Lorain suspends Desvari without pay
Brad Dicken | The Chronicle-Telegram
Desvari, who was indicted on bribery and dereliction of duty charges last week, had continued to receive his pay since he was suspended in February from his $68,380- a-year job. The payless suspension takes effect today.
Lorain Safety Director Phil Dore said Desvari can be suspended without pay for only two months before the city must begin paying his salary and offering him benefits again, but it will give the city time to figure out what to do with Desvari.
“At this point, we have not made a decision if and when we will hold a predisciplinary hearing to determine whether any discipline is appropriate,” Dore said.
Among the possible penalties is termination, Dore said.
Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will and police have declined to provide specifics on what exactly Desvari is accused of doing, saying the investigation is still ongoing and more charges are possible against Desvari and possibly others.
The investigation began after residents of King’s Woods subdivision complained to then-Safety Service Director Dan Given earlier this year about substandard work on their new homes. Given, now a city councilman, said he didn’t know if those allegations led to the charges or what the investigation showed.
Also in the dark is Desvari, said his attorney, Brent English.
“We don’t know what they are alleging,” he said Monday.
Desvari, who has in the past denied any wrongdoing, was never interviewed by police, and prosecutors have not yet disclosed exactly what he is accused of doing, English said.
The alleged illegal activity took place between January 2004 and December 2007, according to the indictment.
Desvari has been at the center of several controversies and reprimanded repeatedly during his tenure with the city, which began in 2003 when he was hired by then-Mayor Craig Foltin.
Desvari clashed with then-City Councilman Tony Krasienko — now the mayor — and Council even asked Foltin to fire him at one point for a variety of issues, including problems with how he ran his department and previous convictions for theft and forgery.
He also has been reprimanded for other issues, including not working a full 40 hours week, not doing inspections and intimidating a city worker.
Desvari, who remains free on bond, is set to be arraigned Thursday.
Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.
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Filed by Brad Dicken | The Chronicle-Telegram July 22nd, 2008 in Top Stories. Popularity: 3% |
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Comments
Comment from
johnbear
July 22, 2008, 6:47 am
Amazing that just 2 days ago one of your readers suggested doing just this. Let this jerk sue the city and use his pay to defend the case. Hopefully, he will be prosecuted and let go, but you never know in the politics of Lorain. The next move should be suspending the two officers without pay and let them sue also. We’re spending a fortune letting these guys sit home with full pay and benefits and their part time jobs. Dore, get them out now!
Comment from
onecuddles
July 22, 2008, 11:59 am
“We’re spending a fortune letting these guys sit home with full pay and benefits” Johnbear said.
I could not agree more. They dont need to get paid while hard working law abiding citizens cant make enough to pay thier bills.
The cities keep asking for more money because they are having a hard time. If they would stop wasting money they would have enough or at least the people might consider giving them more.
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