LOCAL

State auditor: Audit finds misappropriated funds in Pike County

Shelby Reeves
Chillicothe Gazette

PIKE COUNTY― Auditor of State Keith Faber recently announced that two former Pike County officials have officially been convicted of theft in office after Findings for Recovery of more than $5,000 were issued.

The total included $2,609, repaid under audit, against former Pike County Auditor Kayla Slusher and $2,580 against former Sheriff Charles Reader.

The Auditor of State's office is in charge of auditing all Ohio public entities to ensure citizens' tax dollars are protected and not wasted. The audit was for the entire year of 2020 and included an independent public accountant and findings for recovery. When a findings for recovery is issued, public property has been misappropriated.

The Auditor of State’s Special Investigations Unit(SIU) determined Slusher made $382 in credit card transactions that were not for a proper public purpose, including personal travel expenses during a trip to Florida. Auditors also determined Slusher overpaid herself $2,227 during the audited year.

Slusher was indicted in February and pleaded not guilty in March but would later plead guilty in June to a single felony count of theft in office. She was sentenced to 11 months in prison with the term suspended pending her completion of 12 months of community control. She also resigned from her elected position and made full repayment of the finding for recovery against her.

Reader was convicted following an SIU investigation after he was found to have opened evidence bags and taken money seized as part of criminal cases. He also had other people purchase vehicles impounded by the sheriff’s office and sold at auction for him, including a 2013 Nissan that he later sold at a profit.

He pleaded guilty in October 2020 to two felony counts of theft in office, two felony counts of tampering with evidence and one misdemeanor count of having a conflict of interest and was sentenced to serve a total of three years in prison.

The audit outlined multiple instances of public monies illegally expended by Reader from the sheriff’s Furtherance of Justice (FOJ) fund, including $369 in late fees and finance charges for a Pike County Sheriff’s Office credit card, $285 for costs for the wives of sheriff’s office employees to travel with officers to National Sheriff’s Association conferences, $929 for 46 meals provided at an employee retirement party, and nearly $1,000 in credit card transactions without supporting documentation. The finding for recovery was issued against Reader and his bonding company, which is jointly and severally liable for the total.

Shelby Reeves is a reporter for the Chillicothe Gazette. You can email her at SReeves@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @Shelby_Reeves_