When the Dayton Daily News I-Team discovered that an Ohio parks officer was rehired after being the subject of two publicly released Ohio Inspector General investigations – out of only 30 all year – we asked for the full investigative record. The records show evidence of lax oversight of overtime and even concerns that the officer’s father, a state park official, was involved in renovating a state-owned home his son moved into. The investigative records are below. Click on any of the images to see the full document.
Agreement between ODNR and FOP
Brad Dobney was fired in February, but got his job back last month under the terms of an agreement between ODNR and the Fraternal Order of Police, despite being found to have acted inappropriately in two unrelated OIG investigations.
OIG: Jon Dobney not involved in hiring
The investigation of Brad Dobney looked all the way back to when he was hired as a parks officer in December 2010 at Cleveland Lakefront State Park. It found his father, who was at that point park manager of Rocky Fork State Park literally in the opposition corner of the state, was not involved in the hiring.
Dobney worked part-time, rented state apartment for $144/month
Brad Dobney had lived since 2007 in an upstairs apartment above the Carriage House building at Quail Hollow State Park, an hour south of the park he ended up working at. When he started living at Quail Hollow, he worked at that point as a part-time maintenance worker for the parks division.
Payne tells investigators of tour of Quail Hollow
In July 2011, parks chief David Payne — who had just been appointed by newly elected Gov. John Kasich in January — said he took a tour of Quail Hollow and was saddened to see a historic home called the Levitt House (a childhood home of one of his best friends) unused. He directed Jon Dobney to get it fixed up and move someone in, and didn’t perceive a conflict of interest.
Jon Dobney said he wanted to bulldoze house
When he got back to the office, Payne said he told Jon Dobney to fix the place up and get someone living in it. Dobney said he did so reluctantly.
Park manager not involved
Dobney said the park manager decided who to put into the house, though then-park manager Charlotte McCurdy told investigators she had nothing to do with it.
Investigators interview Doug Lyons
Lyons, who was district manager for parks, said he was approached by senior managers asking why there was no one in the Levitt House. He said he was directed to move in Brad Dobney.
Jon Dobney helps son get new floors
By September 2011, Brad Dobney was overseeing renovation of the house, according to emails — which were copied to Jon Dobney — showing they had spent $7,600 for a new roof, $8,400 for furnaces, $794 for paint and Brad was requesting $4,480 for new flooring. When Brad was told by his boss there wasn’t enough money in the budget for the flooring, he sent an email to his father complaining. The flooring was replaced. The total renovation bill was $23,352.
Jon Dobney defends floor
Jon Dobney said he did nothing more than he would for any other resident.
Utilities switched a year later, then Brad Dobney fired
A year after Brad Dobney moved into the house, the state realized he never switched the utilities into his name and demanded $3,156 in back payments. Dobney entered into an agreement in January 2013 to pay that back at $263 a month. But the payments stopped the next month when he was fired after the first of two critical investigations by the Ohio Inspector General came out.
Jon Dobney cleared of involvement in house
The Inspector General looked into Jon Dobney’s involvement in renovation of the house, saying there was not evidence to suggest he directed his son to be the one to occupy the renovated home.
Ohio Inspector General investigation, Feb. 15, 2013
The first investigation of parks officer Brad Dobney this year focused on allegations he released a man wanted on a felony warrant because the Cuyahoga County jail said their policy required him to stay there during booking.
Officers assign selves overtime
During this investigation, OIG investigators also stumbled on a practice that let parks officers freely assign themselves overtime.
Brad Dobney blogged about Xavier basketball on the clock
Investigators found Brad Dobney updated his Xavier University sports blog “Banners on the Parkway” and visited other sites on 84 occasions from August 2011 through October 2012. His last blog post went up an hour and a half before his computer was confiscated as part of the investigation. A forensic analysis of the computer found he spend more than 13 hours editing three posts to the website in August and October 2012 during hours he was paid to work. A review of his bank account found payments apparently to Brad Dobney from his brother for work on the site.
HR director: Jon Dobney not involved in manager program
Brad Dobney was one of four people chosen out of a pool of 40 for the manager in training program. Jon Dobney initiated the program, but recused himself from the selection process. Deanna Hammel, the deputy chief who oversaw human resources -- who reported to Dobney along with another person on the three person panel who selected candidates for the program – said Jon Dobney was not involved.
Jon Dobney: No preference was given
Jon Dobney told investigators it’s natural in many fields for children to want to do what their parents do and he tried to avoid any perception of preferential treatment given to his son.
