Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Reynolds is charged with four felonies and two misdemeanors. If found guilty of the felonies, he faces time in prison and would have to resign his office.
The bribery charge is a third-degree felony. It carries a potential sentence of nine months to three years and a fine up to $10,000. The other three felonies are fourth degree unlawful interest in a public contract. Those carry penalties of six to nine months.
Visiting Judge Daniel Hogan, appointed to hear the case by the Ohio Supreme Court, has ordered 150 prospective jurors for jury selection.
More than 20 subpoenas have been issued for both West Chester and Liberty township officials, current and past, developers, detectives and an assistant county prosecutor.
Reynolds was first indicted in February following a months-long Butler County Sheriff’s Office investigation that began, in part, when he was sued in a civil case. The BCSO began investigating Reynolds after receiving complaints about his development dealings and efforts to help his father.
In the past 10 months, Sheriff Richard Jones has been vocal about the charges against Reynolds. Reynolds attorney Chad Ziepfel entered not guilty pleas and has made it clear in statements that his client has committed no crime.
But in the days leading up to the trial, Jones and Ziepfel and Special Prosecutor Brad Tammaro from the Ohio Attorney General’s office, have declined comment. Reynolds did not return calls requesting comment.
“Mr. Reynolds has never solicited, accepted, or paid any bribes, and he has never used his position, authority, or influence to improperly benefit himself or anyone else. Mr. Reynolds has served the Butler County community with honor for the past 19 years, without even a hint of impropriety,” a past statement from Ziepfel reads.
Reynolds has maintained he is the victim of a political witch hunt by the state to punish him for challenging a state-mandated property value hike.
After re-election last month, Reynolds told the Journal-News, “I’m really happy and I’m grateful to the voters in Butler County for giving me the opportunity, seeing what our team has been able to do for 14 years. Throughout the campaign we received an enormous amount of support and that just motivated us to continue working harder ...”
Reynolds, 53, was appointed county auditor in April 2008. He was elected to complete the full term as auditor in November 2008 and subsequently was re-elected to full, four-year terms in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022.
Reynolds was originally indicted by a grand jury on Feb. 9, 2022 for bribery, two counts of unlawful interest in a public contract and misdemeanor charges of unlawful use of authority and conflict of interest. The charges stem from allegations that Reynolds used his public office to further his own interests.
In July, just weeks before Reynolds’ trial was scheduled to begin, the grand jury returned a superseding indictment that included a fourth felony charge of unlawful interest in a public contract.
Reynolds initially was indicted for leveraging his public office to further his own interests.
The charges relate to Reynolds allegedly using his position to facilitate the sale of his father’s property in West Chester Twp.
Prosecutors allege the bribery crime happened Nov. 8, 2019, and on or about Sept. 17, 2021, when Reynolds, an elected official, “approached a developer attempting to gain approval for a development project and offered to sell the development company his father’s land for $500,000, 2-3 acres of land valued at $21,000 by the Butler County Auditor’s Office, and requested the developer employ him as a consultant at a fee of $200,000 to guide the development project through local governmental requirements,” according to the bill of particulars filed.
A second felony charge of unlawful interest in a public contract is tied to events that allegedly happened between April 6, 2021, and Aug. 31, 2021, when Reynolds used his office to influence a public contract.
Specifically, Reynolds is accused of influencing governmental officials to secure approval of a Tax Increment Financing proposal to provide public funding from three government entities for infrastructure and improvements to Hamilton-Mason Road. Those would benefit himself or a member of his family by providing public funds that would enhance the ability to develop property owned by his family, according to court documents.
The felony charge added in July stems from his alleged actions in January 2017 and also involves family members, and Reynolds as a member of the golf club, where he also lives, according to court documents and the sheriff.
In July, the Sheriff said the charge involves money Reynolds’ office routinely returns to taxing districts each year that are not needed to pay for his office’s services.
“It basically started with Roger Reynolds and a group of people approaching the Lakota Schools, one of their administrators, the people in charge of the money, and were basically talking about the money that they return to the schools,” Jones said last summer. “He made a recommendation and tried to coerce them into taking the money they were going to receive and he tried to encourage them to build something for the Four Bridges golf course.”
In September 2017, Reynolds’ office returned $2 million to all taxing districts and $459,498 to Lakota. The fees are monies the auditor’s office receives from the state for calculating and distributing real estate taxes from levies to local governments. The auditor’s office doesn’t need all the fees to operate.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Staff Writer Denise Callahan contributed to this report.
Timeline of criminal case against Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds
August 2021 — Butler County Sheriff’s Office begins investigating Roger Reynolds after a civil lawsuit is filed against Reynolds claiming interference in connection with a West Chester man’s land and business relations. Attorney General Dave Yost assigns investigators with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to assist.
September 2021 — A special prosecutor from the attorney general’s office is assigned to the case.
Feb. 9, 2022 — Reynolds is indicted by a Butler County grand jury on three felony charges, including bribery and two misdemeanors.
Feb. 24, 2022 — Reynolds pleads not guilty at arraignment in Butler County Common Pleas Court. Visiting Judge Daniel Hogan releases Reynolds on his own recognizance. Trial date set for Aug. 15.
March 2022 — Chad Ziepfel, Reynolds’ attorney, files a motion to have all charges dismissed based on a flawed bill of particulars. The motion is denied and the case moves forward.
July 13, 2022 — A superseding indictment is handed down by a grand jury, charging Reynolds with a fourth felony.
Aug. 3 — Arraignment for Reynolds on the new indictment. His attorney enters a not guilty plea on his behalf. Trial continued until Dec. 12 at the request of the prosecution.
Nov. 8 — Reynolds is elected to his fourth full term as Butler County auditor.
Dec. 12 — Reynolds’ criminal trial set to begin in common pleas court.
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