Jury finds Roger Reynolds guilty of fourth-degree felony, acquits county auditor on other charges

HAMILTON, Ohio – A jury Wednesday found Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds guilty of one of the five charges he faced related to public corruption.

The jury found Reynolds guilty of one count of unlawful interest in a public contract, a fourth-degree felony.

The charge was related to Reynolds advocating for a private golf academy at Four Bridges County Club with tax money Lakota Schools received from the auditor's office.

Reynolds did not visibly react as the judge read the jury's verdict. He appeared serious and calm as he walked out of the courtroom.

Reynolds' trial lasted seven days. The attorneys gave closing arguments on Tuesday and the jury began deliberations late Tuesday afternoon before being dismissed for the day. They deliberated until 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Reynolds was reelected as the county auditor last month. Because he was convicted of a felony, he will not be able to serve as auditor. Convicted felons cannot hold an office of honor, trust or profit, under Ohio law. The Butler County Republican Party will be able appoint his replacement.

Reynolds pleaded not guilty and called the charges "false and politically motivated."

Prosecutor Brad Tammaro with the Ohio attorney general's office argued that Reynolds acted unethically in pursuit of property near his father's land. Tammaro argued Reynolds also used his position to try to get a private golf academy for Lakota Schools, where his daughter played on the golf team.

Reynolds' defense attorney Chad Ziepfel argued that Reynolds' actions were in his capacity as a private citizen, rather than as the county auditor.

The trial focused on several properties on Hamilton-Mason Road, which runs along the border between Liberty and West Chester townships. Reynolds offered to buy land on that road from Liberty Township resident Gerald Parks. Reynolds' father, Raymond Reynolds also lives on Hamilton-Mason Road in West Chester Township.

Ziepfel said county auditors do not control or authorize developments, zoning or tax increment financing. He said Reynolds did speak at public meetings, as every private citizen is entitled to.

Judge Daniel Hogan instructed the jurors to consider five charges. Count five, a misdemeanor conflict of interest charge was dropped.

Count one: Bribery

The first count, bribery, referred to Reynolds offering to sell 2.8 acres of his father's property to developers for $500,000 and later asking the developers for $200,000.

Tammaro said Reynolds offered to be a consultant for developers on zoning issues for a $200,000 fee. Ziepfel said the $200,000 was to help pay for the cost of sewer access on Hamilton-Mason Road.

The jury found Reynolds not guilty of bribery.

Count two: Unlawful interest in a public contract

The second count was for an unlawful interest in a public contract. This refers to a tax increment financing agreement prosecutors say Reynolds try to set up with Liberty Township to pay for Hamilton-Mason Road improvements so his father's land could be sold to a developer.

Tax increment financing refers to using new property tax revenue that’s raised after property values go up for economic development.

The jury found Reynolds not guilty of this count.

Count three: Unlawful use of authority

The unlawful use of authority count concerns the auditor's office removing Parks' property from the current agricultural use valuation, which gave Parks a tax break.

After Parks did not take up Reynolds' offer to buy his property, Parks received a letter from the auditor’s office that said Parks’ property was no longer in the program, which meant Parks' taxes would increase and that he would need to pay three years of back taxes.

Ziepfel said it was Reynolds' duty and obligation as auditor to remove Parks' property from the agricultural use value program because the property was not being used for commercial agriculture.

The jury found Reynolds not guilty of unlawful use of authority.

Count four: Unlawful interest in a public contract

The second unlawful interest in a public contract count refers to a potential tax increment financing agreement with Butler County, also to fund improvements to Hamilton-Mason Road.

Ziepfel said Reynolds' asked about the financing as a private citizen and did not try to use his position as auditor to sway the officials.

The jury found Reynolds not guilty of this count.

Count six: Unlawful interest in a public contract

Another unlawful interest in a public contract count referred to Reynolds' idea for a private golf academy at Four Bridges County Club with Lakota Schools money.

In 2017, Reynolds suggested using money the auditor's office had returned to Lakota schools to build a golf academy at Four Bridges Country Club. Reynolds’ daughter was on Lakota East’s girls' golf team at the time.

Ziepfel said Reynolds' idea for the Lakota schools' golf academy "died on its own" and Reynolds never made any threats.

The jury found Reynolds guilty of this count.

Erin Glynn is the watchdog reporter for Butler, Warren and Clermont counties through the Report For America program. The Enquirer needs local donors to help fund her grant-funded position. If you want to support Glynn's work, you can donate to her Report For America position at this website or email her editor Carl Weiser at cweiser@enquirer.com to find out how you can help fund her work. 

Do you know something she should know? Send her a note at eglynn@enquirer.com and follow her on Twitter at @ee_glynn.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Roger Reynolds: Jury finds Butler County auditor guilty of one felony