Scioto County Commissioner Bryan Davis, Wife Lorinda, Indicted on Corruption Charges
The charges stem from the ongoing probe by the Auditor of State's Special Investigations Unit into Scioto County's economic development offices
Bill Shope, a veteran journalist who now broadcasts with WNXT Community Corner, broke this story and hung with it from start to finish. I encourage readers to follow his work at https://www.facebook.com/communitycornerWNXT/, 107.5 FM The Breeze and 99.3 FM.
Aug. 22 — Portsmouth
The Scioto County Grand Jury has indicted Commissioner Bryan Davis and his wife, Lorinda, on charges including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and money laundering.
Lorinda Davis faces 10 felony counts, while Bryan Davis faces 13.
The Auditor of State’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) spearheaded the investigation.
“This is an outright abuse of the public trust,” Auditor Keith Faber said in a press release. “We will work to ensure justice is served for the people of Scioto County.”
The indictments follow months of speculation about the identity of the unnamed co-conspirators in charges filed earlier this year against Scioto County’s former economic development director Robert Horton, who also led the Southern Ohio Port Authority, and his wife, Lioubov E. Horton.
Prosecutors allege the Hortons and Davises engaged in a pattern of public corruption, which the SIU said was accomplished through the use of shell companies that solicited contracts and accepted bribes that were then distributed among co-conspirators.
According to the SIU, Horton received kickbacks for securing a public contract for construction at the SOAR Business Park, while Bryan Davis allegedly used his position as county commissioner to steer the contract and public funds. Investigators say Lioubov Horton and Lorinda Davis also received kickbacks through companies they owned.
Davis has described the investigation as a “witch hunt” and downplayed the seriousness of grand jury indictments.
“Grand juries only get one side of the story,” Davis said during a March commission meeting. “This is a nation of laws. Innocent until proven guilty.”
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I'm calling it now: the best outcome we could possibly see is a plea deal with minimal or (more likely) no time served and limp-wristed fines that go directly into government coffers and not to the county or city governments that were defrauded. I'd like to see the people and/or businesses that participated in/profited from these bribes and contracts indicted as well.
Bryan Davis his always been corrupt. His wife as well. Someone needs to look into her past as she’s stolen money a couple times in the past. This needs to be an example to all public officials and time needs to be served.