maintenance employees resigned after the probe, and a third was reinstated.
Harrah told Hein he was “extremely sorry” for his criminal behavior. Each individual act “didn’t seem like a big deal at the time” it was occurring, he said, adding he understood the cumulative effect of his actions.
“I do apologize to the people here and people in Miami County,” Harrah said.
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