The Ohio Board of Building Standards is investigating the head of the Summit County building department after receiving complaints from former employees about alleged misconduct.
The accusations against John Labriola, the county’s top building official, include doing work outside the scope of his certifications, issuing permits for projects that haven’t been inspected, falsifying records and steering contractors to his wife’s training company.
Labriola also was disciplined by the county in an unrelated case earlier this year for using derogatory language in the workplace and making malicious statements concerning another employee, along with other allegations, according to his personnel file.
The state Board of Building Standards agreed to launch an investigation in July after hearing complaints from at least three former employees and receiving a lengthy unsigned letter.
A state spokesman confirmed that the investigation is ongoing.
Labriola, 59, who has worked at the county since February 2009, denied the allegations.
“There are allegations that have been made but I do not believe we have done that,” he said.
“It’s not uncommon for a department to be investigated from time to time,” Labriola added. “We welcome them to do an investigation and go through the process.”
It appears to be a case of sour grapes, he said.
The state board lists the complainants as William Ross, Jared Dickey and Ronald Demyan, who all previously worked for the county, according to paperwork obtained by the Beacon Journal through a public records request.
When contacted by the newspaper, Ross, who worked for the county for about 10 years, said he left the department because he “couldn’t be associated with the unethical, illegal actions” taking place there.
He said there are numerous examples of inspectors writing up violations only to have a contractor call Labriola directly and Labriola granting approval on the spot without ever inspecting the site.
Ross also said he knows of an instance when Labriola approved plan reviews and attributed the approvals to one of the workers.
“It goes on and on. ... The existing staff is trying to do the right job,” Ross said. “Unfortunately they are being overridden and intimidated by the building official.”
Dickey and Demyan declined to comment.
Other issues
The six-page, unsigned letter outlines numerous other allegations and the author provided more than 500 pages of county records highlighting issues.
“Mr. Labriola likes to play favorites and grants favoritism to certain contractors, owners, and designers under the guise of a chief building official,” the letter says.
It also accuses him of being responsible for “at least one fire at a funeral home crematory for which he ‘performed’ inspections without actually looking at the work.”
Labriola also allegedly “has issued ‘fake’ plan approvals and certificates of occupancy” to benefit contractors, according to the letter.
The letter also alleges fire officials are unhappy with “Labriola’s complete and utter disregard to their input or authority.”
Cuyahoga Falls Fire Chief Paul Moledor is named in the complaint letter as someone who would support the claims against Labriola.
But when reached by the Beacon Journal, Moledor said local fire officials haven’t always seen eye to eye with him but they don’t have a poor working relationship as described in the letter.
“We don’t have any problems with John or the building department,” he said. “We’re able to work together.”
Suspended
Labriola’s personnel file, obtained by the Beacon Journal through a public records request, shows that he has received several glowing evaluations noting that he exceeds or far exceeds expectations.
But he also was disciplined by the county this year.
Labriola, whose annual salary is $99,320, was suspended for three days without pay in January and ordered to attend sensitivity training and sexual harassment training.
According to a letter in his personnel file, he was disciplined for “violation of county policy regarding anti-discrimination; using derogatory language regarding another employee in the workplace; making malicious statements concerning another employee; failure to follow established policies of the executive; use of profane or abusive language.”
There were no details provided about any specific incident that led to the suspension in the personnel file. But those details were revealed in an Ohio Civil Rights Commission complaint filed against Labriola by a female clerk in February.
She accused him of harassment and retaliating against her by giving her a written reprimand. She claimed he was retaliating because she filed a hostile work environment complaint with the county human resources department in October 2015.
In the paperwork filed with the commission, the clerk claimed Labriola called her a “mother f***** …” in front of two co-workers, and that she was disciplined inappropriately and was denied work that would involve her being paid more.
“Mr. Labriola has regularly used vulgar and bigoted terms, mocked people with disabilities and engaged in threatening behavior in the workplace,” she wrote.
According to a conciliation agreement and consent order between the clerk and county filed by the Civil Rights Commission in May, the county agreed to remove the written reprimand from her file and offer her any work under terms of the collective bargaining agreement.
Ethics complaint
The documents sent to the state Board of Building Standards also state that a complaint has been filed against Labriola with the Ohio Ethics Commission.
Commission Executive Director Paul Nick would not comment on whether his agency has received a complaint or whether there is an investigation, as is the agency’s policy.
The paperwork provided to the building board accuses Labriola of steering contractors to his wife’s North Canton company, Labriola Training Agency, which specializes in electrical code, and showing favoritism to those who enroll.
Jason Dodson, chief of staff for County Executive Ilene Shapiro, said the county is aware of the ongoing state investigation.
“We have advised the state that we will comply fully with the investigation,” he said. “If, as a result of the investigation, we are made aware of any issues, we will take prompt and appropriate action.
“At this time, we are not making any further comment to maintain the integrity of the investigation.”
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ .