T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Shadyside Village council member Sam Carpino informs the village council that he has recently received a findings report from the Ohio state Auditor’s Office from the 2022 purchase of a tractor by a public board.

SHADYSIDE — Shadyside Councilman Sam Carpino told other council members Monday that he believes an Ohio Auditor’s Office report cleared him of wrongdoing in a criminal investigation into his 2022 purchase of a tractor owned by a public board.

The report also recommends that Shadyside develop and formally adopt a comprehensive policy for the disposal of all capital assets.

The report states that the village did not pass an ordinance authorizing the sale of the tractor, and that the tractor was not for sale through a public auction or advertised for a public bid. It also found that the transaction was arranged privately and not through a competitive process designed to yield the highest and best price.

The allegation of wrongdoing against Carpino originally came to light in December when a village employee was reviewing finance records and noticed the sale.

Following that revelation, village council asked Carpino to step down from council, but Carpino refused. Carpino said Monday that he believes the findings report clears him of wrongdoing, although it does not outright say if any wrongdoing was found on his part.

Belmont County Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan said criminal charges were never filed against Carpino, but his office has not declined the possibility of filing charges once he receives the full investigation report. He added that his office asked for cooperation from an outside agency in reviewing the facts of Carpino’s investigation.

When asked if the outside organization was the Ohio Auditor’s Office, Flanagan said he wasn’t able to confirm or deny the name of the outside agency.

The findings report does state that the village was not in compliance with Ohio law when it didn’t publicly advertise the sale of the tractor.

“By failing to follow the prescribed public bidding process, the village could not demonstrate that it received the highest and best price for its asset, potentially resulting in a loss of public funds,” the report states. “This circumvents the transparency and accountability required for the disposal of public property and exposes the village to risk of conflict of interest and erosion of public trust.”

Carpino asked village Law Director Kelly Kotur what the next step should be to ensure that this gets resolved and the village can put the situation behind it.

Kotur informed Carpino that he should reach out to his attorney to contact Flanagan to inform him of the findings report and see what the best course of action is from there.

The Ohio Auditor’s Office could not be reached for comment.