Southern Ohio Justice Part 2

 

Portsmouth attorney indicted on 18 felony counts in human trafficking case

BREAKING NEWS, NEWS, TOP STORIES

Staff report

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PORTSMOUTH — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Scioto County Prosecutor Shane Tieman announced Friday, Oct. 23, the indictment of Portsmouth attorney Michael Mearan on 18 felony counts related to human trafficking spanning 15 years.

Mearan, 74, faces more than 70 years in prison if convicted.

The charges stem from criminal activity in southern Ohio that occurred from 2003 to 2018 and involved six victims. They include:

· One count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (F1)

· Three counts of trafficking in persons (F1)

· Five counts of compelling prostitution (F3)

· Nine counts of promoting prostitution (F4)

The case was investigated by a human trafficking task force as part of Yost’s Organized Crime Investigations Commission. The task force consisted of representatives from the Portsmouth Police Department, Department of Public Safety’s Intelligence Unit and Ohio Investigative Unit, and the Attorney General’s Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

The case is being prosecuted under Yost’s Human Trafficking Initiative.

Indictments merely contain allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proved guilty in a court of law.

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Southern Ohio Justice part 2

Southern Ohio Justice part 2

Thursday, March 26, 2020
7:48 AM

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio – A former city councilman and practicing defense attorney rumored to be a key player in a sex trafficking ring was detained by police while officials searched his home Wednesday morning

The streets surrounding Michael Mearan's home near the Scioto County Courthouse were blocked by police vehicles and flooded with police personnel Wednesday morning.

Mearan was seen by an Enquirer reporter seated on his front porch while police searched his home. He was later seen driving from the scene. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost was seen with police.

Attempts to reach Mearan were unsuccessful.

Portsmouth Police detectives began looking into Mearan in late 2018, about the same time The Enquirer began reporting on rumors of sex trafficking in this southern Ohio city.

After The Enquirer published the results of its investigation in March, agents with the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation also became involved.

The streets surrounding Michael Mearan's home near the Scioto County Courthouse were blocked by police vehicles and flooded with police personnel on March 25, 2020.
The streets surrounding Michael Mearan's home near the Scioto County Courthouse were blocked by police vehicles and flooded with police personnel on March 25, 2020. (Photo: Liz Dufour / The Enquirer)

The prosecution is now being handled by the state attorney general’s office of special prosecutions Angela Canepa.

Ten different women previously told The Enquirer they had worked as prostitutes for Mearan, with several of the women saying they had traveled to numerous states to have money for sex at the behest of Mearan.

The women also told The Enquirer that Mearan’s operation included some of the most powerful men in Scioto County as customers and participants. One said she had slept with a former police chief for money.

Several women say they were lured into an alleged sex trafficking ring run by a local defense attorney in Portsmouth, Ohio. Cincinnati Enquirer

Three others said they had been approached by Mearan or others to perform sexual favors for now-retired Scioto County Common Pleas Court Judge William T. Marshall in exchange for lighter sentences in their criminal cases.

Marshall was suspended from practicing law after interfering in his daughter’s speeding ticket case. His family later tried to take control of his personal affairs in court, saying he was a severe alcoholic and had gone to work as a judge while drunk.

That has opened an investigation by the Ohio Public Defender’s office into Marshall’s conduct and whether the results in as many as 3,000 criminal cases he oversaw should be reexamined.

Police surround former city councilman Michael Mearan's home in Portsmouth, Ohio, on March 25, 2020.
Police surround former city councilman Michael Mearan's home in Portsmouth, Ohio, on March 25, 2020. (Photo: Liz Dufour / The Enquirer)

The state's investigation reflects what was initially outlined in a sealed federal wiretap affidavit issued as part of a separate Drug Enforcement Administration investigation several years ago.

That document, obtained by The Enquirer in early 2018, includes accounts of Mearan sending women to Florida and other states to have sex for money.

That investigation resulted in eight drug convictions, but Mearan was never charged. The DEA said it had handed any notes on Mearan over to the FBI, and it is not clear what happened to any follow-ups from authorities.

The family of Megan Lancaster, a Portsmouth prostitute who went missing in 2013, has worked for years to get answers about her disappearance, including whether Mearan is connected.

“We hope that it brings answers and justice to all the girls whether he’s trafficked them or had a past with them at all,” Kadie Lancaster, Megan's sister-in-law said. "Of course, we pray to God this brings Megan home.”

Same Robber, Different Mask (Part 2)

Same Robber, Different Mask (2010)

The Ohio Association of Security & Investigative Services was founded in 1947 and incorporated in 1954 as the Ohio Association of Private Detective Agencies, Inc., a not for profit Ohio corporation. The later name change came about as security companies applied for membership and representation in the organization.

Initially, those entities were licensed by the Ohio Department of Commerce.  As with any licensing entity, their assigned task was to collect fees and regulate the industry.  They exceeded in their expectation in the collection of fees but poorly failed at the regulation of the industry. They were so good at collecting fees that the industry overpaid the State of Ohio $1.4 million dollars in licensing fees. Because of this overpayment, the industry was promised that licensing fees would never be raised.

Three problems arose with Commerce from this overpayment issue. First, when asked by the industry to increase its regulation enforcement the industry was told that there was a hiring freeze and they could not add additional personnel, even though there was a surplus. Secondly, when public records request was forwarded to Commerce to view the accounting of the licensing fees and this surplus it was repeatedly denied. And finally, when a previous administration had a budget shortfall it “stole” $400,000 from the industries surplus and moved it into the General Fund. 

Because of the industries, frustration with Commerce legislative action was taken to move the licensing and regulation of our industry to the Division of Homeland Security. This was legislative action taken by OASIS, after 9/11 that was forced upon Public Safety. Part of that legislation included wording for a Governor’s advisory commission of industry professionals to advise those in Public Safety of the difficulties of operating a successful business in Ohio without dated rules and regulations.  The commission was legislatively directed to be up and running in a year’s period.  Two years after the legislation passed the commission was still not operational and it was not until the Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee held up Public Safety legislation and requested the then Director of Public Safety explain to the committee why the commission had not been seated. In order to forward Public Safety’s legislation, the then director relented and proceeded with the forming of said commission.

It should be pointed out here that at the time of the movement of the PI/ Security industry from Commerce to Public Safety that there remained $1, 000,000 in what was then called the rotary funds. Public Safety subsequently billed our industry $800, 000 as the cost of the move the PI/ Security industry from Commerce to Homeland Security, i.e. Public Safety.

As if the $800,000 movement fee was not enough our industry was told that the computer system used for licensing our industry was a proprietary system that could not be transferred from Commerce to Public Safety, so the industry was requested to cough up $395,000 for a new computer system. The system was acquired through a no-bid contract by the then Director of Public Safety through, a Tom Noe associate, and has never lived up to the bill of goods the industry was sold.  Since the remaining $200,000 in the rotary fund was not enough to cover the computer’s acquisition the industries license holders agreed to a $25 yearly increase in fees.   In 2010 we called this a Robber with a Different Mask.

Same Robber, Different Mask (March 2019)

Those increases in licensing fees, enacted in 2005, have now allowed the State to almost double the amount of overage paid by the PI/SG industry since the enactment of HB 230 in 2004.
Below please find the Public Records Request submitted to the Ohio Department of Public Safety regarding the above-mentioned overage and their response.
Requested:

Copies of the 2017 & 2018 profit/loss statements to include

1. 1.funds received by PI/SG from the licensing and fines from licensed and non-licensed entities
2. expenses to include the cost to the licensing entity of licensing the PI/SG industry for those two years
3. the amount of surplus (profit) made by the licensing entity for those above years
4. the entity currently maintaining those surplus funds Also a copy of the budget submitted for 2019.
Response:

The State of Ohio’s information is maintained within the confines of Ohio’s fiscal year which begins on July 1 and ends June 30. The current fiscal year is FY2019, which ends on June 30, 2019. Below is an accounting of the revenue, expenditures and cash balances for fiscal years 2017 and 2018. Cash remaining in the fund at the end of each fiscal year is retained in the fund by the State of Ohio to fund future expenses of the program.

The budget for the fiscal year 2019 is $1,794, 295 as appropriate by Ohio’s 132th General Assembly in Sub. H.B. 26.

Private Security Guard Provider Fund
Fiscal 2017 Fiscal 2018
Beginning Cash Balance 1. $ 2,641,002.25 2. $ 2,723,274.33

Revenue Receipts
Fines/Civil Penalties $ 126,537.65 $ 115,530.30
Licensing $ 1,363,268.31 $ 1,481,150.00
Other $ 0.09 $ -
Total $ 1,489,806.05 $ 1,596,680.30

Expenditures
Disbursed during the fiscal year * $ 1,407,533.97 $ 1,657,744.09


Ending Cash Balance $ 2,723,274.33 $ 2,662,210.54

This is not to say that the current administration at PI/SG doesn’t do an outstanding job in the issuance of licenses, because they do; but at what cost. When did the State become a for profit business? The ending cash balance for each year should be a zero-sum balance not an excess $.2.6 million. Where are those additional funds? Are they making interest?  The State needs to be reminded that it’s not their money. Those funds belong to the license holders who in good faith hoped that the State would spend them wisely. 

Since it was seated The Ohio Private Investigation & Security Services Commission (OPISSC) has done little if any to forward the request of the PI/SG industry to Ohio’s Director of Public Safety or those requests having for years fallen upon deaf ears. You have become accomplices in this travesty. After 14 years of existence has there been one piece of legislation moved forward to promote the professionalism or accountability of the industry? No.

You continue to hold the door open while the “Same Robber, Different Mask” continues to raid the till as the PI/SG Industry remains the redheaded stepchild and cash cow for the Ohio Department of Public Safety. You should be ashamed.

Ethics 102 or Learning How to Say NO!

               The adage for ethics was “Doing the right thing when no one was looking”. A question arises in that, if you believe in a higher deity or have a conscience then someone is always looking. You had to just look in a mirror and only be accountable to yourself or to your chosen deity to justify your actions as ethical. 

Their-in lies a problem in that every religion, business or government entity has its own set of rules and definitions as to what is presumed to be ethical.

A thought comes to mind as in the late Nancy Reagan’s campaign of “Just Say No.”  This one little word, containing just two letters is one of the hardest words or actions to complete in any language. As a grandparent have you ever tried to say “no” to a grandchild wanting a piece of candy just prior to dinner?  Where is the “harm” in that?

Wait, there’s the other adage for ethics is “Do no harm”.  But again, whose definition of “harm” do we adhere. Prisons are full of individuals who just couldn’t say no and did harm. Others build their own mental prisons because they can’t look in the mirror or inner soul. They have no or have lost their conscience; their soul.

Not a day goes by for a private investigator that they are not asked by a client to do something that would be considered unethical by someone’s standards. They must ponder, as any business person, the thought of do I make a monetary gain or “just say no”.  One of man’s many weaknesses is the inability to distinguish his needs from his greed and at what cost do you lose your conscience sell your soul.

The answer to that question is learning how to say no; no matter the cost. Nothing is worth the loss of self-respect.  One must justify to his or self what the right thing is and sometimes the right thing is just saying NO!.

Stranger Danger

Stranger Danger      by: Jim Silvania

Stranger Danger is what parents and grandparents have been telling their children and grandchildren for years; “Don’t get into a car with a stranger” But in the “strange” world of today the Ohio P.U.C.O and the State Legislators who sponsored HB 237 now say that’s OK.  It’s ok to let your child get into the vehicle of just anybody; therefore, placing that child at risk.

As parents and grandparents, we let our children get on to a school bus or into a taxi with a stranger because we are under the insurance that the driver of that vehicle has undergone an extensive background investigation. A background investigation where the driver has submitted his or her fingerprints to a State or Federal Agency. An agency that verifies that said individual is a citizen and not a felon, a sexual predator and who has the right to drive that vehicle, which is properly insured.  Does any of those background check apply to Lyft and Uber? No.

The City of Columbus once respected the wishes of the voters to provide for a safe environment for the transportation of our children to and from school but the State Legislature in HB 237 saw otherwise. They took the regulation and compliance power away from the local jurisdictions and gave it to the P.U.C.O.  and what does the P.U.C.O. do with that regulation and compliance power, nothing. They rely of self-reporting data from the industry (Uber & Lyft). 

Uber’s process for onboarding drivers is dangerously negligent and places your child in danger. Neither Uber nor Lyft uses fingerprints or law enforcement to background-check their drivers. And Uber doesn’t even bother to meet with drivers in person before allowing them to ferry passengers.
The result is a series of incidents involving “ridesharing” passengers being harmed and criminal offenders being behind the wheel:  So far 49 deaths have been attributed to Uber & Lyft drivers, 92 assaults, 366 sexual assaults, 16 kidnappings, and 98 imposters posing as Uber or Lyft drivers.

The above are facts. Facts apparently ignored by the State Legislators voted for HB 237. Ignored by the Ohio P.U.C.O. who don’t think it’s their responsibility to make sure that Uber and Lyft drivers are following the law. That Uber and Lyft drivers are licensed, insured not felons and in compliance with the minimal requirements of HB 237.  Uber and Lyft must be forced to ensure that their drivers undergo a fingerprint State or Federal Background check which are monitored (Rap-Back) while the driver is operating for their entity. 

  At present your child is at risk and the above proves “stranger danger” is in fact at hand when you or your child enter a Uber or Lyft vehicle.

Law Enforcement Candidate NOT!

A Law Enforcement Candidate: NOT!

    In my recently published article “Justice in Ohio” in PI Magazine it was noted that “one only has to watch cable tv’s Investigation Discovery Channel or Spike TV to see the many miscarriages of justice in our state.  Missing women in Chillicothe, OH, in Peeples, OH nine people shot and killed; both remain unsolved. I could go on, but you can catch the rest on either of the above-mentioned TV Channels.”

The question then arises, who was the head law enforcement officer during the time of the above-mentioned tragedies. None other than the Attorney General and candidate for Governor of the State of Ohio, Mike DeWine.

Mike DeWine a living example of Dr. Laurence J. Peter’s Peter Principal. A county prosecutor who should have remained a county prosecutor. Not only has the leading law enforcement officer in Ohio, and his agency failed in their respective duty his prior actions as Lt. Governor exacerbated the illness which lead to the demise of the then head of the then Governor George Voinovich’s Office of Criminal Justice Services, Joseph Gilyard. 

It’s obvious that people have short memories.  Joseph Gilyard while acting as the head of the Office of Criminal Justice Services, was the first to find or note the criminal activity within the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office under the leadership of then-Sheriff Earl Smith.  In his attempt to bring this matter to the public’s eye he stepped on the toes of the leaders of the head of the Franklin County Republican Party. History was to later prove Joseph Gilyard’s accusations were right on the money as Sheriff Smith’s Chief Deputy and bag men were later convicted in Federal Court for violations of the Hatch Act.

But Joe would never know as he was of the receiving end of a hatchet job carried out by then Lt. Governor Mike DeWine at the bequest of then-Governor George Voinovich and John W. Wolfe, Chairman of the Columbus Dispatch a then-Republican newspaper. Mr. Wolfe was the holder of badge No. 1 in the criminal scheme of selling Deputy Sheriff Badges and commissions. Mr. Wolfe’s personal secretary was the Campaign Manager for Sheriff Smith.

A Law Enforcement candidate?  Not!  Just ask the families of the victims of those yet unsolved crimes and Joe Gilyard’s family.

Southern Ohio Justice Follow-up By: Nikki Blankenship

Scioto County leaders investigated for human trafficking

By Nikki Blankenship

Earlier this year, Spike TV aired its eight-part series, titled “Gone: The Forgotten Women of Ohio.” The documentary attempted to find answers in some of the area's unsolved cases, including the local case of Megan Lancaster who has been missing since April 3, 2013. Despite their efforts, there are still a plethora of questions that remain unanswered.

A sealed affidavit used in a trafficking case may provide more insights. According to the recently obtained affidavit, several local individuals have been named in a federal investigation into human trafficking, drug trafficking and public corruption that reaches all the way to the state level. The investigation links the alleged criminal organization to some of Scioto County's missing women. A sealed affidavit filed by the FBI with U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division in Columbus on Aug. 19, 2015, as part of a federal investigation, names several individuals in connection to varied criminal activities including trafficking in narcotics, human trafficking and public corruption.

Targets of the investigation include Portsmouth attorney and former City Councilman Michael Mearan; Portsmouth insurance agent Fred Brisker; Ashland, Kentucky car dealer Daren Biggs; convicted narcotics trafficker, Mark Eubanks, of Columbus; Timothy Wayne Mutter, of Franklin Furnace; Richard Glenn, of Portsmouth; Patricia Tsotsos, of Portsmouth; Trent Banks, of Columbus; Kenyatta “Yatta” Connally, of Portsmouth; Dan Schoenberger, of Columbus; Donald Smith, of Columbus; Brett Fluharty, of Milton, West Virginia; and Lindsay Porter, of Portsmouth. There were additional targets of investigation that remained unnamed in the affidavit. The list included an unnamed Scioto County Common Pleas judge, an unnamed state judge, various unnamed members of law enforcement, unnamed staff at Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (SOCF) and various levels of unnamed public officials.

The affidavit explains that information gathered up until the filing date had been collected through the FBI Portsmouth office and the Southern Ohio Drug Task Force (SODTF). During the time, the FBI and SODTF were making controlled buys of heroin and had already tapped the phone of one subject. Additional information was provided by confidential informants. Mearan is at the center of the investigation. The affidavit states that according to gathered evidence, “Mearan is an attorney and former City Councilman in Portsmouth, Ohio who recruits females to engage in prostitution in southern Ohio and occasionally other US locations.”

Per the affidavit, according to the investigation, Mearan allegedly conspired with public officials who pull legal strings in favor of females employed by Mearan. “Mearan has been reported as offering his legal services, clothing, residence, food etc., to females in return for them becoming prostitutes for him and conducting sexual acts for his clients including a Portsmouth, Ohio judge, Southern Ohio Correctional Facility Staff members, and local businessmen,” the affidavit states. “This information was obtained through numerous interviews, including interviews with former prostitutes. Mearan has also been reported as being involved in purchasing drugs, including Oxycodone and heroin, from Eubanks and others, in order to provide them to his prostitutes and clients.

Mearan has also been suspected as being in collusion with a Portsmouth, Ohio judge to get females out on bail, parole, etc., in order to use those females as prostitutes and with unknown law enforcement or legislative officials to tip off Mearan's drug suppliers including Eubanks.” The document indicates that the local attorney's involvement in prostitution can be traced back to the 1990s. According to the evidence presented, Mearan transported prostitutes across the country to meet with clients. These trips are allegedly set up by Mearan and Brisker.

“The females travel specifically to meet clients that were arranged by Mearan and Brisker. The trips would usually last between two days and one week. The scope of this investigation includes subjects who are conspiring with Mearan to facilitate the activities of the Criminal Enterprise in Ohio, Kentucky, New Jersey, Michigan, Florida and New York,” Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Special Agent Keith P. Leighton, who prepared the affidavit, reported.

Evidence includes a compiled list of females who worked as prostitutes for Mearan as well as men (commonly referred to as “johns”) who were provided their services. “The subjects include attorneys and one current state judge,” the document reads. “To date, 27 women have been identified as former or current prostitutes.”

Several informants gave statements of public corruption. In one such example, an informant reported that in late 2013, while she was incarcerated (outside of Scioto County), Mearan represented her as her attorney and helped her obtain a judicial release. She further explained that he then had her parole supervision moved to Scioto County by instructing the court that the female was a dog trainer and would be living with Mearan in order to train his dogs.

Evidence presented in the affidavit indicates that the female was not a dog trainer and became employed by Mearan as a prostitute. The affidavit further states that the informant was a prostitute for Mearan for approximately one year and met with interstate clients including Biggs. The affidavit further documents a separate interstate arrangement, which allegedly occurred in 2014, during which Mearan allegedly arranged for two women to travel to Palm Beach, Florida, to engage in acts of prostitution, all of which was corroborated by photos, telephone analysis and airline information.

Not only did the document link Mearan to acts of prostitution and drug trafficking, it further associated him with women that have gone missing or who have been found murdered.For example, it reads, “On April 3, 2013, a local female went missing after her automobile was discovered parked at a local fast food restaurant in Portsmouth, Ohio. This female was a known prostitute, intravenous drug user and a prostitute employed by Mearan. The investigation into this female's disappearance is currently being conducted by the Portsmouth, Ohio Police Department (PPD).”

The affidavit then states, “On July 17, 2013, another woman utilized in the past by Mearan to engage in prostitution was found deceased in the Scioto County area,” the affidavit reads. “An autopsy revealed the cause of death as multiple traumas. The investigation is being conducted by the Scioto County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) and remains unsolved. The FBI Portsmouth, Ohio office is providing assistance to the SCSO and the PPD with their investigations.”

Mearan is cited as being “an integral part” of numerous other investigations including an Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Cincinnati Field Division White Slave Trafficking investigation, FBI Cincinnati Field Division Human Trafficking investigation, an FBI Detroit Field Division Extortion investigation, an FBI Cincinnati Field Division Mexican Drug Trafficking Organization investigation, an FBI Cincinnati Field Division Violent Gang investigation, an FBI Pittsburgh Field Division Violent Gang investigation and a DEA Cincinnati Resident Office investigation. Mearan's phone number has also been identified as used in association with online advertising with Backpage.com, a classifieds site known for sex-related ads and online prostitution. Advertisements associated with Mearan's phone number included ads flagged for featuring underage girls. Many individuals involved in the investigation for supplying narcotics to the criminal enterprise have since been convicted while other subjects remain at large.

“      

  According to court documents, the FBI began investigating a drug trafficking organization operating in central and southern Ohio in 2014,” Frank Lewis reported in an article titled “Locals sentenced in federal court” published by The Portsmouth Daily Times on Oct. 19, 2016.

Lewis' story further credited the convictions to Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Timothy J. Plancon, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Detroit Field Division, agencies participating in the Southern Ohio Drug Task Force, Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs and U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson who presided over the case.

The investigation also led to the convictions of targets Mutter, Glenn, Eubanks, Smith and Banks as well as additional conspirators Johnathan Nunez, of Wheelersburg; Kent Whiteside, of Columbus; and Gregory Workman of Springfield. All have been convicted of conspiracy to distribute narcotics. There are no other known arrests associated with the investigation.