Trending
YOUNGSTOWN -- A day after the county auditor called him a financial liability, the Mahoning County clerk of courts is back in the spotlight. Michael P. Ciccone has been sued again for alleged racial discrimination. The lawsuit filed on Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court by Ronald Winphrie accuses Ciccone of firing him without cause.
The suit invokes the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and the section of Ohio Revised Code that addresses unlawful discriminatory practices.
Winphrie's filing states that he worked as a deputy service bailiff in Youngstown Municipal Court until Ciccone offered him a supervisory position in the clerk's title office. Winphrie stated that he resigned from the bailiff position to take the job and worked for Ciccone from June 30, 2025, until his firing on Sept. 10, 2025. Winphrie stated that Ciccone's letter informing him of his termination gave no reason.
The lawsuit states that Winphrie filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Feb. 16 and received notice from that commission in August that he was within his rights to file a lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims that shortly after accepting the job, Winphrie was subject to "disparate and negative treatment from Ciccone."
Winphrie states that while the title office has only ever had one supervisor, Ciccone hired Megan Hanni as the office's co-supervisor. He asserts that Ciccone favored Hanni, who is white, and forced Winphrie to perform clerical duties that were not part of his role as a supervisor and that former supervisors had not been required to perform.
About a month after Winphrie's firing, text messages between Ciccone and his former deputy Jennifer Ciccone were made public after those two had a falling out and Jennifer Ciccone released the messages.
Within them, Clerk Ciccone refers in racist terms to black employees within the office. In one case, he wrote: "I think George would have been a better [racial slur] but I f-- up and trusted Thais. And shes [sic] next to go."
The message referred to former clerk’s office administrator Thais Scott, who sued Ciccone in July, alleging racial discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment. Scott contends Ciccone fired her Dec. 4, 2025, after she reported to county human resources officials that he had used a racial slur and discussed plans to terminate her.
In the same text exchange - also cited in Scott's lawsuit - Ciccone referred to another black employee, using a racial slur and stated that that employee had been fired. Winphrie's lawsuit asserts that message referred to him.
Scott filed a complaint with the county human resources department [exactly a year before Winphrie filed his lawsuit] concerning the racial language, the threat of termination and what she described as a hostile work environment. Her subsequent lawsuit alleges no meaningful investigation or corrective action followed.
Like Winphrie, Scott also filed a complaint with the EEOC and was given a green light to file a lawsuit based on discrimination.
On the same day Winphrie filed his lawsuit, Mahoning County Auditor Ralph Meacham publicly warned that financial mismanagement in Ciccone’s office could jeopardize the county’s 2026 state audit, potentially damaging its bond rating and ability to borrow money. Meacham said seven bank accounts have not been consistently reconciled, forcing the county to hire an outside accounting firm to straighten out its 2025 records. He said his office has received no monthly reconciliations for 2026.
The accounting problems are among numerous complaints about Ciccone’s administration since he took office in January 2025. Meacham said unpaid utility bills have interrupted electrical service to county courts and more such problems could follow, while delays in processing court documents and garnishments have disrupted operations.
Ciccone also has faced allegations of mismanaging the title department, excessive hiring and salaries, favoritism, improperly waiving filing fees and failing to supervise employees. The chairs of both Democratic and Ciccone's own Republican parties have called for his resignation and initiated an effort to remove him from office, accusing him of malfeasance, misfeasance, nonfeasance and neglect of duty.
The Ohio Clerk of Courts Association censured him and removed him from its committees, while county commissioners restricted his courthouse access privileges in December over alleged security violations. Ciccone has refused to resign and has made few public comments about the controversies.