A Medina County auditor is accused of spending thousands of public tax dollars on a personal photographer and other expenses that commissioners say funded his re-election campaign.
MEDINA COUNTY, Ohio — A Medina County auditor is accused of spending thousands of public tax dollars on a personal photographer and other expenses that commissioners say funded his re-election campaign.
For the past several months, Medina County Finance Director Brett Thomas has been investigating Capretta. Investigation findings Thomas said Capretta was having the photographer take pictures and shoot videos so the auditor could use them to produce materials for his re-election campaign.
“He was also apparently engaging the individual in managing his Facebook, social media page, re-election pages and so forth,” Medina County Commissioner Stephen Hambley said. “No response,” Hambley said. Capretta didn’t address our requests for an on-camera interview. On Monday he emailed 19 Investigates saying he was currently out of town and “no county funds were used for anything outside of county business”.
On April 30, all three commissioners signed a 40-page affidavit listing the allegations against Capretta. They also included exhibits to back up their claims. Commissioners said the photographer’s invoices listed the jobs he did for Capretta. Last November’s invoice shows the photographer uploaded videos to Capretta’s YouTube channel and shot video of Capretta at Medina’s Republican headquarters.
Commissioners said Capretta used those photos to produce postcards which he mailed to Republican voters.
“We believe it’s an infraction of the Ohio Revised Code as well as campaign finance laws,” Hambley said. “Much of those bonuses were issued to staff that were already making $100,000 or $75,000 to begin with,” Thomas said. Thomas said the bonuses themselves aren’t the issue, but the way the auditor paid for them is.
“He instructed his staff to move the money out of the salary account overall and hide it in other accounts where he had appropriation — and then mislabel it as wrong accounts,” Thomas said. If they find probable cause, it will be forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office. Man dies after shooting at Noisy Oyster Pub in Akron, 2nd man injuredChild care providers close doors for national rallyLorain apartment tenants report leaks, mold and water damage
19 Investigates News Investigation Cleveland Investigation Cleveland Investigations Ohio News Medina County Auditor Investigation Reporter Mike Mason Anthony Capretta Public Funds Ohio County Auditor Misuse Campaign Finance Violation Ohio Medina County Commissioners
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