Athens County Sheriff assults political opponent

Man claims sheriff assaulted him outside fundraiser

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Posted: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 3:00 am

By SARA BRUMFIELD Messenger staff journalist

An Albany man is claiming he was assaulted by Athens County Sheriff Patrick Kelly outside of a fundraising dinner for Kelly’s re-election campaign in Jacksonville over the weekend, but the sheriff said the allegations are just “bush league” politics.

The alleged “assault” supposedly involved Kelly stuffing a negative flier into the shirt of David Jenkinson of Albany, although Kelly denies it happened. Even so, County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn said he has asked a special prosecutor to look into the matter.

According to Jenkinson, the alleged altercation between he and Kelly came after Jenkinson was passing out literature near a fundraising dinner for Kelly’s re-election campaign at the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon.

Jenkinson said he handed a flier to Athens County Commissioner candidate Charlie Adkins outside of the VFW and then Jenkinson went into Jerry’s Bar nearby. He claims that when he came out he saw Kelly walking toward him and Kelly demanded a copy of the flier Jenkinson was passing out. Jenkinson told The Messenger he gave a copy of the flier to Kelly and after he looked it over, Kelly told Jenkinson he had to have a disclaimer on the literature stating it was campaign-related.

Jenkinson claims that Kelly threatened to have him arrested for violating election laws. Jenkinson told The Messenger that the literature was not election-related, but his intent was to have an investigation against Kelly’s son, Joel, reopened.

According to Jenkinson, Kelly crumpled up the flier and shoved it into the front pocket of Jenkinson’s Hawaiian shirt. Jenkinson claims that constituted assault because he has breast cancer and the force of Kelly shoving the paper into his pocket irritated the cancer site.

Jenkinson was not arrested, but he said he provided a statement to the Jacksonville Police Department about the alleged incident.

On Monday, Kelly told The Messenger that he in no way assaulted Jenkinson.

“It absolutely did not happen,” he said. Kelly, who is facing opposition from Republican Steve Kane in the November election, said that Jenkinson’s allegations are politically motivated.

According to Kelly, there were four witnesses outside when he went to talk to Jenkinson about the negative literature he was distributing regarding he and his son.

On Monday, Blackburn said that Jenkinson came into his office to file a complaint about an alleged incident that happened in Jacksonville on Saturday. Blackburn said that because he represents Kelly as county prosecutor, he asked a special prosecutor from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to look into the matter.

Blackburn said that even if the special prosecutor determines that charges are warranted, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will be against Kelly. Blackburn noted that making a false allegation of assault can also be a crime.

The literature passed out by Jenkinson is a copy of a letter from special prosecutor James Grandey of Highland County to Kelly in June 2010. Grandey said he was appointed special prosecutor to investigate allegations against Kelly’s son, Joel. No charges resulted from that investigation.

In the letter, Grandey is critical of Kelly for meeting with the stepfather of the alleged victim, but said he did not find the meeting had any criminal intent. The other side of Jenkinson’s flier purports to be an account of that meeting.

sbrumfield@athensmessenger.com

PI Indicted along with his attorney client

San Ramon Attorney Charged With Tax Evasion And Unlawfully Intercepting Communications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 18, 2012

OAKLAND, Calif. – A six-count Indictment was unsealed today charging San Ramon attorney Mary Nolan with tax evasion and unlawfully intercepting communications, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced. Nolan, 60, was arrested today in her home in Oakland, prior to making her initial appearance in federal court.
The indictment, which was returned Sept. 6, 2012, alleges that Nolan, the owner of The Law Offices of Mary Nolan in San Ramon, Calif., willfully attempted to evade and defeat a large part of her income tax due and owing by causing false tax returns to be filed with the Internal Revenue Service from 2005 through 2008. For the tax years 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, Nolan reported taxable income of -$21,395, -$12,472, -$53,934, and -$48,146, respectively, when in fact she knew her taxable income was $306,543, $410,581, $574,769 and $414,319. The unreported taxable income totaled $1,842,159, resulting in additional tax due of approximately $593,916.
The indictment further alleges that, between approximately Aug. 9, 2007, and at least Sept. 9, 2007, Nolan conspired to and procured another person to unlawfully intercept wire, oral and electronic communications. Specifically, the indictment alleges that Nolan referred clients to private investigator Christopher Butler for Butler to install concealed listening devices in the clients’ spouses or significant others’ cars. The indictment also alleges that on numerous occasions, Nolan and her staff, acting on Nolan’s instructions, accessed the listening devices to eavesdrop on conversations by Nolan’s clients’ spouses and significant others with the intent to use the intercepted information to assist Nolan’s client’s legal proceedings.
The maximum statutory penalty for tax evasion, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201, is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy to unlawfully intercept communications, in violation 18 U.S.C. § 371 is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum statutory penalty for unlawful interception of communications, in violation 18 U.S.C. § 2511(1)(a) and (4)(a) is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Upon posting $50,000, Nolan will be released on a bond that includes $250,000 of security in the form of a deed that must be posted within two weeks. She is next scheduled to appear in federal court in Oakland on Sept. 25, 2012, for arraignment before Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu. The case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton.
Hartley M. K. West is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Rania Ghawi. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.

Two Faces Have I

                Two Faces Have I

                It’s been popular lately for liberal news and entertainment programs to play inappropriate music in the background during a conservative’s appearance. If turnabout is fair play then the song that should have been playing in the background while  Ex-Ohio Governor Ted Strickland gave his speech at the recent DNC Convention should have been Lou Christie’s “ Two Faces Have I.”

                In his run for Governor Mr. Strickland promised to meet with the Executive Director of Ohio Association of the Security & Investigative Services and the then sitting Chairman of the Governor’s Commission to the Private Investigative and Security Industry to discuss the problems that the 270 small business owners and their 35,000 employees were having in their attempts to do business in the State of Ohio.   

                Of course the soon to be Governor was too busy to make the meeting but his staff falsely promised that the industries problems would be addressed  by Scott North a Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur attorney who had left the firm in order to become the new Governor’s Legislative assistant. This caused the majority of the 270 small business owners to lend their support to elect Ted Strickland Governor of the State of Ohio. Many in the industry now bored a “Republicans For Strickland” bumper sticker  and forwarded monetary donations to his campaign.

                Well as usual, with politicians, after the election was over and Ted was elected the industry never heard from Scott North, Ted Strickland or his staff again and to add injury to insult  he appointed two of the most corrupt Directors of  Department of Public Safety ever to come down the pike. Two documented corrupt political cronies who did nothing but block attempts by the industry, the small businesses, to become successful and profitable.  The Department’s attorney, in violation of the law,  wire tapped anyone attempting to assist the industry and used the Department’s investigators to falsely pressure any dissenters the industry might have.

                As mentioned Lou Christie’s “Two Face Have I” would have been great background music for Ohio’s Ex-Governor.