Dover asks court to order Homrighausen to pay back salary, benefits

Homrighausen is scheduled to be sentenced for his criminal convictions Jan. 17.

NEW PHILADELPHIA – The city of Dover is asking a judge to order suspended Mayor Richard P. Homrighausen to reimburse the local government for pay and fringe benefits he received between the time of his suspension and the time of his conviction on six theft-related charges.

The total requested is $77,802.06. It includes $54,138.27 in wages and $9,000 for health insurance and two extra health checks. The remainder is for dental insurance, life insurance, pension, Medicare and workers compensation.

Homrighausen continued to receive benefits and his annual salary of $100,524.48 after he was suspended May 4 by a three-judge panel appointed by the Ohio Supreme Court.

The amount of reimbursement sought by the city covers compensation he received from May 5 through Nov. 16, when a jury found him guilty of theft in office, dereliction of duty and four counts of soliciting improper compensation. All the charges relate to the eight-term mayor taking fees for performing four wedding ceremonies. The dereliction of duty charge says he failed to deposit the payments in the city treasury. The jury found he wrongly took less than $1,000.

The request was filed Friday in Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court by Cleveland attorney Delores P. Garcia, who represents the city of Dover, Law Director Douglas O'Meara, Service Director David Douglas, the mayor's administrative assistant Eva Newsome, and Gerald Mroczkowski, safety and human resources director.

The request was made in a counterclaim and answer to a suit Homrighausen filed against Dover in an attempt to prevent the city from enforcing the terms of a settlement agreement with Newsome, Douglas and Mroczkowski. The settlement reinstated the three employees with back pay after Homrighausen fired them Dec. 21, 2021.

Common Pleas Judge Michael J. Ernest previously issued a stay in the case until the criminal proceedings against Homrighausen could be completed.

Friday's filing by Garcia also seeks to have Homrighausen pay legal fees the city incurred as the result of his lawsuit.

The city is asking Ernest to dismiss Homrighausen's case and make a judgment in the city's favor.

Homrighausen is scheduled to be sentenced for his criminal convictions Jan. 17.

His attorneys have asked Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos to grant a new trial on all counts or set aside guilty verdicts for theft in office and dereliction of duty.

The defense motion says Homrighausen should be acquitted of theft in office and dereliction of duty "because there was insufficient evidence at trial that the defendant received monies he was required to deposit."

The filing said the section of state law under which he was charged relates to fees collected in mayor's court, and would have no application to money collected for officiating weddings.

It further says that the fees constituted additional compensation, not stolen funds.

The theft in office conviction bars Homrighausen from holding public office for life.

Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or [email protected].

On Twitter: @nmolnarTR

Homrighausen is scheduled to be sentenced for his criminal convictions Jan. 17.