NEWS > 17 April 2006

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Akron Beacon Journal - Akron,O
17 April 2006

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Group assails what it perceive

Portage residents rip sheriff, prosecutors

Sitting at a small table behind the counter at his auto repair shop, Dan Boyle leafs through page after page.

Keep an open mind, he implores, as he sorts through the paperwork. Then he launches into his complaint against the Portage County Sheriff's Office -- a tale that includes alleged corruption, racism and a ``not-so-legal system.''

The long version -- and Boyle is not averse to telling it -- starts out on Christmas Eve 2001 with missing firewood. There's a deputy allegedly threatening him. Boyle, in turn, threatens the deputy. He ends up in jail, convicted of resisting arrest, aggravated menacing and theft.

He's angry. He's convinced he was abused by a cowboy deputy and the system.

That anger built over time. He couldn't sleep. His health deteriorated. The thought of killing the deputy even passed through his mind.

Friends urged him to channel that anger into something constructive.

That ``something'' was co-founding CAMP (Concerned Citizens Against Malicious Prosecution), a support group of sorts for residents who feel they have been wronged by police, prosecutors or the court system in Portage County. Boyle is de facto leader, organizing meetings and serving as a sounding board for anyone wanting to share a story of suspected abuse.

The group, formed last year, recently has become more active -- emboldened by an ongoing federal corruption probe that involves the former mayor of Ravenna and a local nonprofit housing and economic development organization. Boyle and co-founder Delbert Stewart have even paid for large advertisements in the Record-Courier newspaper to announce their meetings and denounce the ``cancer.''

CAMP has targeted the sheriff's office, prosecutors, judges and attorneys in general.

``I'm not going to change anything at the state level,'' said Boyle, 57, a Brady Lake resident and owner of Boyle's Automotive Inc. in Kent. ``I'm not going to change things at the White House. But I'm trying to make a difference in my own community.''

Boyle admitted that CAMP could be dismissed by some as a crackpot conspiracy group or a haven for bitter criminals. (His own past includes trouble with the law. Boyle was a self-described ``hell-raising, fist-fighting, drinking type of guy'' in days past and he admits using some poor judgment.)

But he said the group isn't a forum for drunks or cop-haters. He has rejected one individual's offer to show people how to arm themselves.

Instead, he said he wants the group to build credibility. He urges individuals to attend government meetings and become involved in their communities. He serves as an unpaid assistant zoning inspector for Brady Lake and volunteers with the Fire Department.

There's no point in throwing stones from the outside, Boyle said.

County Prosecutor Victor Vigluicci and Sheriff Duane Kaley shrugged off the group's underlying message that corruption is widespread. The members have every right to meet, they said.

``It's a free country and they certainly have a right to pursue what they perceive as an injustice,'' Kaley said. ``That's the great thing about this country: You can do that.''

But Vigluicci did chuckle at the name. ``Everybody is against malicious prosecution,'' he said.

At a meeting last week at Brady Lake Village Hall, about 20 people gathered in the small community room to listen to Boyle and Stewart tell their personal stories. Stewart, 56, a roofing contractor from Franklin Township, called the legal system ``organized crime'' as he complained about his ongoing legal fight over his divorce.

The audience also heard from guest speaker Dave Kinney, a sergeant with Brady Lake police.

``One bad police officer makes a whole department and state look bad,'' said Kinney, who answered questions from the crowd.

He was invited by Boyle to talk about ``the other side'' and show that not all people in law enforcement are corrupt.

Boyle hopes to bring a former judge and an attorney to future meetings.

Daniel Gavinesky of Cuyahoga Falls said the group has been a positive influence for him. His family is involved because of an ongoing legal dispute with a Portage sheriff's deputy.

``It might be the only way they are going to get some changes,'' he said.

Since the group began, Boyle said, more people have stepped forward to share their stories of being wronged. There is safety in numbers, he said.

The goal, Boyle said, remains: ``What can we all do to make sure this doesn't happen again to good people?''

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Article sourced from

Akron Beacon Journal - Akron,O17 April 2006

Group assails what it perceive

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Akron Beacon Journal - Akron,O
17 April 2006