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.