Smith entered a plea of no contest, waived his right to a trial but not disputing the allegations.
But Magistrate Joseph E. Newlin found him guilty, fining him $50 and giving him the 60-day deadline to rectify his situation.
If Smith still fails to file his tax returns, prosecutors can seek a finding of contempt. Newlin told Smith he does “not hesitate to jail people” on contempt charges.
Smith reiterated the problem arose out of a misunderstanding. Through 2009, he said his parents handled his taxes. When he attempted to file himself for the first time through H&R Block, he assumed the process would cover city income taxes as well as state and federal taxes.
“I was under the impression that local, state and federal taxes would have been filed,” he said. “I found out very soon that was not the case.”
Newlin quickly corrected him.
“They’ll prepare them but they don’t often file them,” he said.
Citizens 16 and older who live or work in the city are obligated to file a tax return. After the proceeding, Smith was confident the issue would be resolved by court’s deadline.
“It’s a priority,” he said. “I’m not going to break my back to get it done but it’ll certainly be done within 60 days.”
Thursday was not Smith’s first appearance in court. In July 2010, police were called on a report of a disturbance at a home in the 2000 block of Aaron Drive involving Smith, his sister and two other women. Police said Smith insisted all four be summoned to municipal court, where disorderly conduct charges against all four were dismissed.
In August 2010, he appeared in connection with running a stop sign.
Smith has yet to pay more than $25,000 to the Ohio Elections Commission for failure to file campaign finance reports for 2009. Chris Hughes, of the state elections commission, said the department’s case load is backed up, but a 15-day notice will likely been sent to Smith the week of Nov. 28. If he does not comply, his case will be forwarded to the Ohio Attorney General.
Mayor Larry Mulligan, who called for Smith’s resignation from council in February, said such incidents serve as a “distraction” and a “disappointment.”
“Fortunately, we’ve got bigger and more important things to focus on,” he said.
Last summer, Smith allegedly confronted a Duke Energy employee with a handgun as electric service was being disconnected at his home. Authorities were also notified after he, allegedly, did not pay for a beer at a Towne Boulevard Applebees in January. The beer was later paid for by a city official.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2871 or andrew.sedlak@coxinc.com.
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