To the SCPR there is nothing more disgusting than this:
Readers of the Stark County Political Report know how utterly unimpressed yours truly is with Stark GOP Chairman Jeff Matthews.
For him to allow Ferrero and Zeigler to go unchallenged in the election of 2008, should tell you all you need to know about the grit and determination of this politico. Oh yes, the Stark GOP has had some success because of what local attorney and civic activist Craig Conley has coined "Zeiglergate." But that is the only reason for the Stark County Republican turnaround. Not at all from the political skills of one Jeff Matthews and his cushy job at the Stark County Board of Elections.
It is looking more and more like 2008 in the case of Ferrero. The Report learned recently that Conley is not going to run against Ferrero and in a chat today with 2004 Ferrero foe: Attorney Jeff Jakmides - The Report came away thinking that he is not going to run either. Only a few weeks ago, the SCPR was told that Jakmides definitely would be Ferrero's opponent.
Because of what the SCPR believes to have been examples of Ferrero's sorry prosecuting in the Devies (criminal) case and the Zeigler (civil) cases, the voters of Stark County should be ready to replace Ferrero as prosecutor in November of 2012.
In the Devies case he allowed Marlboro Police Chief Ron Devies and his son to be charged with fourth degree felonies (along with misdemeanors) in what it appears to yours truly to have been a communications problem between the Devies family members and former Marlboro Township trustees Wise and Wolfe.
That he exercised poor judgment in carrying the case to prosecution was validated in the opinion of the SCPR when Judge Lee Sinclair sustained defense counsel's (Jakmides and Reinbold) motion to dismiss. This folks is about a close as one can get to a legal slam dunk
Ferrero should never have handled this case. He should have farmed it out to a special independent counsel or to a prosecutor from a neighboring county. The Report is confident that either would have handled the matter short of prosecution.
Actually, any time a Stark County based public official (including Zeigler) is being looked at, the look should not be by a former political ally or even an acquaintance (Ferrero on Zeigler). It should be like in the Mark Roach case (Zeigler's predecessor who ran into legal difficulties). A special independent counsel was appointed to do the assessment.
To The Report, every Stark Countian should be nervous about the possible import of Ferrero's handling of the Devies case: something like - "there but for the grace of God go I."
Had he owned up to his miscalculation on Devies and publicly apologized to the family and had he publicly apologized for his outrageous act of filing a grievance with Ohio's Disciplinary Counsel against yours truly (dismissed out of hand) in response to The Report's political analysis and editorializing on his handling of the Devies case, then perhaps Stark Countians can look beyond these matters in assessing whether or not he has the political maturity to continue as county prosecutor.
The Stark County Political Report is not now nor has it ever been about yours truly blogging as an attorney.
To carry on, there is Conley's Zeiglergate.
It was Conley who got the ball rolling to ensure Stark Countians had an opportunity to recover monies from Zeigler by operation of Ohio Revised Code Section 321.37 on the basic fact that $2.96 million of taxpayer was missing from the county treasury in the wake of Zeigler's (cleared of any involvement in the theft by Ferrero and federal prosecutors) former chief deputy having stolen at least $2.46 (admitted) of the missing money. There are people that think he stole the entire $2.96 million.
How did Ferrero respond to the Conley initiative?
He got mad and lashed out at Conley in the press.
Go figure!
So if Jeff Matthews is anything other than a political grandstander, now is the time for him to get moving to find a viable candidate to oppose Fererro next year.
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