MANSFIELD — A former member of the Richland County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services pleaded guilty Monday to two misdemeanor criminal charges after an investigation into improper contracting.
Jay Wachs admitted to misdemeanor counts of conflict of interest during a hearing in Richland County Common Pleas Court, according to the Ohio Auditor’s Office.
In exchange for the guilty pleas, attorneys for the auditor’s special investigations unit agreed to dismiss two felony counts of having an unlawful interest in a public contract and two misdemeanor counts of having an unlawful interest in a public contract.
Visiting Common Pleas Judge Mark Wiest sentenced Wachs, who has since moved to Columbus, to a six-month suspended jail sentence and one year of probation.
The judge also ordered Wachs to perform 100 hours of community service.
Wiest is a retired Wayne County Common Pleas Court judge.
Wachs and former RCMH Executive Director Joseph Trolian were indicted in September after an investigation by the state auditor’s SIU. That probe was prompted in October 2023 by a complaint alleging the two benefited financially from contracts for services for the board.
Trolian allegedly used his public position to secure a contract for training that he knew would benefit his wife, among other issues, according to the auditor’s office.
Wachs used his public position to secure a contract that benefited himself and his company, investigators said.
Trolian was indicted in September on seven counts, including one felony charge of having an unlawful interest in a public contract. His trial is scheduled for April 6 in Richland County Common Pleas Court before the same judge.
The other six charges against Trolian are all first-degree misdemeanors — three alleging unlawful interest in a public contract and three related to alleged conflicts of interest.
Attorneys with the auditor’s office SIU are also handling the allegations against Trolian.
Trolian was dismissed in November 2023 by the mental health board after 20 years with the agency, including the final 16 as the executive director, for “neglect of duty and failing to inform the board of underlying interest in contracts and expenditures.”
Trolian has appealed his dismissal, an issue still pending in court. At the time of his dismissal, his attorney, Jami Oliver, pointed to Trolian as a “pillar of the Richland County community.”
“Under his leadership, the agency has seen significant growth in funding and
community engagement. The current treatment by the board is not just a disservice to
Trolian but a disheartening message to a man who has given so much to Richland
County,” she said in 2023.
Trolian began work at the agency in August 2003 as the clinical director and became the executive director in October 2007.
The board voted 11-1 in November 2023 to terminate him “for neglect of duty and failing to inform the board of underlying interest in contracts and expenditures.”
Trolian responded to those accusations at the time by reading a prepared statement. He called the board’s action “disheartening” and rejected the notion that he had acted improperly.
“I have devoted the last 20 years of my life to the Richland County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board,” he said. “The accusations I face here today are completely unfounded. I always exercise the utmost care in carrying out my duties as ethically as possible.
“I have never used my professional authority or influence for personal gain or any other improper motive,” he said in 2023.
Wachs resigned in October 2023 after Richland County commissioners alleged he used his position as a board member for his personal benefit.
Wachs submitted his resignation via email to commissioners, who discussed the issue during an hour-long executive session.
“We believe documents clearly show Mr. Wachs was personally and financially benefitting as a member of the Richland County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board,” Commissioner Tony Vero said after the executive session ended in 2023.
Commissioners said they have shared their concerns with the “appropriate law enforcement agencies,” likely the Ohio Auditor’s Office.