Former deputies guilty of grand theft
By CHRISTOPHER BOBBY Tribune ChroniclePOSTED: May 16, 2009
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Sgts. Anthony Leshnack, 41, of Girard, and Peter Pizzulo, 46, of Howland, used more than $2,000 for an August 2004 hotel stay at Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas. They spent more than $4,600 on 10 weapons they said were for departmental use, then kept eight of the weapons, sold one to a another deputy and gave another away as a gift.
In all, an investigative report compiled by Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, or BCI, that was released Friday, outlined more than 40 ''specific overt acts'' between August 2004 and April 2008, outlining more than $55,000 in which the then-deputies used funds raised by their organization for their benefit and that of their family and friends.
In all, though, the two are charged with theft of between $5,000 and $100,000, which carries potential sentences of 6 to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. However, they could be eligible for probation, when they would be ordered to make full restitution.
Among the overt acts outline in the report are:
n Both deputies used 62 checks drawn on an account for ''Ohio Narcotics Officers Association'' to pay for $18,494 in cell phones and cell phone services for themselves, family and friends about a year ago;
n Leshnack used $1,100 as a buyin for a poker tournament and other money for dance or karate lessons and Christmas gifts for his kids;
n Pizzulo bought countless tools and supplies at Home Depot and used a credit card from the organization to have rotors installed on his father's vehicle;
n Pizzulo used $470 to send his daughter to summer camp at Camp Fitch in Pennsylvania;
n Pizzulo paid $250 to transport his step-daughter's horse to the Ohio State Fair, and another $835 in eight purchases for items needed for the trip;
n Leshnack bought $690 in sheriff's department uniforms and was then reimbursed by the county for the clothing;
n Leshnack bought an $898 TV-treadmill with donations and then gave the equipment to a local gym when he found out the organization was under investigation;
n Leshnack wrote nine checks totaling $2,560 for entrance and sponsorship fees for sporting activities for his children;
n Leshnack wrote 34 checks totaling $1,653 to pay for home Internet and his monthly cable TV bill;
n Leshnack charged $1,064 at Sam's Club for personal items;
n Pizzulo charged $129 for mostly alcoholic drinks at Alberini's restaurant; and
n Pizzulo spent $297 for clothing for himself from Dillard's Department Store.
On Friday, the two former deputies stood with their attorneys before Trumbull Common Pleas Judge W. Wyatt McKay and pleaded no contest to bills of information charging them each with fourth-degree felony charges of grand theft.
They were found guilty and ordered to undergo a pre-sentence investigation by Adult Probation Officers, who will set a precise amount of restitution to be made to a Charitable Trust Organization of the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
Defense attorney J. Gerald Ingram was successful in convincing McKay to forgo the use of any handcuffs when both men were taken to Trumbull County Jail for formal booking.
Special prosecutor David Joyce, from Geauga County, pointed out the two former detectives, who resigned Nov. 3, still have about $20,000 in their possession - an amount McKay ordered forfeited and forwarded to the Attorney General as well.
Both Ingram and Joyce lashed out at charitable telephone solicitation firms in general and in particular a similar telemarketing company called Xentel that Ingram said recruited the two deputies and convinced them to start and incorporate the ONOA.
''These companies can rake in up to 90 percent of the donations. It doesn't go to benefit any kids,'' Ingram said.
Joyce pointed out the companies are completely legal, but are allowed to charge as Xentel did 85 percent of the donations brought in.
Under an agreement, the ONOA got 14 percent and one percent went to Brent Mager. Mager is a professional fundraiser, who was one of the men that suggested Leshnack and Pizzulo start the ONOA, according to the BCI report.
A detailed report compiled by Special agent Dennis Sweet of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation says Xentel, which operates out of Canada and Florida, was paid $596,379 between July of 2004 and April of 2008. ''It is difficult to calculate the total amount raised by Xentel due to the changing agreement,'' the report states.
''The ONOA primarily used (a Chase Bank account) to receive and distribute the funds raised by the charity. From July 2004 to April 2008, a total of $747,393 was deposited in the account and $693,905 in checks were written on the account,'' Sweet's report states.
Another $33,074 was charged to credit cards and was paid from the same ONOA account.
Sheriff Tom Altiere terminated both men following an internal review that turned up allegations of ''conflict of interest, dishonesty, untruthfulness and failure to observe laws.''
Last October, Altiere asked BCI to investigate the deputies' involvement with the ONOA.
In 2002, Pizzulo and Leshnack were charged in connection with a brawl outside Gasoline Alley, a Niles bar. The charges were later dropped due to inconsistencies among the parties, but an internal investigation at the sheriff's office resulted in the two receiving written reprimands for violating policy.
Pizzulo also has been convicted of lying on an affidavit for a search warrant when he worked for Brookfield Police Department.
In 2003, the two traveling to Mansfield to collect a prisoner, rescued two women from a burning vehicle. The women were trapped in the vehicle, which caught fire after a crash. They pried open a door to free the women before the truck was full of flames. They were recognized by the Ohio Senate for their actions.
Both men also received commendations as crime scene investigators with the Trumbull County Homicide Task Force, formed by Trumbull Prosecutor Dennis Watkins. Watkins had asked that Joyce be called in as a special prosecutor after the conflict of interest arose.
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