THE FIRST MASSILLON V. AFFINITY ET AL "LEGAL SERVICES" BILL IS IN!

Indeed, Lee Plakas and this firm of lawyers is of if the the very best law firms in Stark County.

And there seems to be a tie-in between Plakas and Democratic elected officials when it comes to who the government unit should hire when private legal counsel is needed.

In early May, 2015 when long time Democrat and then Stark County commissioner Thomas Bernabei decided to switch from being a Democrat to being an "independent' so that he could challenge city of Canton mayor and Democrat William J. Healy, II in the November general election, Plakas et al was hired to represent seven members of Canton City Council (all Democrats) and the Stark County Democratic Party.

However, according to a challenge by Bernabei, the two Democratic members of the Stark County Board of Elections were Democratic executive committee members and therefore were obligated to recuse themselves from hearing the challenge to Bernabei's registration change.

Rather than fight the challenge, the Stark Democratic Party withdrew from the prosecution of the challenge on the grounds the party is not an elector as Ohio law requires a challenger to be.

As things are in the political world, "elected" by Republicans, Democrats, independent voters Republican officeholders do the same thing with their favorite legal professionals.

Not being put up for bid of course might cost the taxpayers (who of course are made up of Republicans, Democrats and non-partisans) drawn in a legal fray as the bill payer.

But as Ohio Republican Party chairperson and Stark Countian Jane Timken says, "elections have consequences."

One Massillonian has alleged that Massillon mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry "on-her-own-initiative" reached out to the Lee Plakas managed law firm without first having gotten the approval of Massillon City Council.

And the citizen of Massillon may have had a point except that in voting to proceed with the Catazaro-Perry as a city official desire to litigate the legality of the in 30 days closure of Affinity Medical Center within a very short time of the alleged initiative, Massillon Council in effect ratified the mayor's actions, if, in fact the alleging party was correct in her/his allegation.

The Plakas law firm has submitted it "through January 28, 2018" legal bill to Massillon government, to wit:




$73,445 (rounded of) is not going to be the end of it.

The SCPR suspects there is more to the stringing out of "reducing to writing" the agreement than anybody is saying.

And that includes Lee Plakas.



Here is an e-mail between the SCPR and Plakas:

And here is a copy of the underlying contract:

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