MEDINA: A Medina County court official found guilty of misusing public funds can have the charge dismissed if he successfully completes a program for first-time offenders.
Clerk of Courts David B. Wadsworth pleaded no contest to a single misdemeanor count Wednesday. Municipal Judge Dale Chase then found him guilty and placed him in the diversion program.
Chase could have sentenced Wadsworth to six months in jail.
The plea was a result of negotiations between Wadsworth’s attorney, John F. McCaffrey of Cleveland, and special prosecutor Kevin Baxter of Erie County.
Wadsworth has apologized for the incident.
“I sincerely regret any embarrassment I have caused the Medina County Clerk of Court’s Office and the dedicated employees who work in that office,” he said. “I take full responsibility for my actions, and I again apologize.
“I will ensure that nothing like this occurs in the future.”
A former clerk’s office employee first brought the allegations to Medina County Prosecutor Dean Holman in August 2012, according to a complaint filed in a separate lawsuit pending in federal court.
Medina County Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Kevin Ross, who investigated the case, said multiple violations were alleged. When the investigation was over, Wadsworth was charged with using county equipment and employees to assist with his 2012 campaign to retain the clerk’s office.
“He had an employee designing a flier while she was on her shift for the county,” Ross said. “He also used the county printer to copy the flier.”
Ross said Wadsworth used his own paper but the county’s ink.
Wadsworth was appointed in January 2011 by the Medina County Republican Party to finish former Clerk Kathy Fortney’s term after she retired.
He won a six-year term in the November 2012 election.
In a statement that McCaffrey’s office released Wednesday, Wadsworth denied knowing that his employee was working on the campaign on county time.
“I made a mistake in not supervising a campaign volunteer who was also a Medina County employee,” Wadsworth said. “As the investigation has determined, there was minimal use of ink from a state-owned printer as well as minimal time spent by the employee printing a campaign announcement. I did not learn of this conduct until after it occurred.”