Butler County Update: Revisiting Fox and the FBI

I need to go back and take another look at that piece that intrepid reporter Josh wrote on the FBI investigation of Mike Fox and Dynus. Specifically, I want to re-examine the FBI's request of records from the Recorder's Office.

Before I do that, though, I want to take a minute and highlight the fine work of Danny Crank and his staff at the Recorder's Office. It is a pretty low-profile position, but I've never heard anything bad ever said about the fine folks who maintain the county's records. With all the nonsense going on lately, I thought it was a pretty good idea to shine the spotlight on an operation that is doing good work and getting it done with style. He runs a clean office, stays out of the press, comes to work and does his job. That is exactly the sort of elected official we ought to be praising in times like these.

Now, on with the show... Josh said this:

On Wednesday, April 23, an agent requested an armful of copies of deeds and records pertaining to Fox's home at 6109 Creekside Way, Fairfield Twp., according to Chief Deputy Recorder Denise Goll.

The agent balked when Goll asked him to pay $86 for the certified copies, she said, though he eventually got it for free by having the Butler County Prosecutor's Office request the records.

The way Josh frames this, the reader might be left with the impression that the Recorder's Office was trying to stonewall the investigation. That's not the case at all. What Josh failed to report is that the Recorder's Office is required by state law to charge for the certified copies. The staff at the the Recorder's Office suggested that the FBI request the files through the Prosecutor's Office in order get around the fee. Robin Piper's office agreed and made the request on behalf of the FBI and the rest is as Josh reported it. So what actually happened was that the Recorder's Office turned over the requested files to the Prosecutor's Office and they then turned them over to the FBI.

This is really something of a sidebar on Josh's reporting of the events. I just wanted to make sure that the part of the story involving the Recorder's Office was made clear.