Connections galore at the Cuyahoga County Recorder’s Office

May 15, 2008 · Filed Under Uncategorized · 1 Comment

Just like Marc Dann the one thing that connects these two at the hip is Pat O’Malley is about giving second chances to Democrats who have no business in these positions.

We believe it’s vital the hard working citizens of Ohio have an idea of who these political hacks are who were appointed to non-posted positions within the Cuyahoga County Recorder’s Office.

Click here for graphic on politically connected employees paid $50,000 or less (pdf)

Click here for employees paid more than $50,000 (pdf)

Connections count at Cuyahoga County recorder’s office …

Politicians and their relatives fill dozens of well-paying jobs

Posted by Joseph L. Wagner
April 27, 2008 05:24AM

Even if you have never been to the Cuyahoga County recorder’s office, you will no doubt be familiar with the names of the workers behind the counters.

That’s because some have appeared on your election ballots for mayor and City Council. With others, their spouses or relatives have sent you campaign fliers for congressional races, judgeships or school board seats.

Recorder Patrick O’Malley’s staff directory, you might say, is a Who’s Who of the politically connected, with surnames of Mottl, Russo and Sustarsic.

A Plain Dealer review of the recorder’s 2007 payroll found that O’Malley has given nearly three dozen jobs, with combined salaries of $1.4 million, to politicos and their kin - former mayors, the son and daughter of a judge, the wife of a councilman.

A review of applications also found people whose previous job skills don’t match the work they do for O’Malley. A $16,000-a-year teaching assistant became a $46,000-a-year department head. A $10-an-hour construction worker is now a $40,000-a-year clerk.

O’Malley declined to talk at length about his hiring practices, but he acknowledged that he has a well-connected payroll: “What am I going to do, pretend it doesn’t exist?”

He also said that just because some employees are politically connected, their jobs aren’t guaranteed. The recorder said he fired Roy Jech, a Parma councilman, from an office manager position because he said Jech’s performance was unsatisfactory.

Jech said he was fired over a dispute with O’Malley about a candidate endorsement.

One of O’Malley’s former personnel chiefs said the recorder personally handled hiring. Full-time jobs were seldom posted, said Mark Sullivan, who served as personnel director for six years, and O’Malley supplied the candidates.

Sullivan said he rarely interviewed applicants.

“There were names Pat gave me, and he just said, ‘This is who we’re hiring,’ ” Sullivan recalled. “He didn’t want me questioning him.”

But Sullivan said he did question O’Malley about two disbarred lawyers on the payroll.

William Lavin, a $75,000-a-year assistant supervisor, served prison time for bank fraud a decade ago after being accused of stealing money from clients. Paula Harris, a $37,131-a-year clerk, was accused in 1995 of participating in a telemarketing scam that targeted the elderly. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the federal government . O’Malley’s explanation: “He believed in giving people second chances,” Sullivan said.

Lavin and Harris could not be reached for comment. O’Malley would not let them take calls at the office.

the rest of the story

Tags: Clinton, democrat, marc dann, Obama, ohio, Patrick O’Malley