EXHIBIT

1~, THE CWC1j\fNAUEN'ciulR.Ek

,.CO~GHi

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WEDNESDAY.
,

SEPTRMBER1,
~

1999

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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
"i .
Jaw,.
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c' / ",' !25'.E?Jlti9~,stUiJt?,,,,Mg,.~he!l"tPat, should not."w
h-e n .' "'hle;o,ll~vent,c?u.nwoffi,pals ,ttOlli'
"barn.dlsappomted that the sa!d.:,
. '(#,.}
be. bllt~d to
/signed -,"hli!-llur,swoHhelr.own ~rsonaJof4,
cl)iefl~Y:';eDforc~!lierifofficefil,l, ;, .Tht!!e:week$.ago~~~;slieri.tt,ta~aayers,;
;,,;;fIiI,nl'e
~tb'~:Pfltltic~;;rg~nillis'!... '> :i.:i5'~>
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.~1I)W:cd9ntY!h~~');p!jttlere~a(<I.
;a~ke~fota Oleet,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,..
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,"',
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 sheriff
ai 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'YbeThe sheriff said the> no~ comment on tlie proseciic "~o s~~i!! or coroner shall
(Pteasesee SUll',
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~ 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 law In
Page AlO:)

Leis-can't

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dOcimients
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DocnmentsobtainedbyThe
E"quWPOUltto thecomplexity and cost ofbuiJdinga new
ball~adjicent to an exisling
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,,$ui(;, Sh0l'ifr.S1facti0nsiUegal;-l~P0se6ut~rsays in legalopinion

, ,,'glider

the,la:V,)1r. Allen

,~'

said,oi11y

m~m()r~ndumurging

its

security.
"lirte'of disagr:e\l1~nts between Mr.J:.eis,
. "(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.
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,;;: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
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!t in.th~;'ne\,Vspa.~i.'f:
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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~ ,Leltal~'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.
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(~llpJ:V R;p;~bl}s~n,~aq an. excey~~t
W VtQJJe,r1Y;J'hen: he rdetltifted:twt)'. attor7 .. t1.~i,~,
Allen $lIuf, "'11.
,~e\\tas.i'/
Tun Bur~ei co-chalfl!la,n, of the. COW1- '. "I'd jrst as soon staY,Oijt of It." ME'. relationship ~n~! h~ filed the laWSUIt..,
u~s m lijs Office ~ Gail W~ghl:!and. F. outol-line when he filed"ill1s,
." .... ty Democratic Party, Said It s routine for:,Ii'JIehoff said.
,..
He doesn t seem to Ullderstandl1e'g
Jialrid
tii~fl{~lJ?~~J,
~s;;ye11as.~r.;All~P~$<lPpWgovefrit11~~ts
to {)<lY pa;-tq( the
Th~disp~te is the'lat~i in ~"Jdtlg'
to~ger prosec~tpr:'Mi,.Allen;~~,
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(;VNTI~U,~II,;fROM PAG,~'~J"

disIJiissal -

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.
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cost of.presidential

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50 Cenll!

WEDNESlttAY~SEPTEMBER 1,l999

"

-Bus wre:ck'
driver',free
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-,~flis,Aller--'feud
- '1"'-8 new fight '~:
but an old story .

_~I~.~heriJnciS'
\:;'\
strongly believes
dayexohgngmg goodbyes with
his fellow inmates.
he is doing the
By. Sharon Moloney
ta~ayers to recover thos;"~-'
, '~ahoney, 46, served a total of
right thing on
Post staff ceporter
costs," .:':
,
door-ortfiei!.4mmlstratlon
build.
1O.'y,ears;one morith-and H days
behalf of ~lC
H~milt9P'G()ttnty's hard.line'
AJor~eT cout1ty t;>rose~itor
;'.! ing of the Kentucky,Staie'Refor.
behtndbarstor
the. d~athsof 27, '~ /. taxpaycl: .
and Common Pleas Judge, Leisat 8:44,a,m.today", > .: '
people.ab~ard,a phurchb}l~1.hat, '
.: Sheriff.s offi.cc SheJ'lff~non Lets is embroiled
",
7,>.
. '.,,>,<,',
~ollldedwlth:his"pjckup 6nMay ,
ill yet~other
feud withtl\ee.
has battledwith his sucessors
county'S younger Republicans:,.before9ver,what
shoull'l be.prosy..;,;:
Tii~!Wln,cdilVl~ted1.:.n
..ib~ a".",,'14., !98.8"on'tiltei-.stSt?'11W. ~s,to~
h~n's worst d.ruPk~ndri\img.~;,
.parrollton, Mah(:mey was driving
time Leis is i~ a serious ", eC9tednhd, what sh<?w(l'be left
'cidentgot ,into;a car l;hatn,ll(],j!lst'~he,wT91~R..wa1:.,1!iS~1(){)4:~COhOI
scrap-with Hamilton County
alone, particularty m the area of
,pul}ed up and ,drove away ,~th
content was nearl1;three times
Prosecutor Mike Allen oyer af"';,P?rnography,
out, commentto the tnrongor
the \egallimit.
'
'1<.
lawsuit Leis filed against the
, Htssuccessorshave
generally
media Qutside,,,"
'
Mahoney claimsto hay!! no
Democratic 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 Three people - tho~ghl to be'
memory Of Ute 'erasn-;'reaF'ning of
security when President dlinton"
tln~so have some of toe laws,
~amily members - ,were inside '
1tonly after he woke up in the
, the car, a green, Toyota selian:'f;,.
hospital ~t~ his own relatively
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
Mahoney wore a white T.sliirt, .,
minor mjunes.
,
.,...' . ,*llef'ioelieves the Leis suit is
$6,000, III 10 Common Pleas
blue jeans and a ball cap with'
Ms, CZ1rT said Mahoney left a
and shocked /
a violation of Ohio law and char.
Co,;rt ~}hout nottrymg t~e Al
'~Kentucky" In' gold lettering.
forwarding address in Carroll '
by ttIe,IDl!eI"
acterized it as "sheer' arrolen s office first.
_ State C"arrectlons D~p~ent
County, which she would ~ot dis, arrogance,"
gance," .
: .LeiS himself signed the papers
-.spokeswoman-Carol Czlrr'siild'
.close, Because he served.his sen-MikcAII{'fI'
Leis
respllded
toda
.'
flUng, the lawsuit and Allen was
Mahoney spent part of early, toPlease see MAHONEY" 7A
~
y. saying
, inturtated
that Allen has "mtertered with
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the ability of Hamilton County

Please. see LI;IS,4A
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;ult; Without
even th~ cour-tW;y,or II phone-call
telll~.grpe he' h8d;dl\.C~deMofil~
:8 FrdtnP!,GelA
,~
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Leis
spok~l'n1an:,Steph~n
Bar.A
fonner~U,S.M'~;'lne,
1977,
he
won
il conviction
i\:tleJ{'sald'there is nol~gal
nett responded toda~ 'with a
vle~Univ~rsl~;gta.dyate a'nd'
a9~in6(HLJstler Magazine Pubb~1S ~ot:tbe lawsUit. He said "
Writtetl,state!llent.
'
,further,that LeiS has.no rl~ht't<?
son of a Ioiamffto~nCounty- com- fisher Larry Flynt on obscenity
"Sh~riff Leis strongL~es
'
.1ile"thesult'~d
Is In'factoreak-.
mOllP!,e~s coo(tio~~e,SI".lqn charges~
..
he is doln.g..U\eright flUng art Oe-_"'itig'~Mlaw.
. ",,:
.
LelsJr. became an-asststant
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~
of
the
~ayers,".,the
state-"
..U,S.
Attorney
In
1969
'arid
the,
.
'

:,nJ983
.
Lel,~
be~m!"
,8
; WOttay. Allen i'(iU file a motion
ment said.
"'Hamilton County Prosecutor in common pleas court Judge,
'&slUngtbecourt
dismiss tbe
sh,eri!f's!compl.lifut~use
he ', , :iSheriff,Le1s ilkewlseJ~lieves
1971;"
,.
.In 1987.'Leisleft his com'that Prosecutor Mike Allen, by
~acksJwisdlct~on.
_

He
became
known
for
his
mon
pleas COljrt seat ~o,behis public comments, has inter.:,,:~~.a.t\.inned
and shocked
aggressive 'efforts;flghtlng PQr- come sheriff, replacing ,the refered With the ability of Hamil- ,
". bY.,tliesheer arrogance of hl!j acton County ;Faxpayers to recover
',nograpl<ly,fnCincinnati and,,fn , tiring Lincoln Stokes,
.
.Uo.ns,"Ailenisaid;fu a legal opinthose costs tor serwices.renJon :that accompanies a motion
dered, . ~
.,'
-.~o,'9ism!ss t~e Le~ssuit. ,
.. "The shenff will simply, Wait
Alfen said thll' Ohio Revised
for the issued- to be resolved ~y
Code' "is' Vt;lzY.clear tl'i'e s!1err!n~
ac~~~ ~~~dt!Jt ma%iI,
zine sOld.
Deters sa~,d,because his staff
theapproprrate courts." .,
not permitted to practice,
.
there. c : "
attorneys might be called. to tesLeis apparently assigned his
"Jaw ., ,that the prosecuung attorDeters w~ obviously not as ; tHy, he could not defend Leis in
attorneys-to draft the lawneyis the only one who ~ ilie -. own
keen as pis mentor to.press the. ~,the.suit.',
suit. '
.a SUit-onbel)alf of the 9'5'.w1tyOf"
case, and he worked' out an
The upshot was 'the county
its electeddmctals." " ..
dail \Vright and F, David
agreement with thebookstore
had tohire outside defense lawAlbanese are both listed on his
'>AIJen,saldthe sherilf consult.anddismissed the charges:
yers for thousands of dollars,
suit as "Of Counsel."
ed him several weeks ago, and
The two clashed again in
"The state and county govern'laid .outhls complaint,
~895,when Leis's investigators
rnents as they're organized have
Both are employed by the
AUen'Slild'be assigned his civ- sheriff's office..
raided users of Clermont County a series of checks and balances
il staff to research the law and
computerbulletin boards and
and those are done to protect
The uproar is only the latest
told the sheiitl he would get
copfiscated.computer equip-
the best interest of the public so
in
a.long-standing
feud
between
;,back to him"
",
ment thesheriff said was used
one person doesn't do everythe sheriff and his various suc-.
tosend pornographic material
, ..thing," Deters said today,_
Leis, however, didn't wait (or
cessors. The 'fight is usually over into Hamilton County.,
-,
prosecutor shouldn't be
'Jhe prosecutor's report .
pornography and howstrongly
:whiCh, cotncidentally, Wl;S nnDeters charged that Leis - in '; the sheriff and vice vers~, That's
to pursue it.
'
;!shea:la.st Friday 'when the sher
amove.stmllar to the present
ju'!3~good public policy." There
It started with Anen's prede- , .disagreement with Allen - dtd : were a number of disputes be:
UC filed his lawsuit.
cesser. Joe Deters, n~w sl;!lte .
not consult the prosecutor's ot- ~ tween Leis and his own office
.iThesta:Ws c;;nclusion was
.
Iice before taking actiog and .'
during his own tenure as proseth~e was absolutely.no lega:rba treasurer,
conducting the raid,'
. cutor, ijeters noted;
,
sistor a lawsuit," Allen said, '
In 1994, Leis bro!jght.obsceni.
The i;her:itf.was later sued by ~ '" ...But they all evolved out of
~wastn the.process of 'drattty charges against the.Kenwood
the computer users..
orie thing - andthat is that if
Barnes 8/;NOQlebookstore over.
ing II letter to the sherili stating
e

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Thursdoy

5ept('mber

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The Post

2, 1999

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40; $Uits~y~heriff .maybetossed

.

._,;.J~~isoverstepped,
says prosecutor

is to make sure that the public is

protected
these situations," .
Allen said. "This isa case where
the sheriff has clearly overstepped his bounds. There is no-legal
By And~~w Conte
jlistificat!on~!o!"the lawsuitsr"
?c:-t ~~ff i6P:Vtl:Ei"
Allen said he discovered the
Htuni1t<Jn County Sherill Sisheriff's forays into the courts
mon Leis has filed at least 40 civwhen Leis flled a lawsuit Friday
il suits over the last two years In
against the Democratic National .
a violation of Ohio law that
Committee to recover $6,000 his
could end up costing the county
office spent on security when

thousands of dollars in.overPresident Clinton was here for a

turned verdicts and dlsmissals,
fund-raiser on July 23.
said county Prosecutor Mike Al
What Allen did not know until
len Wednesday.
Wednesday was that the lawsuit
Leis also apparently has ernwas not the first time lawyers
ployed at least two lawyers to
working for Leis had filed suits.
represent the sheriffs office on
On three separate days since
the civil suits, a level of bureauMay 1998, lawyers working for
cratic redundancy that Allen beLeis filed a series of lawsuits
lieves violates state law as well:
against former corrections emThe prosecutor said he in- _
ployees, court records show.
tends to 'ask a court to bar Leis
In nearly every case, the ernfrom filing any more suits.
. ployees had signed contracts
saying they would have to pay
"Part of my job as prosecutor

I II

in

IWI

Wing suit to recover costs of

Sheriff's Office services rendered to the benefit of the Democratic National Committee
(ONC).
.

But-Leis -e- a former county

prosecutor and judge - has em
ployed twolawyers to work.on
behalf or the sheriff's office,
COurt filings show.
Both Gail Wright and F. Da
vid Albanese were listed as :'of
counsel" on the lawsuit regarding Clinton's visit. Albanese's
name also appeared as the attorriey of record oil many of the 39 .
other civil filings.
.
Stephen Barnett, the sheriff's
spokesman, tofd The Post that
Ms. Wright works as "adminis. trative assistant" to the sheriff,
while Albanese serves as "director of safety," listening to employee grievances and handling
occupational hazard issues.
But sheriff's office letterhead
dated July 28 lists Ms. Wright as
"Sheriff's COUnsel!' She used to
work for former Prosecutor Joe
Deters in the office's civil division and has the reputation pf

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Simon leis

Mike Allen

for job training if they quit working for the sheriff within three
years. The suits range in size
from S65 to $750 and were filed
with small claims court in May
and December '98, and June '99.
Neither Leis nor the lawyers
working in his office could be
reached for comment.
Leis' oUice released a statement saying: "Sheriff Leis
sjiongly believes he is doing the
right thing on behalf of the taxpayers of Hamilton County by

A<-,"~:z~=::tXJ"

"Sherif Leis likewise. believes

that Prosecutor Mike Allen, by
his public comments, has interfered with-the ability of llamilton County taxpayers to recover
those costs for services rendered."
State law precludes any sheril1 from practicing as an attorney. A state court ruling further
defined the Jaw to include "activities which are incidental to appearances in court."
The law also states that the
prosecutor shall represent
"county commissioners,
board
of elections, and all other county
oUices and boards." It adds, "No
county officer may employ any
other counsel or.attorney at the
expense of the county."

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being an "excellent attorney," Al

len said. She listed he. attorney
registration number on the suit.
~lbanese .a. former H~::r"i!toii
County Municipal Court judge,
also included his registration
number and clearly has Dee
working as a lawyer regardless
or his title, Allen said.
The prosecutor's attorneys
are researching whether the verdicts and claims can stand.
"Tbey look like absolutely
and completely legitimate lawsuits and the sheriff is entitled
to those Iunds," Allen said. "All
he had to do was pick up the
phone, send someone over here
or fax us the material and we .
would have immediately filed
suit. That's what we-do for every
other office."
Staff writers Carmen Carter
and Kimball Perry contributed
to this report .

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18A

Friday, September

3, 1999

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The Post

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Leis."drops suit against Demo'crats

But: s~.eriffjD$l~ts

actions we~e legal

Post slall report .

Hamilton Couoly Sheriff Si Leis

asked Thursday that his controversial
lawsuit against the National Democratic
Party be-dismissed,
'
His request comes a day atter Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen verbally attacked the sheriff, saying Leis
has had lawyers riling suits .on bis bellalf in violation of Ohio .law.rt also
comes as Allen was preparing to go to
court to bar Leis from filing any more
suits.
"I think that he understood that the
suit was filed in error and realized his

mistake and did the right thing," Allen

said,
He said he hadn't spoken to Leis
about the request (or dismissal - and
had no plans to.
Allen was been indignant that Leis,'
using attorneys that the sheriff's department had put on its payroll, had been
tiling dozens of lawsuits: Ohio law mandates that the prosecutor is a county's
sale legal representative.
"The law is very clear that the Prose,
cuting Attorney is the only person who
can sue in court representing the county." Allen said.
He stressed that Leis. a former prosecutor and judge, knew what the law .
was.

"I do know that when he was prosecutor, he made it clear that he was the
prosecutor, that he filed the lawsuits

and that he would not have tolerated

this,!: Allen addeU.
Leis issued a statement insisting his
actions were just: "Sheriff Leis strongly
believes his actions, to
date, were legal and
proper: however, to pre,
vent any existing side
issues from distracting
attention from the
main issue in this matter, Sheriff Leis has
chosen this course of
action."
Leis also asked AI,
SI Leis
ten's office to sue the
. Democratic National Commtttee and
U.S. Secret Service to recover $6,000 his
office spent on security when President
Clinton was in Amberley Village for a
July 23 Iund- raiser.

That's Dot going to happen.

"I hope it's over," Allen said.
Leis took final shot at Allen in the
'requested dismissal. He had two attorneys he has hired .in his office' listed as
counsel for him on the request to dismiS~ knowing that Allen was adama9 bout forbidding anyone except
the rosecutor from being the county's
lawyer.
Allen was particularly unhappy with
Leis over the suit because when Leis
battled with Allen's predecessor, Joe Deters.Tt was Mien (then chairman of the
Hamilton County Republican Party)
who mediated a settlement between
them and ended the public sniping .
Allen thinks the sheriff's suit 'Was a
stab in the back.
H.C. "Buck" Niehoff, current chairman 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 .continued to insist that Leis wasn't acting as
the county's top cop.
"The lawsuit, to begin with. was patently political," Burke said.
Allen said dozens of lawsuits Leis
filed as sheriff likely would be thrown
out or overturned, costing taxpayers
money. an .issue Leis attacked on
Thursday.
"... 1Ilt would be unconscionable
that any Prosecutor would choose to
dismiss suits heard and settledby cornpetent Hamilton County Judges," the
statement noted.

i
I

,
1\

----7 - -

"

:--y---.

..

THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER

COPYRIGHT,

1999,fi.iECiNONNA11 ENQUIRER .ALLr~GHTSREs~RVED

Falcons 28,
Bengals16

SATIJRDAY.

SEPTEMBER4,

1999

FINAl, EmnON/EAST

Gearing UP lor the last Iling oflummer'

The EnquirOflCraig Rutile

Rookie quarterback Akili

Smith threw a 33-yard
touchdown pass on his
first series Friday against
the Atlanta Falcons.

The Cincinnati EnQufredGtenn Hartong

The Cincinnati EnquirerlMichael Snyder

Mild times: Rhonda Schulte. left. and Denise

Wild times: Kate Sticklemaier, 11, of

Schry visit Kris Fields, right, on Ms. Fields' EZ

Times. It's on the Newport shore for the fireworks.

Springboro splashes Friday at The Beach.

Parks start limited schedules soon.

,-

50 CEN1'S

'74 Leis
advice:
No staff

111~lnr
IIW"IUI;.
MEmo
SiXarea districts
meet top standards.
Six Southwest Ohio school
districts= Forest Hills. Indian
HllI. Madeira, Mariemont,
Wyoming and Mason - met
the state's top academic standards on a trial run of.report
cards that will be issued next
year. Cl

BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer

WHEElS
';:;

'-

....

/
.,,:"'"i'~

-t;
Viper works better
in Fantasyland 6
Wid~pen roads. cool ternperatures, clear skies and
absent law enforcement - the
Dodge Viper is a thrill beyond
compare.In the real world, it's

~'nc'nn8ll

Popular times:
Sawyer Point.

Enquirer/Sleven M. Herppreh

Erlch Kunzelleads the Cincinnati Pops.in a free end-of-surl\mer concert Friday night at
.

.. -

TJ...". ....
_-

1!.L ~

"I".!__.:-~ - - ~

When Simon L. Leis was

Hamilton County's prosecutor
in 1974, he wrote a legal opinion advising the sheriffs office
not to hire a lawyer at taxpayer
expense.
.
Prosecutors say the letter
shows that Mr. Leis. who is
.now sheriff, should have known
he could not use his own lawyers to represent him in several
recent legal matters.
"The circumstances haven't
changed," said Prosecutor Mike
Allen. "Nothing is different."
The letter to then-Sheriff
Paul J. Fricker cites an Ohio law
that identifies the prosecutor as
the "legal advisor" to all county
officials and boards.
"It is our opinion tha I you
may not employ legal counsel

MikeA.!!en

Simon Leis

and pay such counsel from

county funds," Mr. Leis wrote
in the letter, which was obtained Friday with a request
under the Freedom of Information Act.
Because the law cited in the
letter has not changed in 25
years, Mr. Allen said it supports
his position that Sheriff Leis
should not allow the two lawyers in his office 10 do legal
work.
,
Sheriff Leis, however, said
other state laws have changed
since 1974 and permit him to
hire the.attornevs.
He said most of the work
performed by the lawyers Gail Wright and David Albanese
(Please see LEIS, Page A3)

'/

''IE.

1'tlH
CINCtNNATfEN'(iUJRtJR
.
.

Leis:

"
J::

r-

I=ROM.JlAGeAL~_.:<

No lawyersallowedin

~AT.lJROAX,

'.

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,
because. the law. ~as changed in
tration 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 1974opinion
Me Allen said improper court fllBoth men, however, said they reWhile 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.'.
,
."
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. Allen
1999," ~d sheriff's
spokesman'
has said the' prosecutors position on communication and did not have to be said. "!n no way, shape or form has
Ste~nett.
"It's like comparing the issue. is "ridiculous."
made public.
the law changed."
the horse and buggy days to the jet
age."
'~
In a . written statelllent, Sheriff
Leis said\tll.e keY.differences involve
the dramatic growth in the size and
responsibilities of the sheriff's office.
He said the' number of employees
has 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 law
enforcement agency employ individuals with legal 'experience,"
Sheriff
Leis said in his statement
The sheriff also said an Ohio law
'l\'as 'modified two years ago to allow
attorneys who are sworn deputies to
perform legal work
According to the law in 1974, "No
sheriff, deputy sheriff or coroner shall
practice as an attorney." When the
Jaw changed, "deputy sheriff'l-was
deleted.j,
.'
"Deputy sheriffs could not practice law in 1974," Sheriff Leis said.
"in 1999; they can:'
Mr. Allen said the sheriff's argument is .."a smoke screen" because
the la"" Sheriff Leis is ,iting today is
not. tile Same law' he cited in 1974
when he war-ned Sheriff Fricker'
against hiring in-house attorney'S.
The law cited in the letter states
that the prosecutor "shall prosecute
and defend all suits and actions"
j!lvolvinfcounty,officials."No.county
officer may' employ anyother counsel
or attorney at the expense of the
county," the statute reads.
.
According to jhe latest edition of
the Ohio Revised COde, that law has
not changed since1974.
.
"It is identical to the law today,"
Mr. Allen said. '
.
The dispute between Mr. Men
and Sheriff Leis began last week after
the sheriff filed a lawsuit against the
Democratic ,National. CommitteJl
seekingto~eco:ver
expenses fro", a
presidenfiar4tsitt
" .
.'
Mr. Allen said the lawsuit, which

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A3:

SlinllMfi~411999

iy:,o;

This 1974 letter from then-Hamilton County prosecutor Simon Leis to .

then-Sheriff Paul J. Fricker cites an Ohio law that identifies the
prosecutor as the "Iegal advisor" to all county officlalsand boards.

~~Ift

tOil

twin. ea. DC.

,
""

~,

:.-

".

Aul.tent "'1181109 Editor

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

.....

.o'.

...,

i(

I"~

::;,:-,

'),

ver the last three deeades,

Indeed, the sheriff
, , Simon Leis has.tis~d4he ,.,askedThursday,that
.. ,'positions
'of proseeutor, .' 'be dismissed (but in
ju~ and sheriff in th~ :Hamil.
insisted he .had done

ton. Countr ~pubil~.~.r1Y

bully PUIPlts ..for his umque

as

WTo~g).,

himself
the lawsuit
a statement
nothing

He was wrong,
i',

however. State
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 can
the~ pche~ Into heav~n,Jor1.fieri hire attorneys .pot the cou~rity'~ ex,
, - prosecutors can't c~rry their
pense except under special cir.pOwers
Into . the
sheriff's
otfice:
cumstances .
. ~.
.,"H-...............
, . _.
,':
In fact, the sheriffs recent atNo wonder Allen was outtempts 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."'Allm'(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 over
Allen, a Republican; objeeted?" the last two years.
publiely to a'Iawsutt that Leis, . , ---,:o-.,----:----,-.,-~-. alSo ~{RepubIican; filed in. Com',
....'. '
.
< mon Pleas Qourt 18$tYleek deProsecutor
'"me:nding the Democratic' '.
7
, Natiorta! CommU~tee're~ay-tb.e '\,
.",
,;brand

AI"

M.ohael
:'" . . nt~.
enISJ Ig' " In

sherlff~ <tffiee,$6.g~oJor.~e~uri
. ". forcing

to PreSIdent

Clmton.
, . .'
- 'Ij'du,riIlga.fundrai~ing.stoJi> here . i'
inJUly.,.
:"
.".
.'
ty,-proVldea

'.

,sheriff
to
.,',
:

observe the law.

, 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/legAl stantlpoi'Qtp .~~Pr-f~vtmt!lbhe~xa~~ kind of omnip~
'Leis was out at b6und~~
.1; 1 otenee ~h~t Leis seems 00 crave.

l~gatt~ni~1

~ihbugll'many

of th~~~~~- .tu~lor'that~
suit. ~e aISO!;;the'.erilployees~tin'6Wed. the
is the
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' exSh'..;u'.
I
' - ,','
. "
",otheIl):.<l\r~ .lmp'tQI>~i:1ln9 offlc~. which IS sUPPO~ to rep- ,penses:
'
' '., "i"" Leis .a, ~~~~r,~?!'5
shoiJl~,be .thrown out of.cOUrt. resent all county pffiClals In le- _ ' '
,
,
cuter, would not al~i
u!"
"I have a legal obligation
gal mat~ers,_ '
.'
Each .comp~amt }Va~ Signed roleo! the alto~ys'; 1I!,i his
intervene," Mr. Allen said
'
, " by Sheriff Leis 3ltdt m ,som,e offiee, .But he said ~&t,t;a
Wednesaay, {"I,:"."
'!\!- ~Idth~; law forbids I~,cases,by:att<nmes' 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 counThe-spokesman, Steve 8a1~
Allen 'an'd./Sheriff Leis"whO but also'to.prosecute them. . <Sfl" 10 the sheriff, <
!)ett,said the suits allow# tile
sprred/earliet this we-ek'ov,er a
Acc<itdlngto court records,'
Mr. !\lIen eaid Jt is improper sheriff to collect mote ;,than
swt 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~moneygoes~Ck
to ~
Me: Allen .filed a mernoran- . pal Court.' J'
....
, "The law is.!;fystal aear/""(Pie~se
8e'eSHERItF.
dumJ,:uesday seeking the.disMost of ~e suils allege that 'M!. Allen said, "The prosecutPage A6).
iWscases,.

to-

Sheriff: Filed dozens-of suits

:~~

"They are counsel repre- 'not diScuss issues with him and
benefit taxpayers," Mr. Barnett- sen..ting. the' ,.,sheriffs office ,in at times,. deci~ed not to ~6Uow
said.
.
those filings, .Mr. Barnett said, . the prosecutors leg~advtc~.
Mr. Allen ~aid the ..jssue is' HtJ~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
Wh~tever their'title, Mr Al- w,asprosecutor, 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 of
lawsuits)titake legitimate arga- the shenff.}.
." ~""",' ..' . '" Jhis,."bf: said. HHe CaJWotvllave .
menta I "Mr .A"
'lien said- U AJrhe
. H~ said..the. sh~riff~s.a~looo ih-:hou'~A conn" SJ;'.ll and:;;b.e c~';"tIt""~'
' .....". ' .,. - '.' ..'
. could wreak havoc because ., "'~
.' ,,,,t ..
.. 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,
rt
rn......
e..y.,~ .ha
l.o.,.r~ld.S
t
.he
s
.
.
hern
f
fr~m
d..om.
g.lt.'
be
..,~
n
asse._
.."
sse
d.,
3.tt9
.
'
ve
_
.
;
;!P..
.
.
~
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....
o
~d
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e
...........
a
.d
,
.
...
to
$l
......
lSCl
,
.
P
.
l
l
n
3
{)nb~~ own. ~5c,ordi~g,to th.e . beenpalcJ.,,:.,~';~,
.
"<"
.. ac.n,~gamtJnm,9:t,:tbe,att~r:.
I~W1 No~bers.u~... shall pra~- . But because they wer~",han'7 "neysim,ms oific.e.'HI'tbinlf:mey"
bee l~w In, any court of this dled improperly, Mr, AUe~:~id. put their license to practice law
state.
. . ".
,:
all of thecas.es should "go 'in jeopardy.'; !vtr. Allen said.
Mr. Allen.$ald the only time throufh court ..,ag~in~'"This is , Complaints against attorneys
the.law;Uo~anatt?~e~,ot~e;r
w~a~; was.,aitald of;~' Mr. ~l~n .typically are 61.00 withtPe,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 Ohio
appoints a special prosecut~r. In, mISS any of. the cases that still Supreme Court
these 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~
.spekesthe 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.be
two 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 reployed by the sheriff, Mr. Bar- feuded with the sheriff before sponsl~llity spe.clfic(~nY'addressnett 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~viHe 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 Rick
nese is safety director.
He said the sheriff often did Dove.
CONTINUED PROM PAGE Al

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~Qtt~htte"g.a-irr~ij\a;c~pyi~ti~.~
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~insf;ll@tl~
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The ,.cqnviction:~a~.il.at~;r.

()Veft:u.r:nea,;, b~t.Mr.~teis~ST

sucOOssful...in. 't:UnniOg~~!~ti.;
busines~~.outgt~tJJe,~Q~t! .,;;,,'
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a!s().s~ir;e(f.c~~~'
'versY. ~~':prOSElcut()r/bYfP~suiil~'E\'

prqquq~~sof;~be,~~~~~.pl~.-()ht/'.
Calcut~al,Whlch
contaI~ed!nUd~"IIII!I.yllllli- ..,.IIIII:s-/II!Il/WUl-IIIII;;""'-, .,.,';';"

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9

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From 1982~pl~~7;l'hewas;. play ...ofRob~rt)dappl~tltor,J>e Mrl1i~.) .';: ......

on t~ec(}~~n plea~.~p~~,;bu,t\'cph!>~ograp~.~"",
..'.'.........
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T~et\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;'and
1981. to .~appolDt~Q sh~tiff\: . .O
. US}attben~i>UQty,iRr~~~cuto!1vftke ..
Al,len~.M~.~{)et~t;~;.stlc~~~~
.
,
In1.g90;~anyin.> theco1n::; )oseph1f ....,~ers,;~fte~ Mt~;.sorag.p~()sec~tor~are'\no!.d~'

m~~tty.,
.~o~J~t~~,'~~nt.'tQo:f3f; ..l)~.~~I:s
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.~d..in..
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Lei~.
whenhettj~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.()ijt1lN~,Q~~~:;S\'1~<l~i~tll.et~()ltJl.typr~cu;t()!
.
.po,rarycA!fs'Qenter;'for"its{fi.;; phy:':reta~e(lca2tl'g~s\'8tougfhY"office{""
".
. . '"
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Reds baOla back bui'fall~ihOrlll1,8~i110SSto'Braves,'Cl

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...TUE'CINCiNNAJ'lENQUllmR
'..

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COP\'RIGHT, ~999, ThE c1NCJNNAll

'"

ThURSDAY. SEPTI!MBER 2, 1999

FINAL EDnlON/WEST

50 CENTS

~'INSIDE

Slferift'tileddoZensof lawsuits'

DoCtors

All improper,
claims county

not liable
tor-HMO decisi~ns
"r;,.lnkother

vic.1orylor healthinsurance companies. Ohio

AIOOmeyGeneral BeUy Montgomery says doctors aren't.
pra<.:ti'cingmedicine when th'W,
doode which !returnent!;
HMO should cover. The legal
. .
eanstheycan'tbe dis'y 1I1e state Medical
'or bad decisions, B1'"

an

B.uscrash driver
rrtid from prison

ENQUIRER.. ALL RlGHTS RESERVED

ou';'

,~
Mahoney walked.
of a:Kentucky prison Wednesday;! 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 largely
unchanged since' that fiery:
crash, Bl

HIgb-

..
lev
p lUll

prosecutor
BY DAN HORN

The Cincinnati Enq~rer/.,'

Hamilton County Sheriff Simon L. Leis has' signed his
name to more than 40 lawsuits
. that prosecutors.
say violate
Ohio law.'
Court records show that the
sheriff filed the suits during the
past two years in aD, effort to

.
.
Simon Leis

A look liac~
at eases and
controversies
that put Simon'
~els in the
spotlight A6

recover training fees and equip'

men! costs from former employees.
Prosecutor Mike Allen said
state law prohibits the sheriff
from ac~ng as his own attorney.

. 'A.lth~ugh many 01 the shet

iff's cases
were
resolved
months ago,.M~.,AI)eD said all
of :Ulem. are improper and'
should be throw", out ill court.
"I have a legalobligation to
intervene,"
Mr: Alten said
Wednesday.
Th I
.
. th I
. e awsult!? are'
e: atest
POint of contention between, Mr.
A1le.n and Sheriff Leis, who
sparred earlier this week over a
suit the sheriff filed to recover
expenses from a presidential
visiL
Mr. Allen filed a memorandum Tuesday seeking the dis-

missal of that suit He. also

sharpty criticized the sherif! for
circumventing the prosecutor's
office, which is supposed to represent all county officialain 1e-'"
gal matters.
'
.
He said the law. forbids it
because it would be dangerous,
if the sheriff were empowered
to not only investigate cases,
bur also to prosecute them.
According to .court records,
the'sheriff has filed at least 41
lawsuits in Hamilton County's
Small Claims Court and Municipal Court.
Most of the suits allege that

River views: Louisville's waterfront provides

'design cuesforwhatCincinnati's might become.

the .employees' still owed. the

sheriff between $200 and $500
for equipment and training expenses,
,'tvtor,
. Each complaint was signed
by Sheriff Leis and, in Some
cases, by attorneys from his
office acting on his behalf. In
some instances, the attorneys
are identified as being '{of counsel" to the sheriff.'
MI'. Allen said it is improper
for anyone other than. the prosecutor to serve as counsel to
the sheriff,
"The law is crystal clear,"
Me AII~ said. "The prosccut-

ing attorney is the chief Jegal

officer in the county,"
S.
.
henff 1.eIS, a fon,n.er~rosewould not. discuss the
role of the attorneys in his
o,ffice. But he said through a
spokesman th.t the lawsuits he
filed are legitimate and good.for
taxpayers'.
The spokesman, Steve Barnett, said the suits ,iIlowed the
sheriff to collect more than
$8,900 and return that money
to the county's general fund.
., All that money gPOs back to
(Please see SHERIFF,
Page A6l

Ex-Miami
students
are' found
not guilty
2 were charged '
with posting
racist fliers

Want to look hip?

1ry.on a new 'Vest
~lICStis.thc must-havc (<llion iII:1i1.{orfaIL
utilitarian
411c. 100\0;that stDrti!dwith cargo~ts-has
inched i15w-.ryup
t\1e'OOdy, They come in perfor!PIIi>~ fleece, Quilted. l1y,lon
i!Ild hooded andmore, D1

'nle

!~

H~~PfJGE.
c_~_..._...:-r

L_'-

.~

BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
OXFORD - Two black for- '.
__
mer Miami University s\udellts,ci3. Allen
If. Snow
who were accused of staging '" some people will continue behate-crime h03Jt.on campus laSt lieving that they entered Mi. year claimed victory Wednes- ami's Center' for Black Culture
day alter a jury acquitted them and Learning after closing time
"of ctiminai charges.
on.Oct. 3Q and. poi.\ed55. racist
Aller atmost eight ncurs of and anti-gay' fliers 'and typed
deliberation, a Butler County racist messages on f<)Ur comArea I Court jury of seven pater terminals,
,.
whites and one black found
The discovery of the fliers
lI.l H .... ; . 1

c ..........
..:1 n .....1"

-'

~-

.;,,iy.;

-(;

.k

~;,

I:"

110

'THE~C}NCINNATlENQ.'.{JIRER
1:.< '

;;"2'; ,

'

"'..

<

'"

",'

iOf'YJUGHt. 1999, ThE C1NCINNA'f!'ENQUlRER.~.L PJ,GHTS,RESERVED

tltf~IDE
'~-,
"
Ifu;
~
.

,.,

\ .Mystery surrounds
i

t,liStarded b9dy ,
'Invcsligntril'j\, don't; know
""Ilillt'll" badly dCCOOllloSCd
hody by a ClermontCouilty
roadside. But officials say
V?hocverdid al)p.~mnUyw~~
n~ concerned thatitw1)uld be
~i;;covered.I)1

,{

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

SPORTS

~ngals! offense

J win get no rest

Coach Bruce Cosier says

tilo/.f(ense will keepplaying
I in'toniJ(hf" final exhibition
ga;lJ<' against defending NFC
I
champion Atlanta at Cinergy
Ekld IIl\lil iI dMswm~!hing
1. lXi'i!-tive.'B 1
'

'

FRIDAY SE~BER

Prosecutor
~ays,it's all
Improper
BY DAN 'HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer '
Tw~ attorneys in the Hamilton County sheriff's office have
performed extensive legal work
(or years that prosecutors say is
improper.
Sheriff Simon L. Leis said
Thursday.that
the attomeys Gail Wright and David Albanese
- handleall of his office's labor

negotiations.
arbitration
disputes and union grievances,
Although, Sheriff Leis defended thepractice
as routine
and efficient. Prosecutor
Mike
Alleh said' it 'violates an Ohio
statute prohibiting sheriffs from
practicing law.
"
Mr. Allen said he was unaware the sheriff has been assigning the work to in-house
attorneys
and warned
that
those cases must instead be
handled by the prosecutors
office,
lie said his office does sirnilar work for other county departments and should do the'
same for the sheriff.
"Clearly that's a function

-.,

{ FAMILY
~
.best to smooth

::::~~.

TEMPO

1
t

arelandmg
.qIlsome fine people
>J:;Forsix months. JlOW,
;'~n\'r
J<,hn JohnstOI1.has
~
making wCi!kly stories
out of names our darts find in
thephone book, He's met a lot
oroke Il<'<>plc.1.
J~

,...;.:~

D1rTC'\

~""

',"

.,;;

3, 1999. '-'4-,---

Suit dropped
She"ff 8im'on L, leis withdrew his lawsijit Thursday
igainsl the Democratic National
Commilleil,The s~it Inggered a
week 01wrangling with \he
c?unty prosecutor~ office. A7
that should be done by our
office .. Mr, Allen said. "It is
not his prerogative to do H:'
In an interview Thursday.
Sheriff Leis spoke publicly for
the first time 'about his conrinuing dispute with Mr. Allen over
legal work done by the sheriff's
office,
Sheriff Leis said he sees

'

, FiNA!,EDrnON/EASr.

50 C~

nothing improper about his pOlicy and said the work of his
'attorney.
goes far beyond the
41 civil lawsuits they have filed
during the past two years.
He said most 'of the legal
work is.rpenny ante stuff" that
his attorneys
arc more than
capable of handling.
'
"It's stupid to raise hell
about something likethat."
Sheriff Leis said of the lawsuits.
"If (Mr. Allen) wants to assign a
prosecutor to handle those
cases, I'd be more than happy
10 give them to him.
"It's ridiculous, but if that's
what he wants, fine."
The: Clncmnati

EnqulterrGJann

(Please see SHERIFF,

Page A7) Sheriff Simon Leis; in an interview Thursday,

nmoth, Rub, director, Cincinnati

dispute

over his office filing lawsuits

Art Museum

'Cincinnati has some truly great art traditions I don't

think are as well known as they should be. '

old sibling riv~es

l
'\

"

Sheriff defends legal work

-;......",~""'-'=

__ Most rivalry issues between

,
adult siblings are small and not
1. !iCripus enough 10 destio,1'C1afi6nships. But experts agree
that for emotional health, it's
.!lest!O resolveall issue'S. E3

.'~'

City's
growth
dl.ector
leaving
U:l ""'''

Season
'* down. to

Udris iook heat

for downtown flops

'foo,'time
fOfr Reds
30 games to go;
still in the chaseBY CURlS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
For 3 m~jor league ballPlay~.,
- and maybe even Ior the
llIaiQr league city o! Cincinnati

HaJ\Ol\9

called the

"stupid."

"*'

Tio.

-a:w_ .

..~.._ ...
,--_._

...'

BY HOWARD WILKINSON
and LISA BlANK FASIG
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Cincinnati development
director Andi Udris, under fire
from city council in recent
months for slow-motion downtown development,
will leave
office at the end of the year.
Some council members hope
he won't be replaced.
Both Mr. Udris and City
Manager John Shirey have been
criticized
by
council members who say
they preside
over a bureau-

~ltW:CI~}1:,\XATI~Ql)I!~,

.'

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.'

,-'

FROM ~ACj.A1'

;~.

~~

'QLti~#."~li~an/((("~~"~I~~;..kril~ieeJ'::~,i.&~
t.;~,.~".l.,.c~~l,j~,
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'eONTINUEO

FROM PAGE'At

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..

'~~~J~':r\!~o~
~.tl!'.~is;,;witlidralVS~y'it.
that, ft!~\~<:p.!lJ,:OV~!sy
'<sihAN

iny~Ve~Ia~its;~,;.
: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&
Sld Ms;<WJ.ight; iI/fot"), t,.. '. .'...
. f ':,r.'. '..
.
Although Mr. Allen said he sym-. re-filethe sulton hl&beli~h,"'"
.1, .
'.~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"
!,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. recovf9t.grie1lliC~ file<}1Ij~"" ". ,.,f~~t~Jhe;~b~~fL ,Silid .t:lje' ~~~e., '. ;Ill!t beforehe, 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}~.. m..on.".
e~ f.r.om.
i.h.e., t.ioOtO'.dismiss.th.e.. sheriff.. '.s su.it thi.s.. has .. recovered .!:leariy. $9,.0.00
r~;-.l~t~2'.:,~ said.~;tl,tlcti<7{\!]O-:, . D~q':".ShIff;r.ei(~d,:"~tth()II'\\,eek"saidh~;wasglad
.. M-r. Lels ~halfoftaJCpay;eis."',<
..,i ;:;.
~ate$:tJ?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- I
l!!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
~
trivial.,
' "
dim'
week m an effort to recover abou; .he's recogrunng he's made a nus- competent Hamilton County judgf'l' [t cfoesn t matter if Its over a
tl'
$8 GOO in security ex.nses from take."
..
..."
es.' the sheriff sa.id.
01: a inilIion doIlars;" lI-1r. Anerl~said '.

.' ~ .
;".
~"
., "",
'-'
~,t'B's nOt his call to mak~;'We aIf need to ',_
.
'..'
. ~

!I"~
IaW.'\,,' ':""SAi,..'rt'l:;;r>~visit.:"L,;
it?" .. . ....
'$200 to $500cost of their',trafrung"moneyback,
<"
e:~d' his, ~YO)t~~AArtediy'l3;' .AI#loo&h'the "sheriffv(j\untarilydrsc 'Tlhink the ~payer ought to bene-;'" Mi-f AIle;; 'said the. ,issue is not
.hip
r
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 counselto an other <:ountyoffice-" drew attention to other legal work done
sign the contract,' Sheriff Leis scud..
is legitimate because much of it appears
der.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, IS
practice 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$240 ~o:stof should not be ~Olpgany legal work.
-s.
!".J
. ..h~
y, ~ ..c. .... of..t9:i.:S'".
. ~..tate,'..'.'.th.".
e,,~!~.t.u
...,.~~/peDS1;s"
...'~an~ eq~.P!l1~.~t.CoS.,.iS.fr!)!]1
O,t. hi~'i\rail;liI1g">J.
,; fec'
. </Hesaidth~
s.heriff is.allowed tq..iure
Yr'~'6ids:? ",,?f . ,' .t'!$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.

}liUpti!ey~ ~~t

t,

=s=. .

lO:

'Oo.j

I'

i
't~,

94.1, The Mix, kicks-off the fUQ

on Saturd.ay with remote from
10 am to noon.
: ShdPPi~gfor ~~tiq~eS wcirktup
an appetite. Lunch is on us starting at 11 am on Saturday.

-You can realJy.w6rk up aM ;>

appetite in our 1Oz,600sq. ff:
mall.Join us for pizza & soda

starting at 11 am on Monday. ,

:t:~~o;'
antique mall

.---....

Shop & stroll with Oldi.es WGRR

all Monday, 11am t.o,2 pm.

Just off 1-75 and 1-275

1 Block off 747'o~ 6es2eniViI!e Rqi(j'/
10132 Business CenterDr, .
Cincinnati, Ohio
513874-7855

NAACP Cincinnati - Is Sheriff Simon Leis a Crook??

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php?option=com _ content&task=view &id=4 7

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NAACP Cincinnati - Is Sheriff Simon Leis a Crook??

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Page 2 of2

3119/2015

NAACP Cincinnati

Is Sheriff Simon Leis a Crook??

Cincinnati NAACP President Smitherman communicates:

"You determine whether Simon Leis is a crook. Sheriff Leis
hired six appraisers. All of them are his friends. All of them are white, male registered republicans. All of them have made
the maximum contributions to the sheriffs re-election campaigns(with the exception of one) and participated in his golf
outing 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 ethics
for 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 of
Ohio is one of the states with the highest home foreclosures in the country. The Hamilton County Sheriff is
administratively responsible for conducting the auction process. Therefore, he has the ability to hire appraisers who
evaluate the home values.

Sheriff Leis hired six appraisers. All of them are his friends. All of them are white, male registered republicans. All of them
have made the maximum contributions to the sheriffs re-election campaigns(with the exception of one) and participated
in his golf outing each year. All of them made more than $165,000 last year with one making $250,000. Supposedly, they
appraised 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 be
taking advantage of this tragedy and making big money for the good ole boy network. Oh, did I mention that Simon Leis is
a sworn officer of the law which includes the commitment to protect and serve? My understanding is that he swore to
protect 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 my
disbelief and concern about that topic.) The purpose of the deal is to allow County Commissioner, Todd Portune, to run
unopposed. Commissioner Todd Portune, I suspect, will not call a hearing into Simon Leis' involvement in this gross
overcompensation of appraisers. I also suspect that County Prosecutor, Joe Deters, (who is also part of the deal to run
unopposed 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 appraising
50 homes a day is impossible. That calculates to one house every six minutes within an eight hour day without a lunch
break. this is how the white power structure "hooks up" their boys. I advise any African American in Hamilton County
reading this message not try to "break into this market" (please forgive the pun) of foreclosure appraisals because YOU
WILL "go directly to jail" without passing go; without collecting "$200". That's the law in Hamilton County. 700 WLW Bill
Cunningham 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 the
Columbus, OH " pay to play" County Prosecutor, Joe Deters who replaced another Crook by the name of Former County
Prosecutor, 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 a
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NAACP Cincinnati

legal analyst? We can not forget how they ended Officer Lt. Colonel Ron Twitty's almost 30 year career for a fender
bender that the "White Power Structure" said he lied about. During Black History month allow me to point out that Twitty is
African American and now the poster child in Hamilton County of what you get if you "tell a lie" as an Officer of the Law. The
County 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 of
our cars to balance the City budget. What will they think up next? The question is stop running around scared as a
people and lets come together and fight back to protect our Community. Our children are watching us.
Christopher

Smitherman President of The Cincinnati NAACP Branch

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Generated: 19 March,2015, 08:31