Nohra cleared of all charges

Ex-superintendent accused of violating workers’ civil rights

WARREN -- The former school superintendent for the Liberty school district on Wednesday was found innocent of six felony wiretapping charges and five misdemeanor counts of interfering with civil rights.

Joseph Nohra, 51, of Topper Hill Drive, jubilantly hugged family members after the verdict for acquittal on all counts was read by Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Ronald J. Rice at the conclusion of the one-day bench trial.

Nohra was gracious in thanking the court and praised his attorneys for keeping him sane during the long ordeal. He was indicted May 3, 2021, in a case alleging illegal wiretapping of a school district office in the bus garage.

"I'm going to have to go home to watch 'It's a Wonderful Life,' grateful to my attorneys for being my Clarence. David (Betras), Brian (Kopp) and the whole firm treated me like a human being when no one else would," he said.

Nohra also thanked his brother, Jude, for being on his legal team in the courtroom on Wednesday.

Betras, in his closing statements, told the judge Nohra and his family went through hell and their lives were turned upside down. "My client has maintained his innocence since I was hired," he said.

Commenting after the verdict was read, Assistant Prosecutor Charles Morrow said the case initially was investigated by the state auditor's office, and then the sheriff's office was brought in.

"The grand jury decided the evidence presented to them merited the charges," Morrow said. "The burden of proof at trial is different than at the grand jury level, and we respect the decision of the court."

CAMERA PLACEMENT

At trial, both sides didn't dispute the existence of a covert camera with audio that was placed inside a carbon monoxide detector on the ceiling of the office of then-transportation secretary Christine Gallaugher. This was for 10 days in April 2018.

At issue was whether Nohra intentionally committed a crime by putting it there.

Betras and Kopp argued that Nohra didn't believe he was committing a crime, while Morrow said he felt a crime was committed because four people's constitutional rights to privacy were violated.

Nohra's attorneys argued there were special circumstances to the camera being placed there. Nohra had suspected Gallaugher of stealing from the district. Upon permission from the school board and on the advice of school district attorneys, Nohra directed his technology coordinator to place the surveillance device in the office in April 2018.

Retired district technology coordinator Anthony Daniels testified he and Nohra discussed the camera in person and through text messages. Daniels said he placed the "pinhole" camera in the carbon monoxide detector sometime during spring break of 2018.

"I had to install it when no one was around and it had to be hidden," Daniels said.

Daniels said initially, he had problems making the camera work.

"I needed both audio and video and I had to go back there to try to fix it," he said.

It was set up so Nohra would receive on his cellphone the audio and video coming from above Gallaugher's desk, Daniels said.

Both Daniels and former elementary principal Michael Butch Jr. testified that Nohra got the information he needed after the first day of recording with the hidden camera, and Nohra had wanted to take it down. "But upon the advice of the district attorney, they wanted to keep it up there for 10 days," Butch testified.

Former police Chief Richard Tisone also testified, saying Nohra discussed with him the legality of putting up a hidden camera in that office. Tisone said Nohra should follow the advice of the school board, and he wouldn't have a problem.

The state's witnesses included two district employees, whose Constitutional right to privacy were violated, Morrow said. Bus driver Debbie Minnetti and custodian Richard Svetlak said they had an expectation of privacy when talking in Gallaugher's office at the bus garage. Both workers testified they did not know the school district had a policy on the books that authorized covert cameras and audio in certain places in the district.

During closing, Morrow said he believed Gallaugher's office was an exception to this policy as it was a common area. Morrow also stated that Nohra failed to abide by the policy because he didn't let employees know they were being caught on camera and these were not extraordinary circumstances.

"We are talking about a theft of time and some copy paper," Morrow said about the loss to the district. "It's not like they were trying to catch a sex offender."

Gallaugher was suspected of running a real estate business out of the office while working on district time, Morrow said. Gallaugher retired from her job as transportation secretary in May 2018.

Nohra left the superintendent job in 2020. Morrow said he couldn't comment further about the case because a related civil lawsuit is pending. Gallaugher and six other people had filed a civil lawsuit against Nohra and the school district over the hidden video recordings.

BACKGROUND

At his final pretrial hearing last week, Nohra refused the final offer made by Morrow to plead guilty to six misdemeanor charges of dereliction of duty and be found guilty by the judge to offset any trial.

Betras explained that refusal by saying Nohra could get no assurances from the state that his license to sell insurance would not be in jeopardy by any findings of guilt in this case.

At a previous pretrial hearing, Morrow had offered Nohra one of three options to settle the case:

• No contest plea to six counts of interfering with civil rights, a first-degree misdemeanor;

• No contest plea to six counts of possession of criminal tools, another first-degree misdemeanor; or

• Guilty plea to one count of dereliction of duty, a second-degree misdemeanor.

The felony charges against Nohra originally were dismissed by Rice on Dec. 30, 2021. Ohio's 11th District Court of Appeals last September, however, reversed that decision -- sending the case back to common pleas court.