Apparently, as a Christmas present, local attorney and civic activist Craig T. Conlely representing Stark County citizen and taxpayer Thomas Marcelli, wanted to send contested Stark County sheriff George T. Maier's attorney (Thomas Rosenberg) a message.
Really?
Indeed!
What message?
First, a holiday greeting.
Starting out with the last line of the the Conley to Rosenberg letter:
P.S. I offer you and yours my best wishes for the holidays.Folks, that inclusion in the Conley December 24th letter to Rosenberg just goes to show what a decent fellow Conley is.
Not holding it against Roetzel & Andress attorney Rosenberg for launching an ad hominem against him in Rosenberg's motion to dismiss Marcell's taxpayer original lawsuit against Maier, he issues a "best wishes for the holidays."
How about that!
Truly impressive, no?
Second (for purposes of the structure of this blog), but obviously of the first order of import as far as Conley and Marcelli are concerned, is a tempering of the ending best wishes, to wit:
RE: State ex rel. Marcelli v. Maier, Stark County Court of Common Pleas Court Case No. 2013 CA 03075
Under the presumption that a second quo warranto action will shortly be filed seeking the ouster of Mr. Maier a second time, I wanted to provide you the professional courtesy of advance notice that, should that second action, (as I reasonably presume will be the case) again result in Mr. Maier’s ouster, my client will promptly thereafter file a second taxpayer lawsuit seeking the same type of refunds from Mr. Maier of public funds he is now seeking in the instant action.A second taxpayers' lawsuit?
Interesting.
Conley tells the SCPR that he has received numerous telephone calls from people he deems to be Maier emissaries putting pressure on him to counsel his client (Marcelli) to drop the taxpayer lawsuit against Maier.
Awfully naive for the Maier supporters to think they can pressure Conley (Marcelli) to back off, no?
Perhaps, the December 24th "faxed" letter (to ensure that it was received before December 25th, undoubtedly) was sort of a response to both the Rosenberg "motion to dismiss" personal attack and the emissary pressure being applied?
However one takes the missive, it is clear to the SCPR that it is a blunt salvo putting Rosenberg's client on notice that (assuming Conley gets beyond the motion to dismiss, which The Report thinks he will) George T. Maier and his political boosters within the hierarchy of the Stark/Ohio Democratic Parties (local and state) they have some accounting to do on their "in-house" and "inter-personal" discussions as to whether or not they coordinated efforts to make George Stark County sheriff, to wit:
That matter aside, in the meantime, I request you promptly provide me several available deposition dates in February, 2014 for Mr. Maier’s deposition, which I presently presume, depending in large part upon his level of cooperation in providing responsive answers to my inquires, will take a full day, if not longer. (emphasis added)Look at the Conley's list: (bulleted by the SCPR for clarity sake)
Along those same lines, it is my present intention to also depose, inter alia,
- Judge Edward Elum,
- Stark County Democratic Chairman Randy Gonzalez,
- Ohio Democratic Party [ODP] Secretary William DeMora,
- Prosecuting Attorney John Ferrero,
- Harrison County Sheriff Ronald J. Myers,
- Lt./Deputy Sheriff Louis Darrow,
- Sheriff Timothy Swanson,
- and some or all of
- the several attorneys who had represented and/or are still representing Mr. Maier before the Ohio Supreme Court
- and/or had, prior to the November 6, 2013 issuance of the Ohio Supreme Court’s Slip Opinion No. 2013-Ohio-4767, otherwise (incorrectly) opined as to Mr. Maier’s statutory qualifications,
- [SCPR NOTE: Meaning, perhaps, Steve Okey, Michael Thompson, Allen Schulman and Warren Price]
- as well as Sheriff Swanson’s counsel, Attorneys Gregory A. Beck and James F. Matthews.
The Report presumes that Conley inadvertently omitted Maier brother and former Stark County Democratic Party Johnnie A. Maier, Jr (currently, executive vice chairman of the Stark Dems).
Maybe he should consider deposing the Stark Dems' political director R. Shane Jackson (who is Johnnie's chief deputy clerk of courts in Massillon city government).
Readers of The Report will recall Jackson's caustic email to the SCPR of September 18, 2013 decrying The Report's suspicion that the very top echelon local Democratic Party leadership had known for some time before his resignation on January 4, 2013 that Sheriff-elect Mike McDonald (November, 2013) would be unable to take office as scheduled on January 7th because of an illness - which regrettably and tragically - eventually cost McDonald his life (February 22, 2013).
Conley's proposal to depose the likes of Gonzalez, DeMora and, hopefully, from the SCPR's perspective, Johnnie, Jr. and R. Shane, could prove to be of the utmost interest to Stark Countians who want the "political curtain" to be pulled back and the conjectured machinations, perhaps, to be revealed as having been "the real deal."
The Report believes that the Jackson e-mail was a "stark" (no pun intended) political calculation hatched up by Johnnie and Shane to put the SCPR on the defensive with an added quest to drive this blogger off pursuing getting forthright answers as to when George T. Maier and "his innermost political circle" first understood that McDonald would not be able to take office and consequently initiated laying the political groundwork to give George the edge in the political competition as to whom would become sheriff to succeed McDonald.
It is one thing to issue "not-under-oath" denials, but will they stand the test of being "put-under-oath?"
For as the SCPR sees it, a key component of the Marcelli lawsuit is whether or not George T. Maier acted in "bad faith" in accepting the first Stark County Democratic Party appointment (February 5, 2013) and therefore is legally vulnerable to having to return some $130,000 of Stark County taxpayer money, combined received (salary/benefits) and spent (re-branding), by George.
Digging into George T. Maier, Eddie Elum, Randy Gonzalez, Johnnie A. Maier, Jr, R. Shane Jackson, William DeMora and Harrison County sheriff Ronald J. Maier conversations might shed floodlights of "under oath" testimony that may be revelatory of who knew what, when and the effect of such knowledge/information on George Maier's decision to apply for the appointment to succeed McDonald and the timing thereof.
Readers will recall that initially George Maier was guaranteeing that if he applied for the appointment, he would be qualified.
The essence of the question raised by the Marcelli lawsuit - in everyday language - given the the Swanson v. Maier Ohio Supreme Court decision of ouster coupled with what information may be forthcoming from the above-reference depositions; is whether or not there has been a "breach of warranty" and that therefore Stark County taxpayers are entitled "as a matter of law" to be reimbursed?
The SCPR believes that the Maier forces will fight "tooth and nail" not to be put under Conley's incisive questioning.
Don't be surprised if Maier agrees to a settlement with Marcelli (acting on behalf of Stark County's taxpayers) in order to avoid his and his political allies being put on the "hot-seat" (i.e. put under oath) and having to answer the tough, dogged and "no stone unturned" questions of one Craig T. Conley.
On the other hand, it was a brazen move on the part of the Maier political cabal to think they could bulldoze through the likes of Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero and interim Sheriff Tim Swanson unchallenged.
The latter could indicate that the political bullying will continue and more audacity and arrogance is in the offing?
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