DISCUSSION: COUNTY PROSECUTOR FERRERO DODGES A DECISION IN DEVIES MATTER?

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) has learned that Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero has declined the opportunity to make an assessment on whether or not Marlboro Township Police Chief Ron Devies and his son are to be charged with committing any crime as an outgrowth of an investigation conducted by Stark County Sheriff Tim Swanson.

Instead, Ferrero has opted to present to matter to the Stark County Grand Jury which will hear the prosecution side of the case beginning today.

Chief Devies has told The Report he and his son will present their side of the case to the grand jury next week.

Devies (who was placed on "paid administrative leave" by the Marlboro trustees on January 6th) said he was surprised to learn of the grand jury proceeding yesterday, the 9th, as he and Wolf had sat down over the weekend and discussed a resolution between himself and Trustee Wolf and felt enough progress had been made that he could see "light at the end of the tunnel."

Needless to say, Devies was disappointed by the grand jury news in the light of the progress he and Wolf had made, but expressed confidence that the grand jury would not indict once it has heard the Devies’ version of events allegedly involving Kyle's work for Marlboro Township on its computer system. Devies did contact Wolf after he got the news of the impending grand jury proceeding and was told by Wolf that he was as surprised as Devies was.

Why, The Report asks, didn't Ferrero decide on his own whether or not charges are to be filed against the Devies?

In any event, The Report continues to believe that Trustees Wise and Wolf are “political toast” n Marlboro Township this coming November.

It is clearly a lose-lose situation politically for Wise and Wolf. If the Devies do not get indicted, then political retribution will be in order. If the Devies duo do get indicted; guess what Messers Wise and Wolf - political retribution will be in order.

It is surprising to The Report that Tim Wise would get himself into such a political fix.

His brother Earle E. Wise, Jr. (now city administrator for North Canton) was a long time Stark County assistant prosecutor who ran for Stark County Probate judge in 2002 losing to Republican Dixie Park. In 1992, Wise, Jr. Was the Democratic nominee for Stark County Recorder (having bested current county auditor Kim Perez in the Democratic primary). In the general, E.E., Jr. lost to Republican Jane Vignos.

Tim’s father, Earle E. Wise, Sr., was a one time a powerful Stark County Democrat who teamed up with the recently deceased Roy Gutierrez (the chairman) as law partners in the 1970s through 1980s and from this base lead Stark County Democrats. Wise, Sr served as a judge on the 5th District Court of Appeals for a number of years.

With this political pedigree, why Tim is not a more accomplished politician is indeed a mystery.

Wolf is a different matter. As far as The Report knows, Wolf is a political novice with no prior exposure to politics in the fast lane who may have been motivated to get into local politics as an advocate of “the religious Right” political agenda. One tip-off that this might be the case is Ron Devies account of how (after having just taken office as a newly elected trustee) Wolf came to him with a Sheriff Ray Nash tape telling Devies in effect that the tape expressed his view of how law enforcement should be conducted.

For a taste of the Nash (Wolf’s self-proclaimed model of law enforcement), here is an excerpt of a piece done by Glenn Smith of the Charleston (SC) Post and Courier (February 3, 2008):

Week after week, the hits kept coming, providing fresh fodder for critics who have long taken issue with Nash's management style, spending habits and priorities. They bristle at his faith-flavored approach to law enforcement that some foes say blurs the line between church and state.

The Internet bubbles with bloggers and posters who question the sheriff's links to controversial evangelists and try to paint his character-training initiatives as thinly veiled proselytizing, an attempt to infiltrate law enforcement with cult-like tactics.

Defending his record

Nash, a devout Christian, calls such claims "silly" and says he has never tried to convert employees. He blames his opponents for trying to distort his record, taint his image. He says he has long been the target of an entrenched old guard in Dorchester County that wants him out of the way.

All in all, it seems that both Wise and Wolf have a thing or two to learn about Marlboro Township politics given with whom they were dealing: a highly respected, long term member of the Marlboro community - Police Chief Ron Devies and his son Kyle.

DISCUSSION: THE WISE & WOLF APPROACH - A PRIMER ON HOW TO GET RID OF A PUBLIC INSTITUTION?

In mulling over the drama that is going on in Marlboro Township, it has occurred to the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) that Marlboro Trustees Wise and Wolf are a cowardly duo who cannot, as mature leadership, iron out their differences with the hired help.

In Marlboro, The Report believes, there are no "real" differences. There is only political vendetta grounded in an old fashioned political power struggle.

For whatever "UNreason," Trustees Wise and Wolf have decided that they do not like (a kind of sheer guttural emotion) Police Chief Ron Devies and he needs to be moved on. But, they muse to among themselves, how to you fire someone who is a well respected person in the Marlboro community?

Now that the move to deal out Devies has escalated into full scale warfare, Wise and Wolf have put themselves between the proverbial "rock & hard place."

They have to be beside themselves that their carefully calculated strategy to "nitpick the chief out-of-office" has fallen on hard times and they find themselves with an angry constituency on their hands ever since they (include Trustee Shillg in this move) placed Devies on "paid administrative leave."

The cuts, the nitpicks: the Ray Nash tape and the implicit "so do you," the M-16s, the "we don't like your choice for a full time officer; potential successor," the "what kind of personal motive do you have in wanting to hire a female officer," the former chief who did not like the way Devies investigated a case, the "why are you driving a township police vehicle home," the "why are you taking vacation to teach and the University of Akron," the "why is your son working on township computers as a volunteer," "and what has your son done to township computers," among other expressed but unspecified annoyances visited on him by the Wise/Wolf duo that Devies relayed to The Report.

See the pattern, folks? It's clear to The Report that Wise and Wolf are on a "death by a thousand cuts" strategy. This is how you dismantle a "public institution" like Devies.

The work of political cowards, that's Wise and Wolf.

And they may succeed. Do not count out this Marlboro duo or any other public official who operates this way. It wouldn't surprise The Report if, in this witch (err warlock) hunt, the investigation some how comes up with a face saving way out for Wise and Wolf.

The Report believes they have added a "shifting sands" factor to their strategy. What started out as a "we suspect the son has done something unauthorized" on township computers has changed (The Report suspects) to a "let's expand the scope of inquiry" to cover the entire Dieves stint in the Marlboro Township Police Department.

The object lesson of all of this?

Voters have to be very, very careful who they put in office in the first place.

Stark County is rampant with elected officials who operate with strong minded employees in the "death by a thousand cuts" mode.

It is rare that they do as Canton Mayor William Healy, II did to Service Director/Chief-of-Staff Tom Bernabei - YOU ARE FIRED!

However wrong Healy may be; he is a stand up guy.

Trustees Wise and Wolf are not.

NOTE: The quote marks around the supposed trustee statements are recreations for effect or paraphrases and not intended as exact words.

DISCUSSION: IS ANYONE GOING TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE IN MARLBORO?

Where's the beef Marlboro Township residents?

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) has heard a lot of Marlboro residents upset about how incumbent Trustees Wise and Wolf are treating the revered Marlboro Police Chief Ron Devies, but no action from the dissidents at the Stark County Board of Elections.

Do any of the upsets really think that either Wise or Wolf are going to just fade off into the political sunset?

It is one thing talk replacing Wise and Wolf. But who is going to take the walk to 201 3rd St NE, Floor 1, Canton, Ohio and take out petitions.

Oh yes, the filing deadline: August 20, 2009 for the November 3rd election is months away. What's the hurry?

For a John Hagan and a John Battershell probably not much of one. They have the name identity township wide to wait. But do lesser known names?

Could it be that after all the turmoil over Devies, Wise and Wolf waltz right back into office?

DISCUSSION: MARLBORO TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES WISE & WOLF REFUSE MEDIATION OFFER BY BOARD PRESIDENT SHILLIG

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) take on last night's Marlboro Township Board of Trustees meeting is that it was a complete bust.

Wise and Wolf are as intransigent as ever refusing Wayne Shillig's offer to mediate - preferably with the chief back on the job. Shillig moved to reinstate the Chief but could not get a second. Then he moved to go into executive session with the chief. Again, he could not get a second. (see the accompanying video to witness this process first hand)

Pictured above are most if not all of those who spoke up at the meeting. The Report estimates that there was upwards of 100 people present.

Police Chief Devies had what he thought was a couple of major revelations. First, he shared that the Stark County Crime Lab examination of the Township's computers did not produce whatever the trustees were looking for.

What were the trustees looking for?

Whether or not Chief Devies' son Kyle had been on the Township computer network after being fired by the trustees. In the video below, you will see and hear Kyle take the trustees to task on this issue.

If this were the only thing that the trustees were having investigated, then the failure of the crime lab (according to Chief Devies) to find anything would seem to end this matter.

But it is apparent to The Report that the trustees had Chief Deputy Rick Perez (Stark County Sheriff's office) looking into other things concerning the chief. What they are is anybody's guess including that of Chief Devies. This really is taking on the look of a "fishing expedition."

The Report gets the impression that Wise and Wolf are so fully invested in finding something on the Chief that they are prepared to stay on board the quest even if it ultimately means going down on a sinking ship.

Second on Devies' revelation list was his certainty that Perez had not yet gotten his report to Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero. The Report believes the Chief's information was dated. Trustee Wolf's information that the report had been forwarded was Monday information whereas Devies' was Friday information.

How long will Ferrero be sifting through the report?

Nobody seems to know as predictably Ferrero would not commit to a timetable to any of the folks he has talked to.

However, Devies did tell the assembled crowd that his attorney (Jeff Jakimedes of Alliance) made it clear to Ferrero that if there is to be a grand jury phase of this investigation; that he would aggressively defend himself in that forum.

What follows in a video of that portion of the meeting that The Report deems to capture the essential core of the meeting.

DISCUSSION: DEVIES UNLOADS ON MARLBORO TRUSTEES WISE AND WOLF - PART VI OF SCPR VIDEO INTERVIEW

In this episode of the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) series (Part VI) on Marlboro Township Police Chief Ron Devies, the chief continues his account about how the accumulation of annoyances at the hands of Trustees Wise and Wolf built up from when they first took office (January, 2006) to the present day to a point that Devies says his job became stressful.

Chief Devies is currently on "paid administrative leave" pending the investigation of unspecified matters of concern that the trustees (including Shillig) say they have. But Shillig does say he doesn't understand why Devies can't be working pending the outcome of the investigation.

Here is Part VI of the Devies interview:

DISCUSSION: DEVIES UNLOADS ON MARLBORO TRUSTEES WISE AND WOLF - PART V OF SCPR VIDEO INTERVIEW

In this episode of the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) series (Part V) on Marlboro Township Police Chief Ron Devies, the chief gives his account about how the accumulation of annoyances at the hands of Trustees Wise and Wolf built up from when they first took office (January, 2006) to the present day to a point that Devies says his job became stressful.

Chief Devies is currently on "paid administrative leave" pending the investigation of unspecified matters of concern that the trustees (including Shillig) say they have. But Shillig does say he doesn't understand why Devies can't be working pending the outcome of the investigation.

View Part V below:

DISCUSSION: SHERIFF'S DELAY IN CONCLUDING DEVIES INVESTIGATION MAKES ONE WONDER?

Part of the text of an e-mail from Karen Kirsch of Marlboro Township to the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) is as follows:

Latest news is that the sheriff and prosecutor are receiving lots of calls, but the sheriff is now telling people that they "have just received some new documents and so it's going to take a while to process these...."

Really?

"some new documents?"

Wasn't this investigation all about computers?

Actually, The Report believes that Trustees Wise and Wolf have made it much more than that.

A source independent of locals who are at the forefront of defending Chief Devies, but close enough to Wise and Wolf to know, tells The Report the two main antagonists are scrambling to save their political hides and are desperately seeking to inject any morsel they can dig up to make their case against Chief Devies.

The Report believes the "adding on" and "delay" undermines any credibility that a investigation report fixing wrongdoing on Devies would have. On the chance that the report comes back showing the no wrong doing, then then Wolf and Wise have "super egg" on their faces.

In any event, The Report believes that this whole scenario is a "lose, lose" for the Wise-Wolf duo come November?

No matter the outcome of the investigation, this question arises.

Have these two trustees have taken Marlboro Township - the bucolic community it is - and thrust it into the world of "cloak and dagger politics" where "witch, err, warlock hunts" are "par for the course?"

DISCUSSION: DEVIES UNLOADS ON MARLBORO TRUSTEES WISE AND WOLF - PART II OF SCPR VIDEO INTERVIEW

In today's video on the Devies/Marlboro Township saga, the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) begins a Devies interview timeline of the unfolding events which, in hindsight from the chief''s perspective, has contributed to the deteriorating relationship between Devies and township trustees Wolf and Wise.

Part II of the Devies interview follows:

GRAPHIC EDITORIAL: STARK COUNTY'S "EXPEDITED" LAW ENFORCEMENT TEAM?

DISCUSSION: IS THE MARLBORO TOWNSHIP FUSS OVER THE POLICE CHIEF A DISAGREEMENT OVER TIME WORKED?

A source has told The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) that "the bone of contention" between - at least two of the trustees (Wise and Wolf) and the well respected Marlboro Township police chief Ronald Devies, may be whether or not Devies actually worked hours reported.

We do know that whatever the reason for township trustee scrutiny of Chief Devies involves a computer. And what are computers used for? In large part to keep records. Is this the tie-in between what The Report's source is saying what the Stark County sheriff is investigating at the request of (all?) the trustees?

Perhaps more will come out tonight as Trustees Shillig, Wise and Wolf conduct a regularly scheduled township meeting. A large number of Marlboro citizens are expected to attend.

In addition to the possible reason why Chief Devies was put on paid administrative leave several weeks ago by "all" the trustees, The Report has learned that a huge rift has developed between Trustee Shillig and Trustees Wise and Wolf.

It seems that Wise and Wolf have not taken it well that Shillig was united with them as to whether or not to put Devies on administrative leave in the first place; only now to be put in a position where Shillig appears to be distancing himself from them.

The Report draws on the mostly political saying "I don't have a dog in this fight" to describe Shillig's apparent current position in graphic form.

If the trustees' are proven to have "egg on their faces" at the end of the investigation, the The Report believes Marlboro Township could be looking to change the make up of the Board of Trustees.

Could Shillig's backing off the initial unity stand with Wise and Wolf be an act of political preservation?