Case Title: State ex rel. Watkins v. Fiorenzo

Citation: 1994-Ohio-104

Docket Number: 19942446

State: ohio

Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Date: 1994-12-16T00:00:00Z

Document:
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The State ex rel. Watkins, Pros. Atty.,  v. Fiorenzo, Cty. Eng.                  
[Cite as State ex rel. Watkins v. Fiorenzo (1994),    Ohio                       
St.3d           .]                                                               
Public employment -- Writ of quo warranto ousting county                         
     engineer from office allowed, when -- County engineer                       
     disqualified from his position when adjudicated guilty of                   
     theft in office -- R.C. 2921.41 (C)(1), construed.                          
     (No. 94-2446 -- Submitted December 7, 1994 -- Decided                       
December 16, 1994.)                                                              
     In Quo Warranto.                                                            
     On Motion to Dismiss, Motion for Peremptory Writ, and                       
Motion for Expedited Consideration.                                              
     Relator, Dennis Watkins, is the Trumbull County                             
Prosecuting Attorney. Respondent, James P. Fiorenzo, was                         
elected as the Trumbull County Engineer for a term of office                     
from January 4, 1993 to January 4, 1997.  On November 8, 1994,                   
following a trial in the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas,                  
the court found Fiorenzo guilty of one count of complicity in                    
theft in office in violation of R.C. 2923.03 and 2921.41(A)(1),                  
four counts of forgery in violation of R.C. 2913.31(A)(2), and                   
one count of theft in office in violation of R.C.                                
2921.41(A)(1).    The court made a finding of guilt on November                  
10, 1994, ordered a presentence investigation, and set                           
sentencing for December 14, 1994.                                                
     On November 14, 1994, Watkins filed a complaint in this                     
court seeking a writ of quo warranto ousting Fiorenzo from the                   
position of Trumbull County Engineer.  On December 1, 1994,                      
Fiorenzo filed a Civ.R. 12(B)(6) motion to dismiss Watkins's                     
complaint, asserting that it fails to state a claim upon which                   
relief can be granted.  On December 5, 1994, Watkins requested                   
a peremptory writ of quo warranto and  expedited consideration.                  
                                                                                 
     Dennis Watkins, Trumbull County Prosecuting Attorney, and                   
Patrick F. McCarthy, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for                         
relator.                                                                         
     Charles E. Dunlap, Don L. Hanni, Jr., and J. Walter                         
Dragelevich, for respondent.                                                     
                                                                                 
     Per Curiam.  R.C. 2733.14 provides that when a respondent                   
"in an action in quo warranto is found guilty of usurping,                       
intruding into, or unlawfully holding or exercising an office,                   
*** judgment shall be rendered that he be ousted and excluded                    
therefrom, and that relator recover his costs."  "A public                       
official ***  who is convicted of or pleads guilty to, theft in                  
office [R.C. 2921.41(A)] is forever disqualified from holding                    
any public office, employment, or position of trust in this                      
state."  R.C. 2921.41(C)(1).                                                     
     A public official who is convicted of theft in office is                    
statutorily disqualified from holding public office, and a writ                  
of quo warranto will issue to remove the official from public                    
office.  State ex rel. Corrigan v. Haberek (1988), 35 Ohio                       
St.3d 150, 518 N.E.2d 1206.  Fiorenzo concedes that he has been                  
found guilty of several felonies, including theft in office.                     
However, Fiorenzo contends that the instant action is                            
"premature since he has never been sentenced" and his motion                     
for new trial has not been ruled upon.  Watkins contends that                    
R.C. 2921.41(C)(1) requires only a finding of guilt and not a                    
concomitant sentence in order to invoke the permanent                            
disqualification sanction.                                                       
     Fiorenzo relies on State v. Henderson (1979), 58 Ohio                       
St.2d 171, 12 O.O.3d 177, 389 N.E.2d 494, for the proposition                    
that the word "convicted" as used in R.C. 2921.41(C)(1)                          
includes both the guilt determination and the imposition of                      
sentence.  In Henderson, at paragraphs one and two of the                        
syllabus, we held that a defendant who has pled guilty but is                    
awaiting sentencing for a theft offense has not been previously                  
convicted of a theft offense within the meaning of R.C.                          
2913.02(B), and that in order to constitute a prior theft                        
conviction, there must be a judgment of conviction, as defined                   
in Crim.R. 32(B), for the prior offense.  Crim.R. 32(B)                          
provides that a "judgment of conviction shall set forth the                      
plea, the verdict or findings, and the sentence."                                
     Henderson recognizes that the term "conviction" normally                    
includes both the finding of guilt and the sentence.  State v.                   
Carter (1992), 64 Ohio St.3d 218, 222, 594 N.E.2d 595, 599;                      
State v. Poindexter (1988), 36 Ohio St.3d 1, 5, 520 N.E.2d 568,                  
572; cf.  State v. Cash (1988), 40 Ohio St.3d 116, 532 N.E.2d                    
111, syllabus.  However, the language of R.C. 2921.41(C)(1)                      
specifies permanent disqualification from, inter alia, any                       
public office in this state if the public official is either                     
"convicted of or pleads guilty to, theft in office ."                            
(Emphasis added.)  Unlike in R.C. 2913.02(B), the General                        
Assembly placed "convicted" on equal footing with a guilty plea                  
in R.C. 2921.41(C)(1).                                                           
     Thus, the plain language of R.C. 2921.41(C)(1) requires                     
only a plea of guilty to invoke the sanction of permanent                        
disqualification.  Therefore, we believe the word "convicted"                    
as used in R.C. 2921.41(C)(1) logically refers only to a                         
determination of guilt and does not include sentencing upon                      
that determination.  The Court of Appeals for Auglaize County                    
in In re Forfeiture of One 1986 Buick Somerset Auto. (1993), 91                  
Ohio App.3d 558, 562-563, 632 N.E.2d 1351, 1353-1354, reached a                  
similar conclusion in construing the phrase "pleads guilty to                    
or is convicted" of R.C. 2933.43(C)                                              
     Moreover, the public interest is best served by precluding                  
the possibility of further illegal activities when an official                   
has either been adjudicated guilty or pled guilty to theft in                    
office but is awaiting sentencing.  Therefore, Fiorenzo was                      
disqualified from his position as Trumbull County Engineer when                  
he was adjudicated guilty of theft in office in November 1994.                   
Similarly, R.C. 2921.41(C)(1) does not specify that a pending                    
motion for a new trial must be ruled upon in order for the                       
disqualification upon conviction or guilty plea to become                        
effective.   Given the interest in a speedy resolution of this                   
case, see R.C. 2733.39, we allow a peremptory writ of quo                        
warranto removing Fiorenzo from the position of Trumbull County                  
Engineer forthwith.  Fiorenzo's motion to dismiss is overruled,                  
and Watkins's motion to expedite is granted.                                     
                                                                                 
                                     Writ allowed.                               
     Moyer, C.J., A.W. Sweeney, Douglas, Wright, Resnick, F.E.                   
Sweeney and Pfeifer, JJ., concur.