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Jailed business man has new outlook
(by Joan Demirjian - November 26, 2008)
Jailed business man has new outlook
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
While a zoning issue in Russell put businessman Thomas Sloe behind bars for 30 days, he said this week, he believes there was a greater purpose to his being there.
He served his time at the Geauga County Jail for a list of zoning requirements that Geauga County Common Pleas Court Judge David Fuhry and Geauga County Assistant Prosecutor Rebecca Schlag want him to carry out at his business, Russell Automotive.
After years of lawsuits, they said he did not comply with the requirements, including removal of a paint booth and parked cars at the business at Music Street and Chillicothe Road (Route 306).
Russell Township officials said the sale of cars at the site also is not permitted.
Mr. Sloe said he has done everything required of him. "I did it all before going to jail," he said. He still has not received a clear definition from the township of parking of cars, what officials expect and what is still not in compliance, he said.
Outside parking of vehicles is needed by a repair shop, Mr. Sloe said. The paint booth is needed, because it keeps the air in the service garage clean, and it can be used for painting vehicle engines, frames, chassis and wheels, he said.
He has state licenses for motor-vehicle sales and leasing, but such operations are not allowed by the township, he said. "They should tell me specifically it's this or that," he said of violations.
Yet the topless car wash he has operated from time to time on the property is allowed by adult-entertainment zoning, for which the township adopted regulations.
He operated the topless car wash "to prove a point. Why is that legal in Russell, but they continue to harass me over vehicle repairs? They never sat down and discussed what will make them happy."
Mr. Sloe has been in business 31 years, opening in May 1977. "My customers are upset. It's a personal vendetta," he said.
At the Nov. 19 Township Trustees meeting, Mr. Sloe's brother, Michael Sloe, told trustees, "I'm concerned that Tom understands everything. Does he understand what is going on?"
"To me, it's pretty clear what needs to be done," Trustee James Dickinson said. "I think it's been laid out. The county prosecutor and judges made it clear," he said of a list of the violations.
Mr. Sloe was released Nov. 18. In jail, he said, he was in the same group of cells, or pod, with a man in a head-on accident who was convicted of cocaine use and having a gun in the car.
"I got 30 days in maximum security, and it wasn't even a criminal charge," he said, noting that he tried but could not obtain an early release to work on his property. "I have no criminal record."
However, while doing time, he was not idle. "I helped eight people get out of jail early by writing letters for them," Mr. Sloe said. He spent time discussing their cases, helping them write letters to explain their cases to their judges and to apply for early releases.
He also worked on finding a possible home for an inmate who is homeless and is to be released after the first of the year, he said. "I talked with someone who works with addicts and troubled youth, and she is going help find a place for him."
Mr. Sloe met men convicted of drug abuse, breaking and entering and driving under the influence of alcohol, he said. Other municipalities pay Geauga County for prisoner jail space.
He met with individuals in prayer and discussion groups, and he attended church services with them, he said. "I prayed with them and discussed the Bible and life in general." The group grew as they saw some of the positive results of the letters he helped with, Mr. Sloe said.
He embraces the concept that "when you confront barriers, you put your heart over it and then your body will follow," he said.
"All my life, I've fixed things with my hands, and now I'm using spirituality, prayer and writing to help fix things," he said. Whether those he helped "stay clean" is up to them, he said.
He said the time in maximum security was eye opening. "It truly was an amazing experience," Mr. Sloe said. Inmates clean their cells, and it was a struggle to keep warm, he said. "You wore all the clothes you had, pulled socks up your arms and tucked yourself in your mattress pads, like a cocoon." Telephone calls are monitored, and visitations are through video and limited to 20 minutes twice a week, he said.
Now, he is hoping to team up with a "very wise 53-year-old heroin addict" when that individual is released, he said. They will go out to meet with groups of young people to tell them of the dangers of drug addiction, Mr. Sloe said. "I would look forward to being a partner with him to help others." If the man stays away from drugs, "he has a story to tell. And he told me, 'No one has talked to me like you have,'" Mr. Sloe said.
Mr. Sloe also competes in sports-car racing in the Sports Car Club of America. "I'm offering several people who stay clean and pass drug testing to be part of my race team and pit crew and drive a trainer's race car," he said. "In my mind it was wrongful imprisonment," he said of his sentence.
However, he said, "God put me in there for more than a vendetta against me by Russell Township and kept me in for a reason."
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