Published: Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Ex-deputy sues sheriff, ex-major
The prosecutor says he had nothing to do with Jeff Chance's indictment.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN — A former Mahoning County deputy sheriff has sued Sheriff Randall Wellington and former Maj. Michael Budd of the sheriff's department, alleging that they intentionally inflicted emotional distress on him.
Jeffrey Chance, of Pleasant Valley Lane, Canfield, filed the suit Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. He also named county Prosecutor Paul Gains as a defendant.
Chance said in the suit that he was indicted in 1998 by a Mahoning County grand jury based on false testimony by Budd, who was sentenced last year to 97 months in federal prison for violating the civil rights of three jail inmates and obstructing justice.
The suit alleges that Budd and Wellington deliberately inflicted emotional distress on Chance between 1999 and 2003. It says they concocted the scheme to have Chance indicted because of Chance's relationship with former Sheriff Philip Chance, his brother. Because of his political alliance with Wellington, Gains presented Budd's testimony to the grand jury, knowing it was false, the suit says.
"There was a special prosecutor involved in Mr. Chance's prosecution. I was not involved in any way, shape or form. I never even saw his file. So he's naming the wrong person," Gains said of Jeff Chance.
"I don't know what he's talking about because I never was involved in presenting any evidence against him to the grand jury," Gains added. "We're going to defend this lawsuit and probably ask the court to dismiss it ... I don't believe that there's any merit to this lawsuit based upon what I've seen."
Wellington could not be reached for comment.
Chance
Wellington fired Jeff Chance in October 1999 after he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of falsification, amended from the obstruction of justice charges in the indictment. The charges were related to misrepresentation of drug cases in Youngstown Municipal Court.
Jeff Chance appealed his termination and won his job back in June 2001, when a common pleas judge upheld an arbiter's decision, but resigned in January 2002 citing "politics, prejudice, hostility, low morale and stress" as his main reasons for quitting.
The suit, which demands a jury trial, seeks compensatory and punitive damages. The suit says Jeff Chance suffered embarrassment, loss of sleep, past and future impairment of earnings, and mental anguish.
Philip Chance went to federal prison after a 1999 racketeering conviction and was released in 2004.
milliken@vindy.com
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
The prosecutor says he had nothing to do with Jeff Chance's indictment.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN — A former Mahoning County deputy sheriff has sued Sheriff Randall Wellington and former Maj. Michael Budd of the sheriff's department, alleging that they intentionally inflicted emotional distress on him.
Jeffrey Chance, of Pleasant Valley Lane, Canfield, filed the suit Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. He also named county Prosecutor Paul Gains as a defendant.
Chance said in the suit that he was indicted in 1998 by a Mahoning County grand jury based on false testimony by Budd, who was sentenced last year to 97 months in federal prison for violating the civil rights of three jail inmates and obstructing justice.
The suit alleges that Budd and Wellington deliberately inflicted emotional distress on Chance between 1999 and 2003. It says they concocted the scheme to have Chance indicted because of Chance's relationship with former Sheriff Philip Chance, his brother. Because of his political alliance with Wellington, Gains presented Budd's testimony to the grand jury, knowing it was false, the suit says.
"There was a special prosecutor involved in Mr. Chance's prosecution. I was not involved in any way, shape or form. I never even saw his file. So he's naming the wrong person," Gains said of Jeff Chance.
"I don't know what he's talking about because I never was involved in presenting any evidence against him to the grand jury," Gains added. "We're going to defend this lawsuit and probably ask the court to dismiss it ... I don't believe that there's any merit to this lawsuit based upon what I've seen."
Wellington could not be reached for comment.
Chance
Wellington fired Jeff Chance in October 1999 after he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of falsification, amended from the obstruction of justice charges in the indictment. The charges were related to misrepresentation of drug cases in Youngstown Municipal Court.
Jeff Chance appealed his termination and won his job back in June 2001, when a common pleas judge upheld an arbiter's decision, but resigned in January 2002 citing "politics, prejudice, hostility, low morale and stress" as his main reasons for quitting.
The suit, which demands a jury trial, seeks compensatory and punitive damages. The suit says Jeff Chance suffered embarrassment, loss of sleep, past and future impairment of earnings, and mental anguish.
Philip Chance went to federal prison after a 1999 racketeering conviction and was released in 2004.
milliken@vindy.com
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
A former Mahoning County deputy sheriff has sued Sheriff Randall Wellington and former Maj. Michael Budd of the...
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