Treasurer Guilty on Ethics Charge
from the Cincinnati Enquirer
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070517/NEWS01/305170028/-1/all
HAMILTON - Butler County Treasurer Carole Mosketti, who quit abruptly last week amid a state ethics probe, pleaded guilty this morning to a misdemeanor ethics violation.
She was convicted in Butler County Common Pleas Court of conflict of interest in the 2004 hiring of her granddaughter as a part-time deputy clerk in her office.
Mosketti, 68, who was elected in 2000 and earns $66,415 annually, paid the maximum $1,000 fine. She also will pay court costs and costs of prosecution. Her resignation is effective May 31.
By pleading guilty to the misdemeanor and quitting her job, she avoids serving jail time, probation and possible indictment on a felony ethics charge, said special prosecutor Lynn Grimshaw.
Mosketti already has repaid the county about $3,800 that her granddaughter was paid while employed in the summers from 2004 to 2006.Mosketti has not responded to repeated interview requests about the matter since it emerged last year.
She did not speak in court today other than entering the plea and responding "Yes, sir" and No, sir," to Judge Matt Crehan. She showed no emotion and quietly left the courtroom with her husband, Bob, a former director of Butler County Board of Elections.
Her lawyer, Jack Garretson, said she made a "good-faith mistake" that she regrets.Last summer, prosecutor Robin Piper asked the Ohio Ethics Commission to investigate after learning that Mosketti hired her granddaughter, Heather Maus.
Elected officials are prohibited from hiring family members.The issue came to light when Butler County Auditor Kay Rogers wrote Mosketti on May 31, 2006, to notify her that the hiring violated Ohio's ethics law.
As a result, Mosketti's granddaughter quit in June 2006.Rogers and Paul Nick, chief investigative attorney for the Ohio Ethics Commission, said Mosketti should have known what the rules are.
The Butler County Republican Party is in the process of finding a candidate to serve the rest of Mosketti's term. The application deadline is Friday.Four people have applied: Butler County GOP secretary Donna Defazio, US Bank Executive Nancy Nix, West Chester insurance agent Don Spurlock and attorney Dave Davidson.The new treasurer should be named June 12.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070517/NEWS01/305170028/-1/all
HAMILTON - Butler County Treasurer Carole Mosketti, who quit abruptly last week amid a state ethics probe, pleaded guilty this morning to a misdemeanor ethics violation.
She was convicted in Butler County Common Pleas Court of conflict of interest in the 2004 hiring of her granddaughter as a part-time deputy clerk in her office.
Mosketti, 68, who was elected in 2000 and earns $66,415 annually, paid the maximum $1,000 fine. She also will pay court costs and costs of prosecution. Her resignation is effective May 31.
By pleading guilty to the misdemeanor and quitting her job, she avoids serving jail time, probation and possible indictment on a felony ethics charge, said special prosecutor Lynn Grimshaw.
Mosketti already has repaid the county about $3,800 that her granddaughter was paid while employed in the summers from 2004 to 2006.Mosketti has not responded to repeated interview requests about the matter since it emerged last year.
She did not speak in court today other than entering the plea and responding "Yes, sir" and No, sir," to Judge Matt Crehan. She showed no emotion and quietly left the courtroom with her husband, Bob, a former director of Butler County Board of Elections.
Her lawyer, Jack Garretson, said she made a "good-faith mistake" that she regrets.Last summer, prosecutor Robin Piper asked the Ohio Ethics Commission to investigate after learning that Mosketti hired her granddaughter, Heather Maus.
Elected officials are prohibited from hiring family members.The issue came to light when Butler County Auditor Kay Rogers wrote Mosketti on May 31, 2006, to notify her that the hiring violated Ohio's ethics law.
As a result, Mosketti's granddaughter quit in June 2006.Rogers and Paul Nick, chief investigative attorney for the Ohio Ethics Commission, said Mosketti should have known what the rules are.
The Butler County Republican Party is in the process of finding a candidate to serve the rest of Mosketti's term. The application deadline is Friday.Four people have applied: Butler County GOP secretary Donna Defazio, US Bank Executive Nancy Nix, West Chester insurance agent Don Spurlock and attorney Dave Davidson.The new treasurer should be named June 12.
posted by Scott @ 12:29 PM
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