Fox — former state lawmaker, county commissioner and Children Services director — filed a waiver Tuesday, Nov. 10, stating he won’t appear at an arraignment in federal court today.
The waiver says he will enter a plea of not guilty through his attorney, Ralph Kohnen.
Co-defendant Robert C. Schuler is still scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Timothy Hogan in federal court in Cincinnati today, according to court records.
The U.S. Attorneys Office leveled an eight-count indictment last month against Fox and Schuler, charging them with conspiring to improperly benefit from a $2.75 million fiber optics contract with the county.
Federal authorities say they found that Schuler, a Columbus-area attorney and owner of the fiber optics firm NORMAP, wired Fox $460,000 while his company profited off a contract with the county.
The indictment alleges they profited from the deal and failed to properly report the income. It also accuses Fox of not properly reporting income he was receiving from other companies doing business with the county, and accuses Schuler of lying to a grand jury.
Kohnen has called the charges against Fox “overreaching” and political.
Before joining the massive Cincinnati-based Taft, Stettinius and Hollister law firm, Kohnen was deputy chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cincinnati, running the office’s criminal side. This followed 11 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, according to the firm’s Web site.
Schuler’s attorney, Kevin Conners of Columbus, has not commented on the charges against his client.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or jsweigart@coxohio.com.
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