Canfield trustees, Mahoning prosecutor to investigate legality of Moracco hiring

By Jeanne Starmack

CANFIELD — The township trustees and the Mahoning County prosecutor will look into whether former Trustee Paul Moracco should accept a township job he helped to create.

A Vindicator editorial’s assertion that if Moracco takes the job it will be a violation of state law “caught me totally off guard,” Trustee Chairman Randy Brashen aid Sunday.

“We will call our attorneys and ask them to guide us through the accusations that have been thrown at us,” he said.

Moracco, a longtime trustee, resigned suddenly June 9 at a trustees meeting.

Before his resignation, he and trustees Brashen and Bill Reese had met for more than an hour in a closed session.

When they reopened their meeting, they passed a motion to ask their attorney for help in advertising a new position for the township — that of township roads superintendent and construction projects manager.

After the motion carried 3-0, Moracco turned over his letter of resignation, Brashen said.

“He was writing while we were talking and making the motion, and he handed me a piece of paper with his resignation on it after the vote,” Brashen said.

Trustees advertised for the new position, which will pay $60,000 annually, in the newspaper June 11. They received 11 applications, including one from Moracco.

After officials, including Brashen and Reese, interviewed the top four candidates, they decided June 23 to select Moracco, Brashen said.

Brashen would not say if the trustees discussed creating the position in the June 9 closed session.

He said that trustees have talked about creating such a position “for years.” Brashen also said Moracco’s resignation came as a surprise.

Reese and Brashen previously told The Vindicator that Moracco never discussed with them his intention to seek township employment while he was a trustee.

Read the full story in Monday’s Vindicator and on Vindy.com