DeVine steps aside

TIFFIN — Seneca County Prosecutor Derek DeVine won't be deciding whether county resources were misused when the county's media coordinator wrote and posted an article at the county's website attacking a reporter from the Advertiser-Tribune. Frankart "We have asked the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to evaluate the facts and circumstances of the situation and to investigate if warranted," DeVine announced in a news release today. "Additionally, we asked the Bureau to coordinate the appointment of the Ohio Attorney General's office as special prosecutor if needed." DeVine said information about the question whether county resources were misused also has been sent to the Ohio Ethics Commission. Sheri Trusty, an independent contractor who works for the county, is listed as the author of the attack article at the county website. It was posted there on Oct. 14, and falsely states the reporter was on a "witch hunt" for Commissioner Bill Frankart, accusing her of manufacturing "her prey." Trusty's article, which described Frankart as "one of the most respected and dedicated elected officials" in the county, was removed from the county website a day after it was posted after an attorney representing Frankart's former daughter-in-law complained to DeVine. Frankart is quoted in Trusty's article, but it's unknown if he asked Trusty to write it or how much influence he might have had in getting it posted at the county website. Still waiting The A-T made a public records request last week to county administrator Barb Patterson for any emails Frankart and Trusty may have exchanged in the lead-up to posting the attack article. The emails are public record and subject to release upon request. Patterson initially responded that it could prove difficult to pinpoint any emails that exist, but it's not clear what would be difficult about that. The records request is still pending. The news story in the A-T that provoked the attack article, "Frankart family has dispute," Oct. 12, detailed allegations in two different police reports asserting that Frankart hired a man, through his attorney's office, to stalk his former daughter-in-law. She and Frankart were locked in an ugly court battle for custody of Frankart's 4-year-old granddaughter until Sept. 3, when a judge granted the woman full and permanent custody. The woman divorced Frankart's son, Zachary Frankart, 25, who was arrested and convicted on sex crime charges and sent to state prison in 2022. The elder Frankart was seeking custody in his son's stead. She told police in Mason, Ohio, where she lives with the girl, that the man Frankart hired identified himself as a private investigator and carried a badge. Police spoke to the man, who told them he bought the badge from a law enforcement equipment company. The man was following her, came to her home, and spoke with her landlord, repeatedly. Police told her to seek a civil protection order, which she did. A hearing scheduled for Tuesday in Warren County Common Pleas Court was postponed and rescheduled to Nov. 12, according to court records. Frankart declined comment for the A-T's original article and he has not responded to followup inquiries. His attorney told the A-T the article was not related to Frankart's public service.