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Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2009 > October > 29
Thursday, October 29, 2009
BREAKING NEWS: Fox facing federal indictments
Today, Oct. 29, the U.S. District Court unsealed an eight-count indictment on former Butler County Commissioner Michael Fox. The indictment also names Robert Schuler, the son of the late state legislator and friend of Fox dating back to their days at Miami University.
Check back often, as we’ll have lots more over the next few days. To view the entire indictment (in .pdf), click over to the story.
Story
CINCINNATI — Federal charges have been leveled against Michael Fox — former Butler County commissioner, state lawmaker and Children Services director — and attorney Robert Schuler, the son of a recently deceased state senator, according to an indictment unsealed today, Oct. 29.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Fox and Schuler “conspired to improperly benefit from Butler County contracts involving a (fiber optics) company doing business with the county,” and that the men failed to report income from the deals on their federal income tax returns. Fox is also charged with mail fraud for allegedly failing to disclose conflicts of interest in Ohio ethics disclosure statements he mailed annually from 2004 through 2007. Schuler is charged with perjury for alleged false testimony he gave to a federal grand jury on October 1, 2008.
Fox, a state lawmaker for nearly 23 years, county commissioner for a decade and Children Services director for nearly two years, has been under the FBI’s microscope for some time, with federal authorities gathering documents related to his Fairfield Twp. home and campaign finance forms.
That investigation started in 2005 to look into the Dynus Corp. fiber optics deal. That led to a county auditor and company officials pleading guilty to, and being found guilty of, bank fraud for taking out millions of dollars in illicit loans in the county’s name.
The indictment charges Fox and Schuler each with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of filing a false income tax return.
Fox is also facing four counts of mail fraud; U.S. Attorneys are seeking forfeiture of “any property which is derived from proceeds traceable to the offenses alleged in the indictment, including but not limited to a sum of money equal to $460,000.”
The indictment says that Fox, 60, solicited and accepted money from individuals and businesses acting as contractors for Butler County from 2001 to 2005, during the same period that he was a commissioners.
Many of the charges stem from a contract between Butler County and NORMAP Telecommunication LLC, in 2001 to install a county-wide fiber optics communications system.
Schuler, 46, of Dublin, bought NORMAP after the company received the contract, and received approximately $1,824,281 from Butler County, according to the indictment.
The indictment states that Schuler and Fox arranged for $360,000 to be transferred to a bank to pay off a line of credit in Fox’s name in March 2002, and an additional $100,000 was later transferred to a consulting company Fox owned in September 2002.
The indictment alleges that Fox also received payment from other individuals and businesses doing business with the county.
The mail fraud charges stem from Fox allegedly mailing his Financial Disclosure Statements to the Ohio Ethics Commission and omitting the payments he received and failing to disclose conflicts of interest in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.
The indictment states that Fox filed a false income tax return for 2002 when he failed to disclose and pay income taxes on the payment.
The indictment charges Schuler with filing a false income tax return for 2002 by not reporting business income he received in that year.
Schuler is charged with making false statements in October 2008 to a grand jury investigating the circumstances surrounding the $360,000 transfer to Fox, according to the indictment.
Each count of mail fraud is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment. Filing a false income tax return is punishable by up to three years imprisonment, plus taxes, penalties and interest. Perjury is punishable by up to five years imprisonment.
Fox and Schuler are scheduled to have an initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge later today.
Fox has repeatedly claimed he never knowingly did anything wrong in either deal. He defended himself this morning, via e-mail to The JournalNews: “At the advice of my lawyers, I will not comment on any specific information related to the government’s allegations at this time. I will have more to say about these allegations in the coming weeks and months.”
“I will do my best, with the limited resources that I have, to defend myself against these allegations. In my defense, I offer ‘The Truth’ and I will assert it to the best of my ability.”
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Combs introduces indigent defense legislation
Press release from state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton:
State Representative Courtney Combs (R-Hamilton) today introduced legislation that would allow municipal courts that do not have a public defender assigned to their court and those that do not seek reimbursement from the Indigent Defense Fund to compensate court appointed attorneys.
“Unfortunately for courts that do not use the public defender system, the defendants and the city are in turn paying for another court’s defense fund,” Combs said. “My legislation would correct this problem and help struggling cities save money during these tight times.”
Under House Bill 335, the court would retain the court fees assessed for indigent defense rather than pay those fees into the State Indigent Defense Fund. Currently, indigent defendants in these courts are paying into the State Indigent Defense Fund and are not receiving any benefit. The city then is forced to reimburse the court for indigent defense.
This issue was brought to Combs’ attention by Judge Joyce Campbell of the Fairfield Municipal Court, whose court does not have a public defender. In 2008, her court sent over $130,000 to the Indigent Defense Fund.
“The Ohio Public Defenders Office provides excellent representation to those communities they serve,” Judge Campbell said. “However, for those courts, such as mine, that do not utilize their services it is fundamentally unfair to require the poorest of the poor to pay fees for services they do not receive. This legislation will rectify this situation and provide relief to the government entity actually paying for the court appointed attorneys representing indigent defendants in municipal and county courts of Ohio.”
The bill will now be referred to a committee where it will undergo further discussion.
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County offers pollution prevention internship program
Press release from Butler County:
Two local companies are realizing that “going green” not only helps the environment, but can also result in more than $600,000 in combined annual savings.
MillerCoors LLC and Tedia Company recently participated in the Butler County Recycling and Solid Waste District’s 12-week Pollution Prevention (P2) Intern Program to further their environmental goals, improve efficiencies and save money. Miami University intern, Matthew Fehr, and Ohio State University intern, Michael Klimek, analyzed the companies’ waste streams, purchasing practices, water and energy usage, and evaluated financial incentives and cost savings. Specifically, the interns:
- Quantified condensate recovery and water recycling opportunities
- Researched alternative lighting and energy efficient improvements
- Identified opportunities to minimize solid waste
- Identified recycling and reuse opportunities
- Streamlined reduction in hazardous wastes
- Improved air quality and overall operations
Through the P2 internship program, the Tedia Company was able to implement programs that will reduce air pollution and hazardous waste disposal and conserve energy. In addition to furthering their environmental goals, Tedia was also able to save money by reducing employee time associated with manufacturing operations. Overall, Tedia expects to save more than $16,000 from these pollution prevention projects.
“As a small company with limited resources, Michael gave us an extra set of hands. We were able to use his skills to complete some important projects that might otherwise still be waiting to get started,” said Tedia Company Safety and Training Manager Greg Fugitt.
“The best part of my internship was that I was able to work on several meaningful projects and gain valuable experience. At the end of my internship, I was able to estimate the savings I provided Tedia as well as the environmental impact,” said Tedia Intern Michael Klimek.
MillerCoors aims to reduce its environmental footprint through several sustainable development priorities. The water dependent industry focuses on water conservation as one of these priorities. The company’s goal is to reduce water consumption, energy usage, and the amount of waste it sends to landfills each year. During the summer of 2009, MillerCoors committed to reducing water and energy usage in several areas with high demand and minimize solid waste disposal. They plan to save more than $585,000 in energy, water, and waste reduction.
“The internship gave me valuable work experience with a well known company. I learned so much working here and I really believe this will benefit me greatly in the future,” said MillerCoors Intern Matthew Fehr.
In 2007, the Solid Waste District formed a partnership with Hamilton County and TechSolve to establish the P2 Intern Program. The partnership secured $42,000 in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant funds to create the program, which pairs college-level interns with local businesses for 12 weeks during the summer. Companies pay only about $1,500 for intern salary costs.
“The P2 Program helps local businesses improve their operations, conserve energy and water usage, and decrease waste disposal. Companies save money while increasing their environmental performance,” said Butler County Environmental Specialist Kimberley York.
The Solid Waste District is currently accepting applications from businesses and students for the 2010 P2 program. The application due date for businesses is Jan. 29 and the due date for students is Feb. 19. Businesses or students who would like to apply, should contact Environmental Specialist Kimberley York at (513) 887-3406 or YorkKA@butlercountyohio.org or download an application on the district’s website at www.butlercountyrecycles.org. Web applications are located under “business programs” then click on “summer intern.”
The Butler County Recycling and Solid Waste District is dedicated to promoting recycling, waste reduction and responsible disposal of all waste from households, commercial businesses, and industry to conform to Ohio EPA regulations.
