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Guilt is for courts to determine
(by Dave Lange - December 16, 2009)
COUNTY LINE, BY DAVE LANGE
Guilt is for courts to determine
In America, citizens are considered innocent of crimes unless and until they are found guilty in a court of law. But there are those who don't believe in such constitutional rights -- including some who really should know better.
Even before Geraldine A. Kanieski, of Auburn, a 30-year employee of the Kenston School District, was arrested Nov. 20 and charged in connection with the theft of $135,000 from the taxpayers, she and others in the school administration were being convicted by finger pointers.
I've heard from the usual public-school revilers and behind-the-scenes ax grinders that I, as a local editor, should be calling for heads to roll. Instead, I've had the audacity to suggest in print that criminality cannot be prevented and that -- heaven forbid -- our local schools are not immune from the ills of society.
Kenston is not Enron, and Mrs. Kanieski, who was an assistant treasurer entrusted with check writing for the school district, is no Kenneth Lay. But excuse me for mentioning the proclivity for multimillion-dollar embezzlements in the private sector.
Our newspaper reported on the Kenston embezzlement investigation as a lead story back in August, when it first became public knowledge, and gave it front-page play when the arrest was made last month. When there is a criminal conviction -- or exoneration -- that will be big news too. If, by chance, any law-enforcement or financial-auditing authority determines that there were improper or inadequate checks and balances within the Kenston treasurer's office and administration, that will be newsworthy as well. But until now, at least, the school district has received nothing but superlative fiscal reviews from the Ohio Auditor's Office. Accusations of misfeasance and complicity are premature and irresponsible.
Regarding the ills of society, newspapers throughout Greater Cleveland, including ours, reported extensively on the double suicide in July 2008 of Jenny and Jeffrey Hovinen in their lavish Russell Township home. They were under investigation in connection with the embezzlement of an estimated $2.8 million from St. Vincent Charity Hospital, where Mrs. Hovinen was a trusted employee.
Last July, we reported on the conviction of Solon resident Ruth Lewis in connection with the theft of $63,000 from St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Bentleyville, where she was a beloved parishioner and trusted employee, and we editorialized on a plea bargain that avoided jail time.
We joined other news media, not just in Greater Cleveland but across the country, in covering the escapades of former Chester Township Clerk Michael Spellman, who was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2004 for the embezzlement of $4.3 million in public funds.
Even local police departments are not immune from crime. Back in 1993, I reported on the theft of $3,000 over six years from parking-ticket collections in Chagrin Falls. That was despite regular audits of the police department books according to state regulations. A trusted employee resigned, but no criminal charges were filed.
In 1997, Bainbridge Police Chief James Jimison became the subject of a very public investigation for a variety of offenses, including the theft of township gasoline. A state audit was initiated by then Geauga County Sheriff George Simmons. Some people had the chief convicted, but I defended him in this very space. He later was proven totally innocent.
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