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The state dismissed a felony charge of intimidating employees against Athens County Commissioner Charlie Adkins
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The state has dismissed a felony case against an Athens County commissioner who was charged with intimidating a county employee.
The motion to dismiss was made Friday morning at the arraignment of Commissioner Charlie Adkins.
The state attorney general’s office said in the motion “it would not be appropriate to proceed at this time” and it was requesting dismissal “so that additional investigation can be conducted.”
Adkins was indicted three weeks ago on a felony charge of intimidation. The indictment alleged he confronted employees while attempting to determine the identity of a whistle blower who alleged financial improprieties at the Athens County Department of Job and Family Services.
The former JFS director, Jean Demosky, has been indicted on multiple felony charges related to misspent funds by the department. Athens County now owes the state more than $2.5 million in reimbursement for those funds.
Adkins’ lawyer, Robert Toy, said his client did nothing wrong. He says the employee handbook requires whistle blowers to identify themselves, and so Adkins was within his rights to find out who wrote the letter in this case.
“In response to an unsigned, incoherent and rambling letter that contained disparaging information about an employee for the county, the commissioner’s office conducted an investigation. This was totally appropriate and set forth in the employee handbook,” Toy said in a prepared statement.
The handbook outlines a three-step process for filing complaints. At each step, someone is supposed to provide the employee with a written response to their concerns, which suggests the employee’s identity, or at least some way to communicate with them, would need to be known.
Under the third step, an employee can submit their complaint to the commissioners, which is what happened in this case. The commissioners will then “review all material provided and will provide the employee with a written response in a timely manner,” the handbook states.
Demosky’s indictment includes a detailed narrative and alleges that when she and Adkins confronted employees about who wrote the letter, they threatened to have employees’ handwriting submitted for analysis, which the indictment alleges “created an environment of intimidation.”
Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn said the employee Adkins is accused of intimidating said she is not the person who wrote the anonymous letter. She said she did write a letter, which she submitted to her supervisor, who told her to take it to the commissioners, according to Blackburn.
Blackburn also said he encourages county commissioners to develop a system that better encourages people to come forward with their concerns about government operations. For example, there are many other government entities that allow whistle blowers to remain anonymous to protect them from possible retaliation.