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Article published Jan 24, 2007
DeMastry asks for early prison release
Former county sheriff asks judge to release him after serving 5 years of 6-year sentence
By CARL BURNETT JR.
The Eagle-Gazette Staff
cburnett@nncogannett.com
LANCASTER - Former Fairfield County Sheriff Gary DeMastry will have a hearing Feb. 15 to find out if he can be set free.
He was indicted Jan. 31, 2000, on 323 counts. The charges ranged from alleged theft in office, tampering with evidence, conspiracy to engage in a pattern of corrupt activity and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. DeMastry, the two-term sheriff, was convicted of 37 counts.
He has been serving time at Hocking Correctional Facility. He has paid $25,000 in fines and court costs and still owes $231,880 as of Nov. 5, 2006.
DeMastry sent a letter, dated Dec. 3, to Visiting Judge Richard Markus apologizing for his actions and acknowledging his crime. His motion requesting early release was dated Jan. 9.
''I have learned a lot from my five years in prison,'' DeMastry wrote in his letter to Markus.
''I do sincerely accept responsibility for my actions and have remorse for the pain I've caused others. I apologize for my actions and the cost to Fairfield County due to my actions. I am here through no fault of anyone but myself.''
His conviction put an end to a divided law enforcement community and the Republican Party. Leaders in the local Republican Party demanded DeMastry resignation when the audits came out and refused to endorse him for reelection when he ran in 2000.
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DeMastry Case 2
State Senator Tim Shaffer, R-Lancaster, was then the Republican Chairman of the Fairfield County Republican Executive Committee and demanded DeMastry's resignation.
As a state representative, Shaffer sponsored legislation that would make it impossible for government officials to be hired or elected to jobs involving state money if they were convicted of theft in office.
Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen made the cornerstone of his campaign for office in 2000 against DeMastry a pledge of honesty and openness.
Fairfield County deputies also voted to join the Fraternal Order of Police, creating their own local bargaining unit.
What triggered the investigation
The State Auditor's Office received an anonymous letter in January 1997. The letter claimed there were financial misdeeds going on in the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office. The letter was referred to the State Auditor's Investigative Unit and an audit began.
The State Auditor's Office releases a report in April 1999. The report, covering 1994 to 1997, showed $287,257 missing from the county.
The State Auditor's Office released in August 1999 another county audit covering the period between Jan. 1, 1998 and Dec. 31, 1998, which showed an additional $42,243 was missing.
The investigation led to the arrest of four people, including DeMastry's wife, Penny.
In addition to the DeMastrys, Deputy Mark Rowlands pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and Capt. David Mace pleaded guilty to criminal offenses involving the theft in office during DeMastry's administration.
The trial
The Ohio Supreme Court assigned visiting Judge Richard Markus to hear the case.
Prosecutors originally tried DeMastry on 50 counts. A jury convicted him of 32 counts in December 2001. They found him not guilty on one count and they were unable to reach a verdict on 17 other charges.
His wife, Penny, paid $6,500 in restitution and served 39 days in prison for a two-and-a-half-year term. She was being tried with her husband until she pleaded guilty to five felony counts relating to corruption in the sheriff's office during his trial.
Markus sentenced DeMastry to six years in prison, ordered him to pay $10,880 in restitution and $211,000 for court costs.
DeMastry also faced another trial in October 2002 for another 50 counts of the original 323 counts the grand jury indicted him on. Prosecutors had decided each trial should take 50 of the charges and planned for six trials.
But this time, DeMastry pleaded guilty to five of the counts in exchange for a deal that he would not receive any more jail time than already given to him and the rest of the indictments were not pursued.
The request for release
DeMastry's attorney, Kort Gatterdam, wrote in the motion for judicial release that triggered the February hearing, ''Prior to his imprisonment, DeMastry made a living putting people in prison, not living in prison amongst the persons he helped put away.
''He lived in the community which he worked and knew most people. He married his high school sweetheart, who through it all respectfully awaits his return to their family. He was a two-term sheriff who was extremely well liked and respected in the Fairfield County community and feared by criminals,'' Gatterdam wrote. ''Now DeMastry, due to his convictions, is himself labeled a criminal.''
Gatterdam said the prison sentence given to DeMastry has been extremely difficult. Gatterdam said DeMastry has been a hard worker since his imprisonment, handling many prison duties and completed victim awareness and release preparation programs.
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DeMastry Case 3
''Gary DeMastry has lost the only career he has ever known,'' Gatterdam wrote. ''He cannot be released from prison and be a law enforcement officer. He has paid and must continue to pay for the rest of his life, a heavy price for his admitted actions.''
DeMastry was elected sheriff in 1992 and re-elected in 1996. Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen defeated DeMastry in the 2000 Republican Primary Election in the midst of the investigation.
Richard Holt, a life-long resident of Fairfield County, said he remembers the trials and convictions and was surprised by it all at the time.
''But I think he should be treated like everyone else,'' Holt said. ''What would happen if it was just one of us up there? We'd have to serve the time.''
Thomas Thornton, of Amanda Township, said he wasn't sure if the judge should let him out or not after five years.
''But if they do release him, he should be placed on probation,'' Thornton said.
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The comments on the blog
From the LEG comments regarding DeMastry's request for early release.
ben_done,
I think we can safely say that the number of cases De Mastry might have actually had a hand in building were minimal. He spent very little time on the street, rising to chief deputy rather more quickly than one would expect, unless one considered his connections. His nickname wasn't ''election baby'' for nothing.
I propose that any time someone refuses a plea deal, then claims to feel remorse at a later date (thereby rendering a post-sentence validation of their guilty verdict) in exchange for an early release, we should be allowed to tack on additional time to their sentence just for annoying us.
Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 11:31 pm
I cannot believe that this is even being discussed.
Our leaders, political, religious, civil or otherwise need to lead by example. The fact that the top-of-the-heap law enforcement official in Fairfield County got busted for anything is despicable, and the idea that he deserves leniency is worse. We have to hold these people to a higher standard and if we don?’t, we are guilty just the same in our complacency.
I wonder how many convicted by DeMastrey have been acquitted or even considered for review. In any other jurisdiction, when something like this happens, the cases that the convicted law official built become suspect because of the corrupt circumstance.
Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 10:46 pm
I say leave him right where he is. Let him do the time that was given him, might give a few more people in this town something to think about before doing something illegal. Twisted Evil
Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 10:41 pm
DeMastrey certainly exhibited no remorse whatsoever between the time of his indictment, and sentencing and it is highly probable that he would now resort to his old M.O. of masquerading to meet his own ambitions.
I am skeptical of the remorse DeMastrey expresses. While I do believe that folks can change, and while it is true that I am definitely a proponent of grace, I remain nevertheless skeptical in this latest alleged case of jailhouse conversion.
I have zero tolerance for corruption....particularly public corruption. For those bemoaning the fact that DeMastrey may have been served a stiffer sentence than others would have received for the same 300+ indictments, let me remind you that DeMastrey was a public official, and as such, held to a higher standard of accountability than the average Joe on the street.
Also, the proposition that his was a ''non-violent'' crime that harmed nobody is preposterous. DeMastrey hurt many, many people by his disregard for ethical behavior and moral integrity. First and foremost, he hurt his family, primarily his children. Secondly, he hurt the community who entrusted to him the noble task of upholding the laws he blatantly violated. Thirdly, every dollar he illegally pocketed represents one lost opportunity to protect and support our community.
I believe in the virtue of grace and forgiveness, but it is going to take more for me than the word of a convicted liar and thief to mitigate for that kind of relief for a man, who in my book, probably really deserved more than he got. Nevertheless, it will not be me nor most likely any other poster on these forums who makes such a decision, and so I would respect the decision that is made and hope that DeMastrey really has learned his lesson.
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