Korossy to change plea, avoid trial

PORT CLINTON - The criminal trial of a former Put-in-Bay police officer has been canceled after a plea change hearing was scheduled for later this month.

Steve Korossy, a former sergeant in the Put-in-Bay Police Department, is accused of misusing the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway (OHLEG), a fifth-degree felony, 14 times between late 2013 and early 2015. He also is accused of making false statements to investigators from the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation, resulting in a falsification count, a first-degree misdemeanor.

The case originally was scheduled for trial in Ottawa County Common Pleas Court in February, but was delayed until May due to a change in defense attorneys. According to court records, the latest trial date has since been canceled after a plea change hearing was scheduled for May 18 at 10 a.m.

Ohio Attorney General's Office spokesman Dan Tierney did not confirm that a resolution to Korossy's case has been reached and also declined to comment on any potential plea agreement.

Korossy on Tuesday asserted his innocence.

"There is a plea change hearing scheduled, but I still maintain my complete innocence in any wrongdoing," Korossy said. "All of my searches in OHLEG were authorized by (former) Chief (Ric) Lampela and within the authorized use of the Put-in-Bay Police Department."

Korossy previously discussed each of the charges with The News Herald and said that he "didn't do anything wrong" by accessing the database, but believed he was being prosecuted due to a "political agenda."

Ex-PIB officer Korossy says he 'didn't do anything wrong'

According to court records, 10 of the 14 alleged misuses were for searching his own information in the OHLEG database.

In two other incidents, the searches were for "R Lampela," and the remaining two were searches for two other individuals, who Korossy said were a then-fellow Put-in-Bay officer and the driver of a suspicious vehicle that he later found out was a friend.

Tierney said the court document outlining the details of each search and its respective charge speaks for itself, but the Attorney General’s office is not commenting on the identity of the individuals searched for.

Although the Bureau of Criminal Investigation first looked into Korossy's OHLEG use after complaints from witnesses during the 2014 investigation into the Put-in-Bay police department and then-chief Lampela, Tierney said none of charges Korossy was indicted on are related to any acts of intimidation or posting of personal information on social media.

"The people who had made those complaints as part the Put-in-Bay misconduct investigation were not (the individuals Korossy searched for on OHLEG)," Tierney said.

jstinchcom@gannett.com

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