Simon Leis Grievance - Exhibit D - News Reports

EXHIBIT D

,.CO~GHi 1~, THECWC1j\fNAUEN'ciulR.Ek .ALL14~HThRESERVED WEDNESDAY. SEPTRMBER1, 1999, . ~

";';

B~parkcomolet,dOcimients S~W" ,,:~.

.~n··nse -'c-uto<r'~.£;clJ~.~ '. l ,:;1), .' .•. ;;: . ,_ o:.e;..;..', ' .•~ . -'--;...,~-:r---.,'_ \ )r _. _ 'l

Proseciifor 'Mike'1\Jlen' argues prosecutor's office, Qhich is the home.ofat- " o! his conten- .~.~ycourt," t~e JaW;s~tes. " ,that state'statutesPIohibit, .suppq~d t~ rePfesent'a:U,-OlJ9' torney Stanley tion that the, .'. Mr. Allen'said ,ine~f~rre-"-"Sh'eriffki$ or !!!lyothercOlll!ty J,y officials tn'legal,matters-. ,i Chesley,.was a .sh.erlff acted 'quiEes"all regal;rnatt.er~'to go'~hetif(i!l,.,O~{frorn~PJ;~ctidng ,~"rh.e.c~urts ca~'t· ku~ed political e~~llt ,. imp r 0p e,d y<,tht!lUglitljepro~cuto~'s.office

Y'M "i . C Jaw,. .;,:2.,;.' c' / ",' !25'.E?Jlti9~,stUiJt?,,,,Mg, .~he!l"tPat, should not."w h-e n .' "'hle;£o,ll~vent,c?u.nwoffi,pals ,ttOlli'says.. "barn.dlsappomted that the ·sa!d.:, .'(#,.} be. bllt~d to /signed -,"hli!-llur,swoHhelr.own ~rsonaJof4,; .",\; t: . ..... cl)iefl~Y:';eDforc~!lierifofficefil,l, ;, .Tht!!e:week$.ago~~~;slieri.tt,ta~aayers,; ;,,;;fIiI,nl'e ~tb'~:Pfltltic~;;rg~nillis'!... '> :i.:i5'~>..... '. ~d, .. >·' .~1I)W:cd9ntY!h~~');p!jttlere~a(<I.;a~ke~fotaOleet,tng,tad\scuss,a',?'l'he:~ro~e-, " :Sll,It: ' :.;v;:i:.H~;sajdhe,s~mpflVl¥;~fh.:

anrlH()W)\JtD;WtLKINSON .(of thel(i:r;'~;;Mp:,~lIen~3~dpo!!slble .Iawsul~;.agaJOst.;~~ecutor sa!~.:he, .' I,n, ,.th.~ '!he;.sheriffs fIOSl.tion••on}h~ r~ ~'fhe'CintimJ,atiE;Q'uirer' . Tuesday.J'\\!as.:,stunped"and D~m,ocratlc Nat,i~J;lJlI Colfll!ut- wouldge~ bac~ -. ..'" ':; " .' three-page imbursementof expenses,..ootr.' ..' J:::\ •.q.,. ,"', shockedby thesheer.arrogance- tee and~he tI.~.'S!!cretS~rVlce, to the sh~rili,ry1lkeAllen, .....S'~on Leis {Ilemo~aJldurn.. he'could';rilOl find. anf legal'

The ••a;ul.toll C~untyp~ose- of his a<;tio!1s:;L;"'.. ; ,;, SheriffLeis-wanted t(}sue to said sheriff's ~~kesman Steve tMtthew.i11file today in Com-. groundstofilea la.wsuit~ ,cutor says'SI}:enff.SlmonL.Leis The legal opinion,which.Mr. -recover tlie $8,400 his' office Barnett "He fad,edto dp'so, ~o mon :P-IeasCourt. Mr. Allen :M Allensaid he wouldhave"broke the.....J.ii'Y last week when Allen Intends to fiie':today spent to providersecurity forvthesheriff took-it uponhimself cites a -state law-that. he says""c'f !: aSh 'ff Lei onlis de:. ,.he-sued,tl\e':D~m6traticNation- seeks'the 1awsoiCsdfs;;;is~1.." Pr~sid.entC~inton'sfund-raising to iil~ th~lawsui!." , . ' clearly forbids the sheriff fro~ 2ts%:~his"!~k if ihe sheriffai Commlt~!!E!~to .r~c?yer .e~- It states that' the' shenff VISItto Cincinnation July ,23. , He .said 5ihenff Leis.would takingsuch action. ." c:

. pen.ses'fr()llrapre~ldentlalVISIt, "overstepped his.authority'Ybe- The sheriff said the> no~ comment on tlie proseciic • "~o s~~i!! or coroner shall (Pteasesee SUll',_ ....~ a.blist:~ng,.legai opinion. cause he circuni~ented the fund-raiser. ~hicli took-placeat to: s opposiuon to the lawsuit practiceas an attorney at lawIn ·Page AlO:)

..•.•H ,Q:;t ..riffh•.,.':1;;~'1: ' .. ,:;

~llel~ill.,.;.·rOA~*:'awv_ -..-

r·fNSIDE., •••.•.;:i. "'

''::;.-;;.:1-

Leis-can't

DocnmentsobtainedbyTheE"quWPOUltto thecomplex-ity and cost ofbuiJdinga newball~adjicent to anexisling

:";"'_~'..... .&.L~;..~ "'.L•.•...•' or .•••••.•• : _,

,,$ui(;, Sh0l'ifr.S1facti0nsiUegal;-l~P0se6ut~rsays in legalopinion(;VNTI~U,~II,;fROM PAG,~'~J" ,~' , ,,'glider the,la:V,)1r. Allen said,oi11y m~m()r~ndumurging its disIJiissal - cost of.presidential security. "lirte'of disagr:e«\l1~nts between Mr.J:.eis,had not ~ken 'matters into his "own tb~pro'Secutor.can :;ict a~ legal ~oun~l.; wiH"Ukdy be<a$sign~d to a ju?ge,1oday. . "(She,riff Leis) m~de i~,plainhe I~Sjust and coimty Qrosecutors. ,,"bands on F(iday. j~r:'CoUllty officials: H~ _'SaIdShenff Leis,'] The judge \yill decide whe~er -to-pro- doing 'this for pOlitl~ purposes, ¥.or, The Shena. and former ProSeCutor

.;,"fle filecfjhis)awsuit Without even. a ,fonner countyp~cutor, sbou1~.,cee9.WlIh t\~e,;SUIt or t~OW~ll 9ut. , Bu,;ke said, " ' ,'Joseph Deters ~lash~drepeatedll' before. rile courteS}'i 6f; a': phone'i1~all tomy,:~(lW better. "i·i, ,.,"'> ..... '.. ,;;:ii2':/<:: Th~,oell),99Jiatlc"NationaIColTInllttee .M,r:Burke s ,~epubb~an Cpllllterpa\t.<Mr.' Deters be~m-t~te t({6~ie[iii?ti"()ffiM:'"Mjt;~llen'Sald:"rYead:-:ab6ur ~":'i~Whenrye .wasPr.o~aJt9r; he.m~de''''''c9uldnoE.be,re~thed fOfCOrnmel)t..:but !:LC,·IBuck" NI~hoff -. $ald he.has not. 'M' AI .~' ·-~~';::'·:'"i·"" I!t in.th~;'ne\,Vspa.~i.'f: ", , , It ~el)lidear tha~ ?rJy the ~rosec.~tlpg)ocalIYtl!1-Y of~cials',~~lcol1)edtteeffort spoken. t9 Sheriff Le19 o~..Mr. Allen, r,. len ~l~.h~,tand,.tbe sh~tjff?a

r.~ tHe. ~i¢~j;i~ ,Lel§tal~'a.c~d 'Ir1t' a,t$1~Y SM,irepr:~sentlfi\ll1ilt9!l C.O~f;iitO di?mlS;;';thce.;l?heriifs:Iawswt.).· ~. about tl~rr legal battle. ",' (~llpJ:V R;p;~bl}s~n,~aq an. excey~~tW· VtQJJe,r1Y;J'hen: he rdetltifted·:twt)'. attor7 ·..i t1.·~i,~,Allen $lIuf, "'11. ,~e\\tas.i'/ Tun Bur~ei co-chalfl!la,n, of the. COW1- '. "I'd jrst as soon staY,Oijt of It." ME'.· relationship ~n~! h~ filed the laWSUIt..,

u~s m lijs Office ~ Gail W~ghl:!and. F. outol-line when he filed"ill1s, ." ..•.. ty Democratic Party, Said It s routine for:,Ii'JIehoff said. ,. . «He doesn t seem to Ullderstandl1e'gJialrid 1t~~;;""':t~~tii~fl{~lJ?~~J, !~~~:I~i~~~F~s;;ye11as.~r.;All~P~$<·lPpWgovefrit11~~tsto {)<lY pa;-tq( the Th~disp~te is the'lat~i in ~"Jdtlg' to~ger prosec~tpr:'Mi,.Allen;~~,

,:<:,::r.t' ..' ~ ~,i~~~~.!i.;..__H';' __ ~-':::i_lL.,~;'''-·f>~'oo.Ji

~~;';'~'v;':~ ,,:If, {,\ . '(...'::',~n:;·~~~'IL,~llJelUfta ·..I·';·E()StJ~,,WEDNESlttAY~SEPTEMBER 1,l999 50 Cenll!

"

-Bus wre:ck'". ." ~ y- •.••• .•

driver',free\:;'\ " '~~.

dayexohgngmg goodbyes withhis fellow inmates., '~ahoney, 46, served a total of

door-ortfiei!.4mmlstratlon build. 1O.'y,ears;one morith-and H days;'.! ing of the Kentucky,Staie'Refor. behtndbarstor the. d~athsof 27,

at 8:44,a,m.today", > .: ' people.ab~ard,a phurchb}l~1.hat, '", 7,>. . '.,,>,<,', ~ollldedwlth:his"pjckup 6nMay ,

y..;,;: Tii~!Wln,cdilVl~ted1.:.n..ib~n. a".",,'14., !98.8"on'tiltei-.stSt?'11W. ~s,to~t, h~n's worst d.ruPk~n·dri\img.~;, .parrollton, Mah(:mey was driving'cidentgot ,into;a car l;hatn,ll(],j!lst'~he,wT91~R..wa1:.,1!iS~1(){)4:~COhOI,pul}ed up and ,drove away ,~th· content was nearl1;three timesout, commentto the tnrongor the \egallimit. ' '1<.media Qutside,,," ' Mahoney claimsto hay!! no

Three people - tho~ghl to be' memory Of Ute 'erasn-;'reaF'ningof~amily members - ,were inside ' 1tonly after he woke up in the

, the car, a green, Toyota selian:'f;,. hospital ~t~ his own relativelyMahoney wore a white T.sliirt, ., minor mjunes.blue jeans and a ball cap with' Ms, CZ1rT said Mahoney left a'~Kentucky" In' gold lettering. forwarding address in Carroll '_ State C"arrectlons D~p~ent County, which she would ~ot dis-

-.spokeswoman-Carol Czlrr'siild' .close, Because he served.his sen-Mahoney spent part of early, to- Please see MAHONEY" 7A

-r •••

_~I~.·~heriJnciS'strongly believeshe is doing theright thing onbehalf of ~lC

'~ /. taxpaycl: •..: Sheriff.s offi.cc

-,~flis,Aller--'feud- '1"'-8 new fight '~:but an old story .By. Sharon Moloney ta~ayers to recover thos;"~-'Post staff ceporter costs," .:': , r

H~milt9P'G()ttnty's hard.line' AJor~eT cout1ty t;>rose~itorSheJ'lff~non Lets is embroiled and Common Pleas Judge, Leis-ill yet~other feud withtl\ee. has battledwith his su¢cessorscounty'S younger Republicans:,.before9ver,what shoull'l be.pros-

time Leis is i~ a serious ", eC9tednhd, what sh<?w(l'be leftscrap-with Hamilton County • alone, particularty m the area ofProsecutor Mike Allen oyer af"';,P?rnography,lawsuit Leis filed against the , Htssuccessorshave generallyDemocratic r(~tg>nal CO.lnrnitt~·\;"··f\i.SPQ.nded that times have''.,.,to recover $6,000 Leis spent for . c~anged In the .past 20 years -security when President dlinton" tln~so have some of toe laws,was he.re fO.ra.Iund-raiser on Ju· b'~'FridJiY, L.cis filed the law .

•., was stunned . ly,;l3, / ~., , suit ...andtng 'payment of the, .,...' . ,*llef'ioelieves the Leis suit is $6,000, III 10 Common Pleasand shocked / a violation of Ohio law and char. Co,;rt ~}hout nottrymg t~e Al·by ttIe,IDl!eI" acterized it as "sheer' arro- len s office first.

, arrogance," gance," . : .LeiS himself signed the papers-MikcAII{'fI' Leis respllded toda .' flUng, the lawsuit and Allen was~ y. saying , inturtated

that Allen has "mtertered with 'the ability of Hamilton County Please. see LI;IS,4A

4A ",'I>

;.',#, _., 1 (hz·.2- W "_Er" ~ •.

t1'!':":;, -" ~~.f'

•

:8 FrdtnP!,GelA

i\:tleJ{'sald'there is nol~galb~1S ~ot:tbe lawsUit. He said ",further,that LeiS has.no rl~ht't<?

.1ile"thesult'~d Is In'factoreak-."'itig'~Mlaw. . ",,: .

; WOttay. Allen i'(iU file a motion'&slUng·tbecourt to dismiss tbesh,eri!f's!compl.lifut~use he ',~acksJwisdlct~on. _

.:,,:~~.a.t\.inned and shocked". bY.,tliesheer arrogance of hl!j ac-

·.Uo.ns,"Ailenisaid;fu a legal opin-Jon :that accompanies a motion

-.~o,'9ism!ss t~e Le~ssuit. ,Alfen said thll' Ohio Revised

Code' "is' Vt;lzY.clear tl'i'e s!1err!n~not permitted to practice, .

"Jaw •., ,that the prosecuung attor-neyis the only one who ~ ilie -.

.a SUit-onbel)alf of the 9'5'.w1tyOf"its electeddmctals." " .•.

'>·AIJen,saldthe sherilf consult-ed him several weeks ago, and'laid .outhls complaint,

AUen'Slild'be assigned his civ-il staff to research the law andtold the sheiitl he would get

;,back to him" ",Leis, however, didn't wait (or

'Jhe prosecutor's report - .:whiCh, cotncidentally, Wl;S nn-;!shea:la.st Friday 'when the sher·UC filed his lawsuit.

.iThesta:Ws c;;nclusion wasth~e was absolutely.no lega:rba·sistor a lawsuit," Allen said, '

••~wastn the.process of 'dratt-ing II letter to the sherili stating.

7; th~t W.h~l1tie r~ ;ult; Withouteven th~ cour-tW;y,or II phone-calltelll~.grpe he' h8d;dl\.C~deMofil~sUll :' e •

...: Leis spok~l'n1an:,Steph~n Bar-nett responded toda~ 'with aWrittetl,state!llent. '

"Sh~riff Leis strongL~es 'he is doln.g..U\eright flUng art Oe-_-~ of the ~ayers,".,the state-"ment said. "'-, :iSheriff,Le1s ilkewlseJ~lieves'that Prosecutor Mike Allen, byhis public comments, has inter-fered With the ability of Hamil- ,ton County ;Faxpayers to recoverthose costs tor serwices.ren-dered, . ~ .,'

.. "The shenff will simply, Waitfor the issued- to be resolved ~ytheapproprrate courts." .,

Leis apparently assigned hisown attorneys-to draft the law-suit. '

dail \Vright and F, DavidAlbanese are both listed on hissuit as "Of Counsel."

Both are employed by thesheriff's office..

The uproar is only the latestin a.long-standing feud betweenthe sheriff and his various suc-.cessors. The 'fight is usually overpornography and howstronglyto pursue it. '

It started with Anen's prede- ,cesser. Joe Deters, n~w sl;!lte .treasurer, .• In 1994, Leis bro!jght.obsceni.ty charges against the.KenwoodBarnes 8/;NOQlebookstore over.

cv -..1

"

\,"'The 'Siinon l.eis·,file,~ ... "., .... , .. ".,

.A fonner~U,S.M'~;'lne, X~~'1977, he won ilconvictionvle~Univ~rsl~;gta.dyate a'nd'· a9~in6(HLJstler Magazine Pub-son of a Ioiamffto~nCounty- com- fisher Larry Flynt on obscenitymOllP!,e~scoo(tio~~e,SI".lqn charges~ ..LelsJr. became an-asststant ' . "

..U,S. Attorney In 1969 'arid the, . ' • :,nJ983 •.Lel,~be~m!" ,8Hamilton County Prosecutor in common pleas court Judge,1971;" ,. .In 1987.'Leis·left his com-

• He became known for his mon pleas COljrt seat ~o,be-aggressive 'efforts;flghtlng PQr- come sheriff, replacing ,the re-',nograpl<ly,fnCincinnati and,,fn , tiring Lincoln Stokes, .

ac~~~ ~~~dt!Jt ma%iI,zine sOld. Deters sa~,d,because his staffthere. c : " attorneys might be called. to tes-

Deters w~ obviously not as ; tHy, he could not defend Leis inkeen as pis mentor to.press the. ~,the.suit.',case, and he worked' out an The upshot was 'the countyagreement with thebookstore had tohire outside defense law-.anddismissed the charges: yers for thousands of dollars,

The two clashed again in "The state and county govern-~895,when Leis's investigators rnents as they're organized haveraided users of Clermont County a series of checks and balancescomputerbulletin boards and and those are done to protectcopfiscated.computer equip- • the best interest of the public soment thesheriff said was used one person doesn't do every-tosend pornographic material , ..thing," Deters said today,_into Hamilton County., -, -.-·-·";'The prosecutor shouldn't be

Deters charged that Leis - in '; the sheriff and vice vers~, That'samove.stmllar to the present ju'!3~good public policy." There

.disagreement with Allen - dtd : were a number of disputes be:not consult the prosecutor's ot- ~ tween Leis and his own officeIice before taking actiog and .' during his own tenure as prose-conducting the raid,' . cutor, ijeters noted; ,

The i;her:itf.was later sued by ~ '" ...But they all evolved out ofthe computer users.. orie thing - andthat is that if

'"

""'____ - _~"'-:---"--,~"",,.'"T-C----.:r~ •.•.•.• 4 .:.... +. .• ~ • :: • "! e '! • * :C;S-:.~~,~h--:; ~~_R: $ .• !~s , : .. : S $ C ••• P? ? 3 f _~ '¥~:, .". OJ ..;.~,~~.~,).~

14A Thursdoy 5ept('mber 2, 1999 The Post

._,;.J~~isoverstepped,says prosecutorBy And~~w Conte?c:-t ~~ff i6P:Vtl:Ei"

Htuni1t<Jn County Sherill Si-mon Leis has filed at least 40 civ-il suits over the last two years Ina violation of Ohio law thatcould end up costing the countythousands of dollars in.over-turned verdicts and dlsmissals,said county Prosecutor Mike Al·len Wednesday.

Leis also apparently has ern-ployed at least two lawyers torepresent the sheriffs office onthe civil suits, a level of bureau-cratic redundancy that Allen be-lieves violates state law as well:

The prosecutor said he in- _tends to 'ask a court to bar Leisfrom filing any more suits.

"Part of my job as prosecutor,

"-<I Local.... , ~. . . .. '

... -...•

news'. ,

is to make sure that the public isprotected in these situations," .Allen said. "This isa case wherethe sheriff has clearly overstep-ped his bounds. There is no-legaljlistificat!on~!o!"the lawsuitsr"

Allen said he discovered thesheriff's forays into the courtswhen Leis flled a lawsuit Fridayagainst the Democratic National .Committee to recover $6,000 his •office spent on security when •President Clinton was here for afund-raiser on July 23.

What Allen did not know untilWednesday was that the lawsuitwas not the first time lawyersworking for Leis had filed suits.

On three separate days sinceMay 1998, lawyers working forLeis filed a series of lawsuitsagainst former corrections em-ployees, court records show.

In nearly every case, the ern-. ployees had signed contracts

saying they would have to pay

Simon leis Mike Allen

Wing suit to recover costs ofSheriff's Office services ren-dered to the benefit of the Demo-cratic National Committee(ONC). .

"Sherif Leis likewise. believesthat Prosecutor Mike Allen, byhis public comments, has inter-fered with-the ability of llamil-ton County taxpayers to recoverthose costs for services ren-dered."

State law precludes any sher-il1 from practicing as an attor-ney. A state court ruling furtherdefined the Jaw to include "activ-ities which are incidental to ap-pearances in court."

The law also states that theprosecutor shall represent"county commissioners, boardof elections, and all other countyoUices and boards." It adds, "Nocounty officer may employ anyother counsel or.attorney at theexpense of the county."

. ..I II A<-,"~:z~=::tXJ" 00 I

40; $Uits·~y~heriff.maybetossed. .

~IWII·~~II... ,

for job training if they quit work-ing for the sheriff within threeyears. The suits range in sizefrom S65 to $750 and were filedwith small claims court in Mayand December '98, and June '99.

Neither Leis nor the lawyersworking in his office could bereached for comment.

Leis' oUice released a state-ment saying: "Sheriff Leissjiongly believes he is doing theright thing on behalf of the tax-payers of Hamilton County by

But-Leis -e- a former countyprosecutor and judge - has em·ployed twolawyers to work.onbehalf or the sheriff's office,COurt filings show.

Both Gail Wright and F. Da·vid Albanese were listed as :'ofcounsel" on the lawsuit regard-ing Clinton's visit. Albanese'sname also appeared as the attor-riey of record oil many of the 39 .other civil filings. .

Stephen Barnett, the sheriff'sspokesman, tofd The Post thatMs. Wright works as "adminis-

. trative assistant" to the sheriff,while Albanese serves as "direc-tor of safety," listening to em-ployee grievances and handlingoccupational hazard issues.

But sheriff's office letterheaddated July 28 lists Ms. Wright as"Sheriff's COUnsel!' She used towork for former Prosecutor JoeDeters in the office's civil divi-sion and has the reputation pf

-

- \

~.-: F

being an "excellent attorney," Al·len said. She listed he. attorneyregistration number on the suit.

~lbanese •.a. former H~::r"i!toiiCounty Municipal Court judge,also included his registrationnumber and clearly has Deeworking as a lawyer regardlessor his title, Allen said.

The prosecutor's attorneysare researching whether the ver-dicts and claims can stand.

"Tbey look like absolutelyand completely legitimate law-suits and the sheriff is entitledto those Iunds," Allen said. "Allhe had to do was pick up thephone, send someone over hereor fax us the material and we .would have immediately filedsuit. That's what we-do for everyother office."

Staff writers Carmen Carterand Kimball Perry contributedto this report .

. ;.,,.......:-'!-~;-,. ,--0; ".;,. # • c· '1 <, '.::;

.~::..•.......

:, • '·0' ,.•

•• •• '" '" '. •• ." # ••••• -.;-_ -, •••••••• " •• "'~"- ," .--- ,'" 'I'" -" >"

~.•~ ... -,.;-c:,~ - .--.t.:(4,. ,'- -~ ,"

!II!II~' ..,

~':1'" .' '.'. .. ' ~--

~•• ~jJ~' .

J C •• \

I

I

," ,~" .,-. ~.~..• ,

18A Friday, September 3, 1999 The Post.,"-..

'i Local news'-.

, ,." .

.F

Leis."drops suit against Demo'cratsBut: s~.eriffjD$l~tsactions we~e legalPost slall report .

Hamilton Couoly Sheriff Si Leisasked Thursday that his controversiallawsuit against the National DemocraticParty be-dismissed, '

His request comes a day atter Hamil-ton County Prosecutor Mike Allen ver-bally attacked the sheriff, saying Leishas had lawyers riling suits .on bis be-llalf in violation of Ohio .law.rt also

t comes as Allen was preparing to go tocourt to bar Leis from filing any moresuits.

"I think that he understood that thesuit was filed in error and realized his

mistake and did the right thing," Allensaid,

He said he hadn't spoken to Leisabout the request (or dismissal - andhad no plans to.

Allen was been indignant that Leis,'using attorneys that the sheriff's depart-ment had put on its payroll, had beentiling dozens of lawsuits: Ohio law man-dates that the prosecutor is a county'ssale legal representative.

"The law is very clear that the Prose,cuting Attorney is the only person whocan sue in court representing the coun-ty." Allen said.

He stressed that Leis. a former prose-cutor and judge, knew what the law .was.

"I do know that when he was prose-cutor, he made it clear that he was theprosecutor, that he filed the lawsuits

and that he would not have toleratedthis,!: Allen addeU.

Leis issued a statement insisting hisactions were just: "Sheriff Leis strongly

believes his actions, todate, were legal andproper: however, to pre,vent any existing sideissues from distractingattention from themain issue in this mat-ter, Sheriff Leis haschosen this course ofaction."

Leis also asked AI,SI Leis ten's office to sue the

. Democratic National Commtttee andU.S. Secret Service to recover $6,000hisoffice spent on security when PresidentClinton was in Amberley Village for aJuly 23 Iund- raiser.

That's Dot going to happen."I hope it's over," Allen said.Leis took a final shot at Allen in the

'requested dismissal. He had two attor-neys he has hired .in his office' listed ascounsel for him on the request to dis-miS~ knowing that Allen was ada-ma9 bout forbidding anyone exceptthe rosecutor from being the county'slawyer.

Allen was particularly unhappy withLeis over the suit because when Leisbattled with Allen's predecessor, Joe De-ters.Tt was Mien (then chairman of theHamilton County Republican Party)who mediated a settlement betweenthem and ended the public sniping .

Allen thinks the sheriff's suit 'Was astab in the back.

H.C. "Buck" Niehoff, current chair-man of the Hamilton County Repubti-

can Party, was grad to see Leis submit."I think that's.very positive: The con,

troversy that developed really wasn't,helping this community he said.

Tim 'Burke, chairman of the Hamil,ton County Democratic Party •.contin-ued to insist that Leis wasn't acting asthe county's top cop.

"The lawsuit, to begin with. was pa-tently political," Burke said.

Allen said dozens of lawsuits Leisfiled as sheriff likely would be thrownout or overturned, costing taxpayersmoney. an .issue Leis attacked onThursday.

"... 1Ilt would be unconscionablethat any Prosecutor would choose todismiss suits heard and settledby corn-petent Hamilton County Judges," thestatement noted.

\

iI1\,

----7 - - :--y---.. - .. " . ..

THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER ,-

COPYRIGHT, 1999,fi.iECiNONNA11 ENQUIRER .ALLr~GHTSREs~RVED SATIJRDAY. SEPTEMBER4, 1999 FINAl, EmnON/EAST • 50 CEN1'S

Falcons 28,Bengals16

The EnquirOflCraig RutileRookie quarterback AkiliSmith threw a 33-yardtouchdown pass on hisfirst series Friday againstthe Atlanta Falcons.

111~lnrIIW"IUI;.

MEmoSiXarea districtsmeet top standards.

Six Southwest Ohio schooldistricts= Forest Hills. IndianHllI. Madeira, Mariemont,Wyoming and Mason - metthe state's top academic stan-dards on a trial run of.reportcards that will be issued nextyear. Cl

WHEElS'-

';:; ...•.•

/

.,,:"'"i'~

-t;

Viper works betterin Fantasyland 6

Wid~pen roads. cool tern-peratures, clear skies andabsent lawenforcement - theDodge Viper is a thrill beyondcompare.In the real world, it's

Gearing UP lor the last Iling oflummer'

The Cincinnati EnQufredGtenn Hartong

Mild times: Rhonda Schulte. left. and DeniseSchry visit Kris Fields, right, on Ms. Fields' EZTimes. It's on the Newport shore for the fireworks.

The Cincinnati EnquirerlMichael Snyder

Wild times: Kate Sticklemaier, 11, ofSpringboro splashes Friday at The Beach.Parks start limited schedules soon.

TJ...". .•.•.•.•_- •..- 1!.L ~ "I".!__.:-~ - - ~

~'nc'nn8ll Enquirer/Sleven M. Herppreh

Popular times: Erlch Kunzelleads the Cincinnati Pops.in a free end-of-surl\mer concert Friday night atSawyer Point. .

'74 Leisadvice:No staff

BY DAN HORNThe Cincinnati Enquirer

When Simon L. Leis wasHamilton County's prosecutorin 1974, he wrote a legal opin-ion advising the sheriffs officenot to hire a lawyer at taxpayerexpense. .

Prosecutors say the lettershows that Mr. Leis. who is

.now sheriff, should have knownhe could not use his own law-yers to represent him in severalrecent legal matters.

"The circumstances haven'tchanged," said Prosecutor MikeAllen. "Nothing is different."

The letter to then-SheriffPaul J. Fricker cites an Ohio lawthat identifies the prosecutor asthe "legal advisor" to all countyofficials and boards.

"It is our opinion tha I youmay not employ legal counsel

MikeA.!!en Simon Leis

and pay such counsel fromcounty funds," Mr. Leis wrotein the letter, which was ob-tained Friday with a requestunder the Freedom of Informa-tion Act.

Because the law cited in theletter has not changed in 25years, Mr. Allen said it supportshis position that Sheriff Leisshould not allow the two law-yers in his office 10 do legalwork. ,

Sheriff Leis, however, saidother state laws have changedsince 1974 and permit him tohire the.attornevs.

He said most of the workperformed by the lawyers -Gail Wright and David Albanese(Please see LEIS, Page A3)

'/

I=ROM.JlAGeAL~_.:< . ~L~.:i~~¥\_~AT.lJROAX, SlinllMfi~411999 A3:

Leis: No lawyersallowedin l'ci74 ,CONTINtJEp'FJ.tOM PAGE Al :'the shenff wil1ldreW ThU;sday, had The count~ .Republican.Party •... "Saiiff Lei~ waived that'privilege- ~volyes laoor. neg'otlatlo!lS, arbi- ~Iegal merit and violated state-stat- . chairman, ~:C. "Buck," Niehoff, .,:t ... because. the law. ~as changed intration dispufes and small' claims law- utes because sheriffs are not permrt- called a meetmg Fnday to bndge the substance and dynamics over the past'Suits. . '. • ted to file lawsuits. ' . gap. between t1ie public officials: quarter of a century," the sheriff said

Although Mi:. Allen contends it's The prosecutor then learned that "It was an extremely open and ·..in his statement. "improper for the sheriff's office to do the sheriff'§ office has filed. at least 41 positive meeting:' Mr. Niehoff said. . . '. '.'most~of;that work, Sh.~riff Leis lias small claims suits againstformer-em- "Both said they wilT.cOl)tinueto work .. ~e also noted th~t,prosec~tor s.,~id it's- mere ~fitierit ~ohaii41e it, pl~ees-whcr owe money for tra/nillS together ast team players in t~eir. oplmons.al e l:g31 advice and are not,in-house, A • , expenses. commitment to. law enforcement. . binding like a court order.

The sheriff said his 1974·opinion Me Allen said improper court fll- Both men, however, said they re- While that's true, Mr. Allen said,to Sheriff Fric~er d~s not mean he !nJs could lead to chaos because they main convinced each is right. ,. the law in this case is "crystal clear."has changed his.QO$ltion. Wh~t has involve doz~n~ of mdlvlduals and The sheriff ~jd the release 01 his Just as cleat, he said, as the opinion

vchanged, he said: are the circum- thousanps.ofdoUars.'. , ." t 1974 letter, has changed nothing. He Sheriff Leis himself wrote in 1974.~ta!1,ces., , /, c.He has. described the sI1erifli\!t.ac""·,Ila!d ..he .agreed to release the. letter '", .... .;

Y.ou can t compare 1974 to lions as t'arrogant" while Sheriff Leis even though it was a privileged legal.. It s his OWn opuuon, Mr. Allen1999," ~d sheriff's spokesman' has said the' prosecutors position on communication and did not have to be said. "!n no way, shape or form hasSte~nett. "It's like comparing the issue. is "ridiculous." made public. the law changed."the horse and buggy days to the jetage." '~

In a . written statelllent, SheriffLeis said\tll.e keY.differences involvethe dramatic growth in the size andresponsibilities of the sheriff's office.

He said the' number of employeeshas risen from 350 to 992 since 1974.At the same time, Sheriff Leis said,the office was unionized and is now

.subiect ·to complex {ed'era! labor Jaws},? "It only stands to reason that a lawenforcement agency employ individu-als with legal 'experience," SheriffLeis said in his statement

The sheriff also said an Ohio law'l\'as 'modified two years ago to allowattorneys who are sworn deputies toperform legal work

According to the law in 1974, "Nosheriff, deputy sheriff or coroner shallpractice as an attorney." When theJaw changed, "deputy sheriff'l-wasdeleted.j, .'

"Deputy sheriffs could not prac-tice law in 1974," Sheriff Leis said."in 1999; they can:'

Mr. Allen said the sheriff's argu-ment is .."a smoke screen" becausethe la"" Sheriff Leis is ,iting today isnot. tile Same law' he cited in 1974when he war-ned Sheriff Fricker'against hiring in-house attorney'S.

The law cited in the letter statesthat the prosecutor "shall prosecuteand defend all suits and actions"j!lvolvinfcounty,officials."No.countyofficer may' employ anyother counselor attorney at the expense of thecounty," the statute reads. .

According to jhe latest edition ofthe Ohio Revised COde, that law hasnot changed since·1974. .

"It is identical to the law today,"Mr. Allen said. ' .

The dispute between Mr. Menand Sheriff Leis began last week afterthe sheriff filed a lawsuit against theDemocratic ,National. CommitteJlseekingto~eco:ver expenses fro", apresidenfiar4tsitt " . .'

Mr. Allen said the lawsuit, which

''IE.

"1'tlH CINCtNNATfEN'(iUJRtJR. . . J:: r-

~~IAW t~.in, ~a. pc,

'. ~ ••••q- ..At". ~•. 1-"'--\'

" J r.-u;••.•t .•'. ;.-q,:t'Otictbl" 'PUt- • &tut,;ty .~ •.•.• rJ:'••••••.• 1 •.• 0 ,;,..;.. ~bqoo>'"m«,< 1\MalL.- ;"'~. ., ~~rt:.~ti. ~ _ If - "'",,~_,, ....,a.~1Ic .~...,.

r_.:'lf .••.~ ••, o.t t;xw. c»auL, ~ (t){t:.pc. •.•. p~"'Co 1" •• t:,U.Q4· "U;}Sd.4 of ~ .• r..-.t..u4 COd." .•. · •...•.•.••.

,.

- *"4

',,~ >/,i-4.:..n·"1'D'tl.!~ 'j:t ." N,e ~.' 'a"i. a-t!-".~ •• ,. Q~ dtil'j~_.,kul.,.<Nw:~l .u ~1 ~~ ~1 ~ COWJ.~,-ft.4.~. . c"

~,","l:.u, v_Wool.

-=-"""~:~~iy:,o;

This 1974 letter from then-Hamilton County prosecutor Simon Leis to .then-Sheriff Paul J. Fricker cites an Ohio law that identifies theprosecutor as the "Iegal advisor" to all county officlalsand boards.

~~Ift tOil twin. ea. DC.

, ~, :.-~ ~ "" ".

Aul.tent "'1181109 EditorMike PhilippS

, ... 125EMt~~C~;:0fil0~iii3i~,J

...•..

I ..., i( I"~ ::;,:-, '), I.o·'.ver the last three deeades, Indeed, the sheriff himself, , Simon Leis has.tis~d4he ,.,askedThursday,that the lawsuit

. . ,'positions 'of proseeutor,« .' 'be dismissed (but in a statementju~ and sheriff in th~ :Hamil. insisted he .had done nothington.Countr ~pubil~.~.r¥1Y as WTo~g)., i',

bully PUIPlts ..for his umque . He was wrong, however. State,;brand OfJus'ilce.. "': . law expressly forbids a. sheriff

• «: B~t albng.theJ~ay L~is Seems 'from practicing law. The law al-· :,''to ha-ve forgottentllat tij:e'jobs, so says the prosecutor is thele-'.a;e sep~ate'and.di'Scre.te. Just. gal advisor for all county offices,

,'''''aSthe aearly'Qeparied .can't 'take and that no county officers canthe~ pche~ Into heav~n,Jor1.fier«i hire attorneys .pot the cou~rity'~ex,

, - prosecutors can't c~rry their pense except under special cir-.pOwers Into the sheriff's otfice: i cumstances .•. ~. •. .,"H-............... , . _ . ,':

In fact, the sheriffs recent at- No wonder Allen was out-tempts to play prosecutor ~e raged to discover that the sher-~t the law, according, to lfr's office employs two

, current Hamlltop County prose- ~ .attorneys who have done legal.. cutOr> Mi-cnael'K."'All€m'(hill~elf work at the county's expense ':""". a former judge and poltce of~i· and that.Lets' office has filed at

cer.) ." . '. least 40 other civil cases overAllen, a Republican; objeeted?" the last two years.

publiely to a'Iawsutt that Leis, . , ---,:o-.,----:----,-.,-~--. alSo ~{RepubIican; filed in. Com', ....'. ' .

< mon Pleas Qourt 18$tYleek de- Prosecutor M.ohael'"me:nding the Democratic' - '. AI" :'" . . nt~., Natiorta! CommU~tee're~ay-tb.e '\, .", en·ISJ7Ig' " Insherlff~ <tffiee,$6.g~oJor.~e~uri.• ". forcing ,sheriff toty,-proVldea to PreSIdent Clmton. , . .' '. . ,', :

- 'Ij'du,riIlga.fund·rai~ing.stoJi> here . i' observe the law.in·JUly.,. :" .". .', lAs1rhat>pens,cl.iets~:·heart-isin' ---,------------

, th~.right ?l~Er~n. thi~one. Wp¥ The laws that prohibit sher-,: .-, should Cmeinnat~,taxparers ..: Hfs fro~ acyng as pros~c\1tors

,bear th7 .~ost:?U~epresl,dents ~ and otl1ercounty officers,ttU'l~.~a.l$tn"'Junlc,~t t,or th~J?e~:':,~rl-otn,crp&s;pg intq ..9th~~iadmin.

·,.ooratlc P-tlrtYfl,·", "">;'",''''( ..•.' ": ~"t .• ""if ';~ ':"'istrators'" tUr,f -..: are',designed to,.' , Bqt !tom ,a/legAlstantlpoi'Qtp .~~Pr-f~vtmt!lbhe~xa~~ kind of omnip~'Leis was out at b6und~~ .·1; 1 otenee ~h~t Leis seems 00 crave.

~ihbugll'many of th~~~~~- .tu~lor'that~ suit. ~e aISO!;;the'.erilployees~tin'6Wed. the l~gatt~ni~1is theiWscases,. were resolved sharply critieizedfhe sheriff for sberiff between $200 and'$500 officer in the county:'.'l!I~nfus,ag(), M~,Allehsaiil; all cir~umveqti~ the prosecutor's for equipmentand training' ex- Sh'·..;u'. I ' - ,',' . "

",o£theIl):.<l\r~ .lmp'tQI>~i:1ln9 offlc~. which IS sUPPO~ to rep- ,penses: ' ' '., "i"" Leis •.a,~~~~r,~?!'5shoiJl~,be .thrown out of.·cOUrt. resent all county pffiClals In le- _ ' ' , , cuter, would not al~i u!"

"I have a legal obligation to- gal mat~ers,_ ' .' Each .comp~amt }Va~ Signed roleo!· the alto~ys'; 1I!,ihisintervene," Mr. Allen said ' , " by Sheriff Leis 3ltdt m ,som,e offiee, .But he said ~&t,t;aWednesaay, {"I,:"." '!\!- ~Idth~; law forbids I~,cases,by:att<nme¥s' from hi~ ,sJXlke~a~ th.at t~e la~~Iie,.

. .",,' because It would be dangerous'cffice acting onhisdleliaif, Infilediare1egJtlmate andgiiOd fur'The" lawsuits are the latest if tne Sheriff were empowered some instances, the attorneys' taxpayers. .• .. '.'

point of co.ntention betwee~Mt, tonot only. investigate cases.v'areidentified as being "of coun- The-spokesman, Steve 8a1~Allen 'an'd./Sheriff Leis"whO but also'to.prosecute them. . <Sfl" 10 the sheriff, < J !)ett,said the suits allow# tilesp¥rred/earliet this we-ek'ov,er a Acc<itdlngto court records,' Mr. !\lIen eaidJt is improper sheriff to collect mote ;,thanswt the sheriff filed to recover the sheriff hasfiled at least 41 for anyone. other than the pros- -$8,900 and return thatlllOl!e}'expenses. from a presidential 'lawsuits in. Hamilton County's ecutorto serve as counsel to to the county's geneIai ftmd.visit. .. ; ·;r. Sl,l1ailClaims..Court-and MuniCi.-"the sheriff. 'i. . ..."I\Il'~ha~money·goes~Ck to ~

Me: Allen .filed a mernoran- . pal Court.' J' ..•.. , "The law is.!;fystal aear/"·"·(Pie~se 8e'eSHERItF.dumJ,:uesday seeking the.dis- Most of ~e suils allege that 'M!. Allen said, "The prosecut- Page A6).

Sheriff: Filed dozens-of suits:~~ w ~CONTINUED PROM PAGE Al "They are counsel repre- 'not diScuss issues with him andbenefit taxpayers," Mr. Barnett- sen..ting. the' ,.,sheriffs office ,in at times,. deci~ed not to ~6Uowsaid. . those filings, .Mr. Barnett said, . the prosecutors leg~advtc~.

Mr. Allen ~aid the ..jssue is·' Ht»J~no~ ne~essarilY counsel. ~o".Altfiptlgh ll'1C?re tban.a./doZe~ .not whether the lawsuits have the sbenft'c' .... .. .. . ' .,()f 'theswts were, filet when he. !

m.erit - it's whether they are i, Wh~tever their'title, Mr· Al- w,as·prosecutor, Mr. 'Deter~,legal. .'. l~~ said, they should. not be said he never was notified by

"It sounds to me that (the filing le~al papers on behalf of- the sheriff.!1 wasn'taware oflawsuits)titake legitimate arga- the shenff.}. ." ~""",' ..' . '" Jhis,."bf:· said. HHe CaJWotvllave .menta I"Mr .A"'lien said- UAJrhe . H~ said..the. sh~riff~s.a~looo ih-:hou'~Aconn" SJ;'.ll and:;;b.e c~';"tIt""~'' .....". ' .,. - '.' ..' . could wreak havoc because ., "'~ .' ,,,,t .. 'tl QUnVt.

.. has to do IS ~lC~ up. the phone. most of the cases already''have pra~tt~e law himsel~.. .and let us, do It. . . been resolvedv Money has While '.the ' sheriffs. actio,fl,

~e said .. s~a,te law .d~arl'y' changed hands, court. fees 'have are not a crime, Mr ~~U~n .said,

l.o.,.r~ld.St.he s.•.hern f fr~m d..om.g.lt.' be..,~n asse._.."sse d., 3.tt9rn..•....e..y.,~ ·..ha' ve _..;.•.;!P..~.~~(c.•...o~d.J..ea......•.....·.d,.•...to $l.....•.lSCl,..Plln3rt ·.{)nb~~ own. ~5c,ordi~g,to th.e .beenpalcJ.,,:.,~·';~, ••.•"<" ..• ac.n,~gam§tJnm,9:t,:tbe,att~r:

I~W1 No~bers.u~... shall pra~- . But because they wer~",han'7"neysim,ms oific.e.'HI'tbinlf:mey"bee l~w In, any court of this dled improperly, Mr, AUe~:~id. put their license to practice lawstate. . . ". ,: all of thecas.es should "go 'in jeopardy.'; !vtr. Allen said.

Mr. Allen.$ald the only time throufh court ..,ag~in~'"This is , Complaints against attorneysthe.law;Uo~anatt?~e~,ot~e;r w~a~; was.,aitald of;~'Mr. ~l~n .typically are 61.00withtPe,l~at ..tb~ll ~hepr~secu.~or to handt~.~. scud. '. ,'.. .bar::association'orwith the'dig;.case, IS .when .~.J.udgeformaUy. ,He said, be WID seek to dl~- GipUnary committee of. the Ohioappoints a special prosecut~r. In, mISS any of. the cases that still Supreme Courtthese cases, however;. either may be acnve, and he will do '. ....' ...'the sheriff or his attorneys filed legal re~rch to find ways to .'. A. Supreme .C~ .spekes-the leg~ijocurq~!ltsli. '. ove'rt~rn, t.bosetba.t al~eady Hpan ~Id :th~ct:)~~~tee wO\lld :

While he acknowledges that~ have been reSolved.' . .eyalua,t,e anycomp~aJnt~b~t.betwo attorneys - Gail Wright Former County Presecutor . 'no~e~ ,that-no lute m,:~e attar::and David Albanese - are em- Joseph Deters; who frequently neys, c;~e of ~r()fesslonal re-ployed by the sheriff, Mr. Bar- feuded with the sheriff before sponsl~llity spe.clfic(~nY'address-nett said neither is considere~ becoming state treasurer J said es the Issue raised m ~ts, case,Ute, sRe,riff's in.;house /counse,l~ h.e)notsurprised:thatSb~riff ",uJtrn<. nptaware. Q;f,a pr~vi-He said Ms. Wright is an admin- Leis filed suits without consult-sion th,at would cover this sJttia·istrative assistant and Mr. Alba-iag the prosecutor. tion,n said spokesman Ricknese is safety director. He said the sheriff often did Dove.

.has''~t':~••.r>: /'T,'" ,/"/,,,' , .,.J.'"

·Ulost;of.them,\/hithf~W/ttl~·,'Puq¢li.,;ltr., ·¢~\¢f;~;'i.>

'Since'".ibe5!('lmbaprOS~$~~t~r~,'a cQm~on/plEtfjneijff, ~e)l~~nir1g</;ro~·f~~:.~.q\l1J.moshof tHe,·coeenie;r~.:,on~Mr.....~l~'·~iil~~~~l1~:~tat;ls!ngAFf~§(td~..a~i~~t·L.PQr~.'nograpb:y~' ..' · ..; ,. .r~e)n~~o~ar:;~~m~~f..wa~;~;?first.{(jcu~e~ ~~~ti{~is(ili"¥,.•,19f.'f.;' ••~1l~n~as!c~ltnt~;:prg~pu:'··'~Qtt~htte"g.a-irr~ij··\a;c~pyi~ti~.~......~insf;ll@tl~."'~,." ••'"'~ ,,~

·nt~or"p,anqe~~g~~~~~.The ·,·.cqnviction:~a~·.·il.at~;r.

()Veft:u.r:nea,;, b~t.Mr•.~teis·~STsucOOssful.•..in. '···t:UnniOg~~!~t¥i.;busines~~.outgt~tJJe,~Q~t! •.,;;,,'

Mr.·•.l.eis:••.a!s().s~ir;e(f·.c~~~' ••'versY.~~':prOSElcut()r/bYfP~suiil~'E\'prqquq~~sof;~be,~~~~~.pl~.-()ht/'.Calcut~al,WhlchcontaI~ed!nUd~"IIII!I.yllllli- •..,.IIIII:s-·/II!Il/WUl-IIIII;;""'-, •. ,.,';';" .•'. .: .........,." ...••>«~~qU~t<flf6~h6t.

;;~;~~~llu=~~~~~o~jh.)Si.moh..·~ejs,~~.!l.I~r~~PIlP~rs.~yr!!lg,~!()O~~i~.•.•9<BI~,eAsh.. '. . ..•• i. ..•.'<~.......:s '.;ttj~}Of~u~tffT~'~!1fl~inePtJ~li~er.~a~ry:;fj:t~nt"i~th~~1Qs~:·

From 1982~pl~~7;l'hewas;. play .•..of·Rob~rt)dappl~tltor,J>e· Mr·l1i~.)· .';: ...•...•on t~ec(}~~n plea~.~p~~,;bu,t\'c·ph!>~ograp~.~·"",..'.'.....•........:., ·t.. T~e·t\Vo<~f~ud.~4:p~l)lt9tt;he .vol~tariJY,'.;I~!t~e'~f1l. ..:in7'·;'.!n .1~~5iiMr:!.~~i$..\\t~sfun- ,..ll,l~.cll·'.th~\V~Y:·~. ~heri{f;'and1981. to .~appolDt~Q sh~tiff\: . .•.OUS}attben~i>UQty,iRr~~~cuto!1vftke •..Al,len~.M~.~{)et~t;~;.stlc~~~~.•,

In1.g90;~anyin.> theco1n::; )oseph·1f ....,~ers,;~fte~ Mt~;.sorag.p~()sec~tor~are'\no!.d~'m~~tty.,•.~o~J~t~~,'~~nt.'tQo:f3f; ..·l)~.~~I:s..·;d~~i~~~·.;~g(liij~(i.p:~.~.~.···.~d..in••..~··b~tt!~.i~yet·.~~~.···Lei~.whenhe·ttj~ijaft~!aU~,.to;g~t~U(;~~~g·~.·J~~~§'\~j!~I(Jbl,tt,\~Qk:.i'.'tdu~g"~iS'Own .:la'Y~'nts..(i,lld,

.;~pnvictiQl1a~ai~~ti~thef~~;eJl1;i:;~t9~e~in'~~~~~li.()ijt1·lN~,Q~~~:;S\'1~<l~§i~tll.et~()ltJl.typr~cu;t()!..po,rarycA!fs'Qenter;'for"its{fi§.;; phy:':reta~e(lca2tl'g~s\'8toug£fhY"office{"" ". . . '"

..•. 'I

,tfMjf:r" ,

I

•. 1P8B1S: Reds baOla back bui'fall~ihOrlll1,8~i110SSto'Braves,'Cl

...TUE'·CINCiNNAJ'lENQUllmR{"~ '.. . . '"

,'{"

COP\'RIGHT, ~999, ThE c1NCJNNAll ENQUIRER.. ALL RlGHTS RESERVED

~'INSIDEThURSDAY. SEPTI!MBER 2, 1999 FINAL EDnlON/WEST • 50 CENTS

. 'A.lth~ugh many 01 the shetHIgb- iff's cases were resolved

p•.•.•••le months ago,.M~.,AI)eD said alllUll v of :·Ulem. are improper and'A look liac~ should be throw", out ill court.

at eases and "I have a legalobligation tocontroversies intervene," Mr: Alten saidthat put Simon' Wednesday.~els in the Th I . . th I. . spotlight A6 . e awsult!? are' e: atest

Simon Leis POint of contention between, Mr.A1le.n and Sheriff Leis, whosparred earlier this week over asuit the sheriff filed to recoverexpenses from a presidentialvisiL

Mr. Allen filed a memoran-dum Tuesday seeking the dis-

Slferift'tileddoZensof lawsuits'missal of that suit He. also the .employees' still owed. the ing attorney is the chief Jegalsharpty criticized the sherif! for sheriff between $200 and $500 officer in the county,"circumventing the prosecutor's for equipment and training ex- S. .office, which is supposed to rep- penses, henff 1.eIS, a fon,n.er·~rose-resent all county officialain 1e-'" ,'tvtor, would not. discuss thegal matters. ' . Each complaint was signed role of the attorneys in his

. by Sheriff Leis and, in Some o,ffice. But he said through aHe said the law. forbids it cases, by attorneys from his spokesman th.t the lawsuits he

because it would be dangerous, office acting on his behalf. In filed are legitimate and good.forif the sheriff were empowered some instances, the attorneys taxpayers'.to not only investigate cases, are identified as being '{of coun- The spokesman, Steve Bar-bur also to prosecute them. sel" to the sheriff.' nett, said the suits ,iIlowed the

According to .court records, MI'. Allen said it is improper sheriff to collect more thanthe'sheriff has filed at least 41 for anyone other than. the pros- $8,900 and return that moneylawsuits in Hamilton County's ecutor to serve as counsel to to the county's general fund.Small Claims Court and Munici- the sheriff, ., All that money gPOs back topal Court. "The law is crystal clear," (Please see SHERIFF,

Most of the suits allege that Me AII~ said. "The prosccut- Page A6l

All improper,claims countyprosecutorBY DAN HORN .The Cincinnati Enq~rer/.,'

Hamilton County Sheriff Si-mon L. Leis has' signed hisname to more than 40 lawsuits

. that prosecutors. say violateOhio law.'

Court records show that thesheriff filed the suits during thepast two years in aD, effort to

DoCtors not liabletor-HMO decisi~ns"r;,.lnkother vic.1orylor health-

insurance companies. OhioAIOOmeyGeneral BeUy Mont-gomery says doctors aren't.pra<.:ti'cingmedicine when th'W,doode which !returnent!; anHMO should cover. The legal

. . eanstheycan'tbe dis-'y 1I1e state Medical

'or bad decisions, B1'"recover training fees and equip'men! costs from former em-ployees.

Prosecutor Mike Allen saidstate law prohibits the sherifffrom ac~ng as his own attorney.

·B.uscrash driverrrtid from prison, ~ Mahoney walked. ou';'

of a:Kentucky prison Wednes-day;! lyears afterlciJling 27·;"a drunk,(jriving accident Crit-(essay the bn:vjty of his'scn- .

. tenceunderseores the nOOlI(>toughen drunk-driving laws,which have remained largelyunchanged since' that fiery:crash, Bl

Ex-Miamistudentsare' foundnot guilty2 were charged ' .~with postingracist fliers

River views: Louisville's waterfront provides'design cuesforwhatCincinnati's might become.

Want to look hip?1ry.on a new 'Vest

~lICStis.thc must-havc (••<ll-ion iII:1i1.{orfaIL 'nle utilitarian411c. 100\0;that ·stDrti!dwith car-go~ts-has inched i15w-.ryupt\1e'OOdy, They come in perfor-!PIIi>~ fleece, Quilted. l1y,loni!Ild hooded andmore, D1

BY STEVE KEMMEThe Cincinnati Enquirer

OXFORD - Two black for- '. __mer Miami University s\udellts,·ci3. Allen If. Snowwho were accused of staging '" some people will continue be-hate-crime h03Jt.on campus laSt lieving that they entered Mi-

. year claimed victory Wednes- ami's Center' for Black Cultureday alter a jury acquitted them and Learning after closing time

"of ctiminai charges. on.Oct. 3Q and. poi.\ed55. racistAller atmost eight ncurs of and anti-gay' fliers 'and typed

deliberation, a Butler County racist messages on f<)Ur com-Area I Court jury of seven pater terminals, ,.whites and one black found The discovery of the flierslI.l •• H ••...••.• ; ••. 1 c .•....•....•.•..:1 n .•....•1" •• -' ~- .•

!~I H~~PfJGE.

c_~_•..••.•_...:-r L_'-

.;,,iy.;

-(;.k~;,I·:"

'THE~C}NCINNATl·ENQ···..'{JIRER1:.< ' ;;"2'; , ' "'.. < '" , ",' • ' .'~' " '," .,;; • ' ,

iOf'YJUGHt. 1999, ThE C1NCINNA'f!'ENQUlRER.~.L PJ,GHTS,RESERVED FRIDAY • SE~BER 3, 1999. '-'4-,---

tltf~IDEIfu;"'~-,

. ,.,

~•\ .Mystery surroundsi t,liStarded b9dy ,

'Invcsligntril'j\, don't; know""Ilillt'll" badly dCCOOllloSCdhody by a ClermontCouiltyroadside. But officials sayV?hocverdid al)p.~mnUyw~~n~ concerned thatitw1)uld be~i;;covered.I)1

~f;.;.;~.:::i:::""";:::'

SPORTS,{J,I

~ngals! offensewin get no rest

Coach Bruce Cosier saystilo/.f(ense will keepplayingin'toniJ(hf" final exhibitionga;lJ<' against defending NFC

I champion Atlanta at CinergyEkld IIl\lil iI dMswm~!hing

1. lXi'i!-tive.'B 1 '\ -;......",~""'-'={ FAMILY~

.best to smoothold sibling riv~es

__ • Most rivalry issues between, adult siblings are small and not1. !iCripus enough 10destio¥,1'C1a-

fi6nships. But experts agreethat for emotional health, it's.!lest!O resolveall issue'S. E3l

'\lj

::::~~.

TEMPO

i1

tI

arelandmg.qIlsome fine people>J:·;Forsix months. JlOW,

;'~n\'r J<,hn JohnstOI1.has~ making wCi!kly storiesout of names our darts find inthephone book, He's met a lotoroke Il<'<>plc.£1.J~ ,...;.:~

D1rTC'\ •• ~""

110•

, FiNA!,EDrnON/EASr. 50 C~

I Sheriff defends legal worknegotiations. arbitration dis-putes and union grievances,

Although, Sheriff Leis de-fended thepractice as routineand efficient. Prosecutor MikeAlleh said' it 'violates an Ohiostatute prohibiting sheriffs frompracticing law. "

Mr. Allen said he was un-aware the sheriff has been as-signing the work to in-house that should be done by ourattorneys and warned that office ••.. Mr, Allen said. "It isthose cases must instead be not his prerogative to do H:'handled by the prosecutors of- In an interview Thursday.fice, Sheriff Leis spoke publicly for

lie said his office does sirni- the first time 'about his conrinu-lar work for other county de- ing dispute with Mr. Allen overpartments and should do the' legal work done by the sheriff'ssame for the sheriff. office,

"Clearly that's a function Sheriff Leis said he sees

nothing improper about his pOli-cy and said the work of his

'attorney. goes far beyond the41 civil lawsuits they have filedduring the past two years.

He said most 'of the legalwork is.rpenny ante stuff" thathis attorneys arc more thancapable of handling. '

"It's stupid to raise hellabout something likethat."Sheriff Leis said of the lawsuits."If (Mr. Allen) wants to assign aprosecutor to handle thosecases, I'd be more than happy10 give them to him.

"It's ridiculous, but if that'swhat he wants, fine."

(Please see SHERIFF,Page A7)

Prosecutor~ays,it's allImproperBY DAN 'HORNThe Cincinnati Enquirer '

Tw~ attorneys in the Hamil-ton County sheriff's office haveperformed extensive legal work(or years that prosecutors say isimproper.

Sheriff Simon L. Leis saidThursday.that the attomeys -Gail Wright and David Albanese- handleall of his office's labor

Suit droppedShe"ff 8im'on L, leis with-

drew his lawsijit Thursdayigainsl the Democratic National·Commilleil,The s~it Inggered aweek 01wrangling with \hec?unty prosecutor~ office. A7

The: Clncmnati EnqulterrGJann HaJ\Ol\9

Sheriff Simon Leis; in an interview Thursday, called thedispute over his office filing lawsuits "stupid."-., nmoth, Rub, director, Cincinnati Art Museum

'Cincinnati has some truly great art traditions I don'tthink are as well known as they should be. '

,

Season'* -down. to

'foo,'timefOfr ••Reds30 games to go;still in the chase-BY CURlS HAFTThe Cincinnati Enquirer

For 3 m~jor league ballPlay~.,- and maybe even Ior thellIaiQr league city o! Cincinnati "*' Tio. ••• -a:·w_ .••• •..~•.•._ ...••••,--_._ ..•.'••••

City'sgrowthdl•.ectorU:l ""''' •

leavingUdris iook heatfor downtown flopsBY HOWARD WILKINSONand LISA BlANK FASIGThe Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati development di-rector Andi Udris, under firefrom city council in recentmonths for slow-motion down-town development, will leaveoffice at the end of the year.

Some council members hopehe won't be replaced.

Both Mr. Udris and CityManager John Shirey have beencriticized bycouncil mem-bers who saythey presideover a bureau-

• 94.1, The Mix, kicks-off the fUQ

on Saturd.ay with remote from10 am to noon.

: ShdPPi~gfor ~~tiq~eS wcirktupan appetite. Lunch is on us start-ing at 11 am on Saturday.

• Shop & stroll with Oldi.es WGRRall Monday, ·11am t.o,2 pm.

-You can realJy.w6rk up aM ;>appetite in our 1Oz,600sq. ff:mall.Join us for pizza & sodastarting at 11 am on Monday. ,

~ltW:CI~}1:,\XATI~Ql)I!~, .' c: .' ,-' ;~. FROM ~ACj.A1' ~~

'QLti~#."~li~an/((·("~·~"··~I·~~;·.·.kril~ieeJ·'::~,i.&~t.;~,.~".l.,.c~~l,j~,~J~J'~;(.:~P~:l\.ji· .,05·;I'.J."10a~.···l~batdl~!.:V'~iK

'eONTINUEO FROM PAGE'At .'. • '.' . . -... ." ..• .

'~~~J~':r\!~o~~.tl!'.~is;,;witlidralVS·~y'it.that, ft!~\~<:p.!lJ,:OV~!sy}liUpti!ey~~~t iny~Ve~Ia~its;~,;. '<sihAN :aQRN,," ~ ..' Pt~SI?~n.t ~li~to~:~~~ce~.t ftind-r:ail1"'" , TIl;e sli'~~iff,.,fll)l\'eye~~iS!lW!!!?-9Y.

,;,!fh6YI~;''!9t.be:;a!!;~e'''''i~,x.,(1),".10';·;,8 ..'th~"()iricl~ii;EtI<iujrir"·i;~'~.. .tn&·Vi,~!~ to,Cmclnn~tt,;/;i:!/ '.. i.' ij~said /le.wdl,a/ik t~~ pi~nC(jtor,t,o'/I'"fS~t1ff:U!i& Sl¥d Ms;<WJ.ight; iI/fot"), t,.. '. .'... . f ':,r.'. '.. . Although Mr. Allen said he sym-. re-filethe sulton hl&beli~h,"'" .1, . t,

'.~mer ':aSslsrarit ProseCutot,¥repreSerits .'. After a .;week, of..spa~trng w~~ -1l3tmred with the desire-to recover" .. He' also said his decisionto-drop''~{h!rrl in a}llal?ornegotiations, arbitratk!n ,p~o~cutors ?ver:lts legality, Shenft- rnoneyIrom a •.presidentialfrolic ••.· the suit is riot an admission that he

dispU!esand hearings regarding labor Simon L. L~ls.W1thdre~ his law~ll!t the prosecutor concluded there was was Wt:~mgwhen he filed at least ~1''.f" =s=. .!,c, . '. . ~ ; Th~rsday agalIlst t,he" Democratic no legal precedent for law enforce= other civil ,laWSUIts.. ..

.!li He. scud Mr" AI~.3cts a~ a, NatJ9Jlai Cornfmttee...,.". ""ment'-t:o Seek reimbursement. .,. Those suita which seek to. recov-f9t.grie¥1lliC~ file<}1Ij~"" ". ,.,f~~t~Jhe;~b~~fL ,Silid .t:lje' ~~~e., '. ;Ill!tbeforehe, could-tell ·Sh~rjff.er t~.il'\i~g feesfrom Aot!l1er ~Il}-'~ ..'t''''''' 'iii;.·.l/~f"·'~)~:i' '~':/'d.~.)"£mean,Q,e w~.~/.~fO~,.,r.,~;· "Let."s; Jhe, sheriff fi..led, his;6wrf Slllt/ / llloyee$, also a!~.. ri!gaf~ed, as l~-.;,•.

, .... erut !j31C,ltmak~ more ~'., ~e said he dropped.the S\.l\t.onlY".Mt. Allen Said thesheriff broke a proper by the'prosecutor. Mr: Allen..'.n<imlt'senseIor rus.office to hilndfe becaase jPrusecutor r;iike A)Ien's state' law when he ·fifedthe·,suit said he will seek-their dismissal as'thOi!ecases than it does to,refer them to opposition tQ:.it 'hap' detracted from because sheriff~'oot ;permitted well,

,the,prosecutor's,office,~; the most imp?Ttant issue.: , "'~ to practice law: ~. '. Mr-.Leis said.he would oppose_, I'y,~got a.d\lty. to protect taxpayer . "I want the-issue tobe concise; The prosecutor, who filed a. rno- such amove, nQlm~rthafliiSl of~ce ' .

:.lJt.oneY~itht;riff 4is,scud., .. ' ,. '.. Arf!...w~ en.(it}~..lO: m..on.".e~ f.r.om.i.h.e., t.ioOtO'.dismiss.th.e.. sheriff.. '.s su.it thi·.s.. has .. recovered .•!:leariy. $9,.0.00 'Oo.jr~;-.l~t·~2'.:,~ said.~;tl,tlcti<7{\!]O-:, . D~q':".Sh¢Iff;r.ei(~d,:"~tth·()II'\\,eek"saidh~;wasglad .. M-r. Lels ~halfoftaJCpay;eis."',< ..,i ;:;.

~ate$:t¥J?w~~d ~Ql>Jmr!l~t~0;·. (Mt?;f.~e~)pj\as, done,;'he's clo\ld,ed voluntarily. Wi~hdrewit. i'fl, : ',:' ''',,'It,would be unconsdonablethar'ly,Jle said UI!!.law app!i~·ew:n Jf,tl'~; the ma~n issue.">» '.' "It's the right-thing to do: he .any prosecqjor wo~.chQw,e to dlS- Il!!SUe.so: ~:u:nount ohJ1O!l8YIOVP!v~, . Th~sheriff filed the lawsuit last said. -r thi~~ what he's saying is,: miss suits ,he"\.~J and settle~ by I'

~ trivial., ' " dim' week m an effort to recover abou; .he's recogrunng he's made a nus- competent Hamilton County judg-f'l' [t cfoesn t matter if Its over a tl' I $8 GOO in security ex•.••nses from take." .. ..." es.' the sheriff sa.id.01: a inilIion doIlars;" lI-1r. Anerl~said '. • .' ~ . ;". ~" ., "", '-' ~- I

,t'B's nOt his call to mak~;'We aIf need to ',_ . '..' . ~• !I"~ IaW.'\,,' ':""SAi,..'rt'l:;;r>~visit.:"L,; it?" .. . .... '$200 to $500costof their',trafrung"moneyback, < "

e:~d' his, ~YO)t~~AArtedi§y'l3;' .AI#loo&h'the "sheriffv(j\untarilydrsc 'Tlhink the ~payer ought to bene-;'" Mi-f AIle;; 'said the. ,issue is not

ir.hip law tlJat.makfS th,e.prosectl.tR~.missed.the .la~t Thursda.y, the case fi,t from that tralrepg, ~ 'I make ,them whether any' ofthe shelifl'.s legal work.

I •gal counsel·to an other <:ountyoffice-" drew attention to other legal work done sign the contract,' Sheriff Leis scud.. is legitimate because much of it appearsder.s. The law also specificallystates by his employees.' One of his former employees, Cl'll!g. . '.' .

• f county sheriffs are not permitted to Court records show the sheriff has Macke, said he worked for' the sheriff ~ he shP~n~~, ~ ~mt. he ~d, ISpractice law.' . . ~ filed at least 41 lawsuits-in municipal roc more than two years but was still at e . I,San s empoyees

<Ii'. "No sheriff .... shallpracticelaw in court seeking to -recover training. ex- required to repay the fulli$240 ~o:stof should not be ~Olpgany legal work.-s••.!"..J..h~y, ~ ..c. •...••. of..t9:i.:S.'"•.~..tate,'..'.'.th.".e,,~!~.t.u..·.,.~~/peDS1;s"...'~an~ eq~.P!l1~.~t.CoS.,.iS.·fr!)!]1£O,t. hi~'i\rail;liI1g">J. ,; fe·c' •. </Hesaidth~ s.heriff is.allowed tq..iureYr'~'6ids:? ",,?f .• ,' .·t'!$C;.··,MF'·mer 'employees, .. . .';' " .. It-was ridiculous.vsaidMr. Macl<e, lawYers' but he is not-permitted to''''~'''~1¥diSpUtebetween the:'sfieriftand ". 'The sheriff said the suits are filedto' a f~nner' corrections O~G~;. "They assigri them legal work. '

'th'oseciltor arose last week when Sh!!riff : enforce a three-year contract all depu- didn t pro-rate It or anything. " < .... ,"-Wis filed a lawsuit against the Demo-. ties must sign when they join his o!fice. ,Upon learning that the prosecutor .ITIt involves anything-where they:-cratic National Committee in an effort If they-do not 1ulfiIlthe fuII:.tJtreeyears, thinks the suits are tplproper,~, are mterpn;;mg the law, they shouldn t

.. to recover expenses front a presidential they are responsible for repaying the. Macke said he ~ould like to. get his be doing It, Mr. Allen said.'t~, :t:~~o;'

antique mall

Just off 1-75 and 1-2751 Block off 747'o~ 6es2eniViI!e Rqi(j'/

·10132 Business CenterDr, .Cincinnati, Ohio

513·874-7855.---....

NAACP Cincinnati - Is Sheriff Simon Leis a Crook?? Page 1 of2

http://naacpcincinnati.org/index. php?option=com _content&task=view &id=4 7 311912015

NAACP Cincinnati - Is Sheriff Simon Leis a Crook?? Page 2 of2

http://naacpcincinnati.org/index.php?option=com~content&task=view&id=47 3119/2015

NAACP Cincinnati

Is Sheriff Simon Leis a Crook??

Cincinnati NAACP President Smitherman communicates: "You determine whether Simon Leis is a crook. Sheriff Leishired six appraisers. All of them are his friends. All of them are white, male registered republicans. All of them have madethe maximum contributions to the sheriffs re-election campaigns(with the exception of one) and participated in his golfouting each year. All of them made more than $165,000 last year with one making $250,000. "

Click on "Read More" below to See President Smitherman's detail comments. Also, click on this link to the code of ethicsfor the Sheriff and decide for yourself: Is Sheriff Simon Leis a crook? Link: Code of Ethics of the Office of the Sheriff

Dear Membership and Community,

You determine whether Simon Leis is a crook. The United States of America is in the middle of a recession. The State ofOhio is one of the states with the highest home foreclosures in the country. The Hamilton County Sheriff isadministratively responsible for conducting the auction process. Therefore, he has the ability to hire appraisers whoevaluate the home values.

Sheriff Leis hired six appraisers. All of them are his friends. All of them are white, male registered republicans. All of themhave made the maximum contributions to the sheriffs re-election campaigns(with the exception of one) and participatedin his golf outing each year. All of them made more than $165,000 last year with one making $250,000. Supposedly, theyappraised 50 homes a day because the foreclosure rate is so high.

The human backdrop to this is that families are losing their homes. Yet, our county official, Simon Leis, appears to betaking advantage of this tragedy and making big money for the good ole boy network. Oh, did I mention that Simon Leis isa sworn officer of the law which includes the commitment to protect and serve? My understanding is that he swore toprotect and serve all county residents equally, not selectively.

Remember, no one is running against the Sheriff because the Democratic Party cut a deal. (I have already expressed mydisbelief and concern about that topic.) The purpose of the deal is to allow County Commissioner, Todd Portune, to rununopposed. Commissioner Todd Portune, I suspect, will not call a hearing into Simon Leis' involvement in this grossovercompensation of appraisers. I also suspect that County Prosecutor, Joe Deters, (who is also part of the deal to rununopposed in November 2008) will not investigate--nor prosecute--either.

The claim is that no investigation is necessary because there is not illegality. However, I strongly assert that appraising50 homes a day is impossible. That calculates to one house every six minutes within an eight hour day without a lunchbreak. this is how the white power structure "hooks up" their boys. I advise any African American in Hamilton Countyreading this message not try to "break into this market" (please forgive the pun) of foreclosure appraisals because YOUWILL "go directly to jail" without passing go; without collecting "$200". That's the law in Hamilton County. 700 WLW BillCunningham the protector of the system is very quiet. He is very quiet on this topic because his wife got the "hook up"with the promotion to the higher court of Appeals over a qualified African American. They call this Affirmative Action.

The County is being run like the Mob. The boss is Sheriff Simon Leis. A large number of the Judges are controlled by theColumbus, OH " pay to play" County Prosecutor, Joe Deters who replaced another Crook by the name of Former CountyProsecutor, Mike Allen better know as "Horn Dog 67 or 68 or 69". Is this the same Mike Allen who is now on Fox 19 as ahttp://naacpclncinnati.org Powered by Joornia! Generated: 19 March, 2015, 08:31

NAACP Cincinnati

legal analyst? We can not forget how they ended Officer Lt. Colonel Ron Twitty's almost 30 year career for a fenderbender that the "White Power Structure" said he lied about. During Black History month allow me to point out that Twitty isAfrican American and now the poster child in Hamilton County of what you get if you "tell a lie" as an Officer of the Law. TheCounty is run like the Mob with a strong support cast of cronies. They decide each day who broke the law and who gets .a pass. Now with all this corruption the City of Cincinnati wants to place cameras in our neighborhoods to take pictures ofour cars to balance the City budget. What will they think up next? The question is stop running around scared as apeople and lets come together and fight back to protect our Community. Our children are watching us.

Christopher Smitherman President of The Cincinnati NAACP Branch

-.....,.h"'"ttp....,://'""na-ac-pc"'"in""'ci-nn-:a''""Lo-'g-------------..."p,.-ow'ered b;~-;;l!al Generated: 19March,2015, 08:31