UPDATED: Hillsboro mayor Drew Hastings faces multiple felony charges
In February of this year, Hillsboro Mayor W. Drew Hastings publicly insisted that special prosecutors – appointed by Highland County Common Pleas Judge Rocky Coss – “Indict me if they believe they have a valid criminal case or cease this politically-driven witch hunt, immediately.”
Today, the Republican officeholder's demand was answered, as Ohio Auditor of State Dave Yost announced that Hastings has been indicted on the following counts:
• Election falsification;
• Theft;
• Theft in office; and,
• Tampering with records.
“Mr. Hastings has long complained about the length of time a careful, proper investigation takes. That investigation is now complete, and the evidence will be made public appropriately, in a court of law,” Auditor Yost said.
“I am confident the jury of his peers will find that evidence amounts to proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
According to Auditor Yost, the charges against Hastings involve allegedly listing a false address on his Declaration of Candidacy form; for claiming a city refund of $500 for a vacant building he owned and for altering documents related to the refund; and for instructing a contractor to use city Dumpsters to dispose of construction debris.
The Highland County grand jurors presented the following:
Count one:
On or about Jan. 12, 2015 and in Highland County, Ohio, W. Drew Hastings, either orally or in writing, on oath lawfully administered, did knowingly state a falsehood as to a material matter relating to an election in a proceeding before an election official, or in a matter in relation to which an oath or statement under penalty of election falsification is authorized by law, including a statement required for verifying or filing a declaration of candidacy presented to or filed with the secretary of state, a board of elections, or any other public office for the purchase of becoming a candidate for any elective office, including the office of a political party, in violation of ORC 3599.36 and against the peace and dignity of the State of Ohio.
Count two:
On or between Jan. 1, 2013 and Dec. 31, 2015 and in Highland County, Ohio, W. Drew Hastings, being a public official, did commit a theft offense, to wit: tampering with records, in violation of ORC 2913.42(A)(2) and/or theft, in violation of ORC 2913.02(A)(3), when the property or services involved were owned by this state, a municipal corporation or any political subdivision, the value of the property or services stolen being $1,000 or more but less than $7,500, in violation of ORC 2921.41(A)(2) and against the peace and dignity of the State of Ohio.
Count three:
On or between Jan. 1, 2013 and Dec. 31, 2015 and in Highland County, Ohio, W. Drew Hastings did with purpose to deprive the owner of property or services, knowingly obtain or exert control over either the property or services beyond the scope of the express or implied consent of the owner or person authorized to give consent and/or by deception, the value of the property or services stolen being $1,000 or more but less than $7,500, in violation of ORC 2913.02(A) and against the peace and dignity of the State of Ohio.
Count four:
On or between June 24, 2015 and July 8, 2015 and in Highland County, Ohio, W. Drew Hastings, knowing he had no privilege to do so, and with purpose to defraud, or knowing that he was facilitating a fraud, did utter any writing or record, knowing it to have been tampered with, when the writing or record is kept by or belongs to a local, state or federal governmental entity in violation of ORC 2913.42(A)(2) and against the peace and dignity of the State of Ohio.
A hearing for Hastings is set for July 27 at 9 a.m. at Highland County Common Pleas Court. Former Summit County Common Pleas Judge Patricia A. Cosgrove (ret.) will be presiding over the case, it was announced Tuesday after Judge Coss recused himself.
Judge Cosgrove received her juris doctorate degree from the University of Akron and was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1978. She was a senior assistant Summit County prosecutor in the Criminal Trial Division from 1981-91. She also maintained a private law practice.
Judge Cosgrove later served as chief counsel of the Civil Division of the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office. In 1993, she was appointed to the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, elected in 1994 and re-elected in 2000 and 2006.
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Auditor of State Assistant Legal Counsel Robert Smith was appointed special prosecutor in the case at the request of Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins. Judge Coss initially appointed Smith, deputy legal counsel for Auditor of State Dave Yost, as a special prosecuting attorney for “the investigation and possible prosecution of alleged criminal offenses involving matters relating to Drew Hastings, mayor of the city of Hillsboro.”
The judge’s appointment followed an application filed by Highland County Prosecutor Anneka B. Collins requesting a special prosecutor to look into the case.
As previously reported in The Highland County Press, according to a Dec. 16 search warrant signed by Judge Coss, there is probable cause to believe that in the city of Hillsboro the following criminal offenses have occurred:
• Forgery, in violation of 2913.31 of the Ohio Revised Code; and,
• Theft in office in violation of 2921.41 of the Ohio Revised Code.
The Highland County Sheriff's Office executed the warrant. Hillsboro Police Chief Todd Whited said he requested that the HCSO handle the search warrant. The warrant included searches of the mayor's office, Safety and Service Director Todd Wilkin’s office and Hillsboro City Auditor Gary Lewis’ office.
Criminal charges were also filed on Hastings on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, according to a record on the Hillsboro Municipal Court website. That case was quickly sealed and the online record removed, pending an investigation, the court said.
According to Judge Coss’ order, Smith will be involved in “any possible prosecution of any criminal cases regarding matters involving Drew Hastings as well as other persons who may be alleged to have committed criminal offenses in connection with those matters for which this appointment has been made.”
Judge Coss later appointed a second special prosecutor in the investigation, Julia Korte, chief investigative attorney for the Ohio Ethics Commission, as an assistant to special prosecutor Smith.
“I had intended to appoint Ms. Korte when Robert Smith was appointed, but had to wait until the Ohio Ethics Commission reviewed the proposed appointment at its meeting,” Judge Coss said. “As with Mr. Smith’s appointment, since there could be matters regarding this investigation coming before me as judge, I cannot comment further.”
The court entry appointing Korte states that “the Court has determined that appointment of an additional special assistant [prosecutor] to assist Mr. Smith is appropriate in this matter.”
The additional Special Assistant Prosecuting Attorney shall have all of the authority, powers and immunities granted by law to the Highland County Prosecuting Attorney with regard to the investigation into alleged criminal conduct and the prosecution of persons for criminal offenses alleged to have been committed within this county. This appointment shall be effective immediately upon the filing of this entry with the Clerk of Courts, the court entry states.
On Feb. 1, 2016, Hastings submitted the following comments on the investigation: “Since mid-December of last year, there has been a criminal investigation directed at me for alleged crimes committed as mayor. I have dutifully complied with various subpoenas and search warrants issued in regard to this investigation headed up by Sheriff (Donnie) Barrera of the Highland County Sheriff’s Office. I have endured their investigators’ tactics and, at times, questionable methods of operation…
“As mayor, I am embarrassed for Hillsboro – the city – as well [as] our role as the county seat, and I believe that I speak for the vast majority of our citizens when I say that this has been a gross waste of taxpayers’ time and money, and has seriously eroded the working relationship between the city and county at the expense of our citizens.”
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• An affidavit regarding criminal charges filed on Hastings on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, signed by Sean A. Mahorney, alleges that Hastings asked Mahorney and his wife to use City of Hillsboro Dumpsters for demolition work on a building owned by Hastings in the summer of 2015. Hastings then allegedly asked the Mahorneys to “lie about it” in January 2016.
“The summer of 2015, myself and my husband did demo work on the Annex building for Drew Hastings,” the affidavit states. “During demo, Drew gave us keys to city dump gate and ask [sic] us to take garbage from demo down and dump it in the city dumps, so his Dumpster didn’t overfill. He gave us his truck to use and assured us it was fine.
“[On] Jan. 4, 2016, Drew contacted us by phone about the dump, he ask [sic] us to lie about it and he stated that my husband and I would probably not even get into trouble, but if we did get a fine he would pay it for us.”
The complaint of prosecuting attorney based upon an affidavit in the Hillsboro Municipal Court reads:
“The defendant, W. Drew Hastings, did on or about the 4th day of January 2016, did purposely or knowingly, when purpose or knowledge is sufficient culpability for the commission of obstructing official business, in the City of Hillsboro, County of Highland and State of Ohio, did engage in conduct that, if successful, would constitute or result in the offense of obstructing official business in violation of Ohio Revised Code Section 2921.31, in that, W. Drew Hastings, without privilege to do so and with purpose to prevent, obstruct or delay the performance by a public official of any authorized act within the public official’s official capacity, shall do any act that hampers or impedes a public official in the performance of the public official’s lawful duties, by asking witnesses in a criminal investigation to falsely incriminate themselves and not W. Drew Hastings; in violation of Ohio Revised Code Section 2932.02(A), a third-degree misdemeanor.
“The Court finds probable cause that the above criminal offense was committed and that the Defendant named therein committed the offense based upon the attached affidavit. A warrant shall issue upon the above complaint and bond terms pursuant to separate order.”
On Jan. 6, upon motion of the state and for good cause, the summons issued in the case was recalled and the complaint was dismissed without prejudice to refiling.
On Jan. 7, a motion was made “to seal the record due to pending efforts to collect additional evidence which could be jeopardized if the dismissed action were publicly disclosed.”
Hillsboro Police Chief Todd Whited and HPD Captain Jeff Murphy met with The Highland County Press on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, and asked the newspaper to withhold publication of information about the case until the investigation was complete. They said they were working with Highland County Sheriff Donnie Barrera and his office on the case.
On Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, The Highland County Press emailed Hillsboro Municipal Court Judge David McKenna, Hillsboro City Law Director Fred Beery and Hillsboro Police Chief Todd Whited seeking clarification and comment on the case.
Judge McKenna responded: “A criminal complaint was filed against Mayor Hastings on Jan. 5, 2016 in the Municipal Court for attempted obstruction of official business, a third-degree misdemeanor. No arrest warrant was issued. A summons on the complaint was issued.
“As per our routine protocol, when the complaint was entered, it appeared on the Municipal Court website. Shortly thereafter, the prosecutor (Hillsboro City Law Director Fred Beery) requested that the website information be taken down until the complaint could be served. This would be similar to a sealed indictment. I had the clerk remove the website information until the complaint was served. Any further information would need to come from the prosecutor.”
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• Hillsboro City Council President Lee Koogler said Dec. 16-17, 2015 "have certainly been dark days for the City of Hillsboro," in reference to a search warrant being ordered and executed on the offices of the Hillsboro mayor, safety and service director and city auditor.
"At this point in time, City Council will be taking a wait-and-see approach as to whether or not any alleged wrongdoing has occurred based upon the search warrant executed at the City Administrative Offices before taking any sort of official action,” Koogler said in December.
"When I know more, I will see to it that City Council takes any action that is appropriate at that point in time. The last two days have certainly been dark days for the City of Hillsboro, but I am in hope that in time, the clouds will part and the sun will shine on the City of Hillsboro once again."
Prior to the search warrant, Hillsboro resident and City of Hillsboro employee Craig R. Jackson, in a sworn complaint pursuant to Section 733.72 of the Ohio Revised Code, along with city electors his wife, Ariana Jackson, and Hillsboro residents Lisa Leeth, Kirby Ellison and Betty Bishop, had alleged that Hillsboro Mayor Drew Hastings is guilty of misfeasance or malfeasance in office.
No action was taken against the mayor at that time.
Additionally, the Hillsboro Police Department was called to property owned by the mayor at 1:57 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10 for a possible drug overdose.
Hillsboro Police Chief Todd Whited told The Highland County Press on Dec. 18, 2015 that the police department and Paint Creek Joint EMS and Fire District personnel responded to 123 West Walnut Street in Hillsboro and found a man unresponsive. Emergency responders administered medical care for a 24-year-old Bainbridge man, who reportedly refused treatment.