This morning I announced a new program being implemented in the Butler County Jail named ‘Project F.I.D.O.’ (Free Inmate Dog Obedience) This project is being launched in a cooperative effort with the Butler County Animal Friends Humane Society, and its director Leland Gordon. In this program, selected jail prisoners will be housing dogs inside their jail cells, and will provide basic forms of dog obedience training. While this sort of program has been used in federal prisons, Bob Cornwell of the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association, said this is the first such program to be conducted within a local, county jail in Ohio.

The first canine participant in the program named ‘Fonzie’ is an approximate one-year-old previously abused dog being housed at the Animal Shelter and . Fonzie was transferred from the shelter to the jail where he will live in a cell with a prisoner who will be responsible to train him in basic commands (sit, stay, lay down, etc). The training is expected to help make Fonzie more adoptable. Melvin Shidler, a recognized local dog trainer, will work with the prisoner, helping the prisoner learn how to train the dog.

I believe this is a “win-win” for everybody involved. The Animal Shelter benefits by getting some basic dog obedience training for free and the dog benefits by becoming more adoptable! Additionally, there are not just ‘therapeutic’ benefits for the prisoner, but the prisoner can also learn and develop animal-handling skill or basic animal treatment respect that can be utilized upon release from jail. I believe this program has a lot of potential. We’re going to start with one dog, but I hope to expand it to a few more, in the future. I’m glad to have it in my jail.

I am pleased to announce the preliminary results of a recent multi-month undercover investigation titled Operation: “CAST” which stands for Criminal Auto Sales and Titles. The Butler County Sheriff’s Office had received information that local car dealerships were selling vehicles to illegal aliens and knowingly processing the vehicle titles and registrations under fictitious names with the State of Ohio and Butler County.

I sent undercover officers into the dealership and on their very first attempt, my undercover officers were sold fake identification cards. The dealership then used the new fake ID to facilitate the sale of vehicles. Subsequently the dealership proceeded to process the title and registration under this known fake identification. After further investigation, it was reveal that the social security number provided actually belonged to someone else!

Over the next several months, the undercover Officers were able to make several similar transactions. The Social Security Administration and the State of Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles was brought into to assist in this investigation. The BMV was able to identify about 30 similar transactions from these dealerships in a two month period.

At one point during this investigation, undercover officers were contacted by one of the suspects who oddly enough identified himself as a ‘Detective with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office’. The suspect was trying to coerce undercover officers into making additional payments and had no idea he was actually dealing with real undercover officers from the Sheriff’s Office!

Search warrants were executed at three local car dealerships and nine individuals are expected to be arrested and charged on 34 indictments ranging from tampering with records to impersonating a law enforcement officer. The owners of the dealerships are included in those arrested. I will be working with local ICE officials regarding several of the suspects who have been identified as illegal aliens.

The vehicles purchased by undercover officers in this investigation were not in very good condition and were obviously overpriced which indicated to undercover officers that the dealerships were looking for huge profits from the illegal transactions. The dealerships also allowed one employee, an illegal alien, to change his name, date of birth, and social security number. That employee purchased the information of a real person so he could become a certified sales person through the BMV.

The investigation also found that individual had been arrested under 4 different names and 2 different social security numbers. In addition, the dealerships would pose as detectives with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office in an attempt to force payments. Investigators believe this ploy was used to intimidate illegal aliens because of my stance on illegal immigration.

I would like to express a special thanks to Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper and members of his office, John Schubenski of the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and Officials from the Social Security Administration, who assisted with the investigations. The coordination and cooperation with these individuals and departments played an essential role in the operation.

You can view the press conference by clicking HERE.

The skeptics said I could never do it. Others said that it wasn’t possible to do anything about it or wasn’t any of my business. I kept telling everyone that I was going to do something about it, and after working on it for well over a year, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office now has limited federal power to deal with illegal aliens in our county!

At times it seemed like I was trying to climb Mt. Everest. I’d get to a point and be stalled for awhile, and then I’d push forward again. I kept pushing despite all the opposition because I believe the goal is worth all the effort. Now I can report that we finally have our flag flying at the top of the mountain.

We made it.

The Butler County Sheriff’s Office now has eight ICE-Trained deputies to deal with the illegal aliens who have committed crimes and are incarcerated in the county jail. Now, instead of simply putting illegals who commit crimes back on the street and back into the county, we will be able to expedite putting them out of the country!

But let me remind everyone that the only illegals I’m interested in right now are the ones that are committing crimes and coming into my jail. They are the ones that I feel Butler County taxpayers shouldn’t be paying for.

I don’t have a problem with people coming here to try feed their families. I can see why they want to come to the greatest country in the world.

But ones that sneak into this country in the middle of the night and rape, rob, steal, sell drugs, or otherwise break our nations laws…

Those are the ones I deal with.

Here is an article in the Cincinnati Enquier

It’s been a long process but I am very pleased to announce the training of eight of my deputies for Federal “287 g” immigration enforcement powers has officially started today! These deputies have traveled to Hall County, Georgia, for the specialized training under I.C.E. (Immigration and Custom Enforcement) direction.

After completing the training, which is scheduled to end February 1, 2008, these eight deputies, working closely with and under the guidance of ICE, will then be permitted to enforce federal immigration laws. I believe the Butler County Sheriff’s Office to be the first Ohio law enforcement agency to operate under this program.

As is fairly well known, I have championed the cause of local immigration enforcement powers over the last few years. I am pleased we have finally reached this point, and look forward to working with I.C.E. as we transition to these new powers.

Being part of the “287 g” program will not only assist us with local issues and the deportation of illegal aliens process, but can lead to a closer working relationship with I.C.E. and hopefully the housing of more of their prisoners.

As I’ve been promising for some time, we’re finally on our way to making a difference with illegal immigration in Butler County!

If you don’t think I am making a difference with regards to the issue of illegal immigration take a look at this article Peter Bronson wrote in the Cincinnati Enquirer. Illegals are being deported from my jail on a daily basis.

Sign of the times at Butler County Jail

Columbus Dispatch Article

A recent poll taken in Ohio is another example of how the elected officials that are running our government just don’t seem to get it.

Fix this immigration problem!

Ohio poll on immigration article

I have sent a letter to the Ohio Speaker of the House along with a copy of a local newspaper article citing a poll taken by Quinnipiac University of Ohio residents opinions on issues regarding illegal aliens. The results reflect what I have been saying for two years - Ohio leadership needs to address the issue of illegal aliens in Ohio!

The poll shows that the vast majority of Ohioans oppose the government paying for the welfare of illegal aliens in our great state and favor building a wall on the Mexican border. I’m suggesting if the government won’t address the issue, then perhaps some citizen groups can take up the issue and get it on a state ballot!

A copy of one of the letters I sent can be read by clicking on the image.

I, along with Ohio State representative Courtney Combs, and local Channel 12 news reporter Rich Jaffe, recently visited the Mexico-America border to see first hand how serious the situation really is. I wish I could have come back and reported good news, but there is no good news.

I spent two days with Cochise County Arizona Sheriff Larry Dever observing the several sections of the border. Some areas had fencing, some had barbed wire, and some areas had no fence at all! Sheriff Dever also showed us pictures of many of the creative ways in which illegal aliens and/or drugs are smuggled into the country. It was shocking to hear the about the huge amounts of drugs and the number of illegals that are caught trying to enter.

But more shocking than that was the estimated one thousand illegals in just Cochise County that make it in every day, many of which ultimately wind up here in Butler County and throughout the United States! Make no mistake, not all of these people are simply looking for jobs. Many that are caught have felony records and wish to continue their criminal ways in America. I know this because many are in my jail charged with a multitude of crimes.

Our hospitals, legal system, and educational systems cannot support this unchecked flow of people pouring into the country indefinately. After seeing it first hand, I believe more than ever that action needs to be taken NOW to stop this steady flow of people and drugs into America.

I fear that it may be a lot later than we think.

I have produced a short video in which I discuss much of what I observed which can be seen by clicking this link.

Here is a link to the Arizona news station that covered our visit.

Here are some good links to videos on the Channel 12 site as well.

Channel 12 Border Battle
Channel 12 Coverage of the border in Cochise County
Channel 12 Interviews with Arizona locals