“Mr. Frost has certainly paid his debt to society and has successfully turned his life around to the point where he can make this type of donation. His story is actually a success story that should be celebrated and not criticized.” – Stephen Colecchi
Last month, Ravenna businessman Edward W. Frost, owner of All Star Enterprise, the former Mespo Expo in Mesopotamia, pledged $500,000 to the Huskie Nation Foundation.
The gift was easily the single largest donation the foundation has ever received and it bought Frost naming rights of the proposed new athletic complex at Cardinal Schools.
Foundation President Bill Poole labeled Frost a “generous man” who tries to donate $2 million per year to local causes.
In fact, Poole said Frost also recently pledged $450,000 to the Mesopotamia Fire Department for a new fire engine.
But Frost’s generosity has raised concern not only among Cardinal school district parents, but local law enforcement as well.
Frost is a convicted felon, having served prison time for crimes committed in at least three surrounding counties: Cuyahoga, Summit and Trumbull.
According to Cuyahoga Common Pleas Court records, in October 2009, Frost, then 19, pleaded guilty to two counts of felony aggravated theft. He was sentenced to five years of community control and was ordered to make restitution to his victims in the amount of approximately $39,000.
In March 2010, he pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual conduct with a minor in Summit County Common Pleas Court and was labeled a Tier 1 sexual offender — the lowest level. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison, but was granted judicial release in November 2010.
However, Frost was found to have violated his probation in Cuyahoga County and was sentenced to two years in prison in Lorain Correctional Institution, with the sentence to run consecutive to the Summit County sentence.
Then in 2015, Frost pleaded guilty to a felony charge of failure to notify a change of address in Trumbull County. He was sentenced to five years of community control, according to court records.
But he violated his probation in 2017 when he was indicted in Trumbull County on a charge of fourth-degree felony theft, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to an amended charge of fifth-degree felony grand theft and was sentenced to six months in Lorain Correctional Institution. He also was ordered to pay restitution to his victims totaling $19,700.
On March 8, a “John Doe” emailed the Geauga County Maple Leaf with links to Ohio’s sex offender registry.
“Pull the strings above,” the John Doe wrote. “Money going to school, naming rights as a sex offender . . . where children are? Theft . . .”
Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz and Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand said their offices have received telephone calls from residents and parents concerned about Frost’s past, but declined further comment at this time.
When reached for comment on Monday, Frost directed all media inquiries to his Akron-based attorney, Stephen Colecchi. He also said he would sue any newspaper or reporter who reported on his prior criminal history — which is part of the public record.
“The public record speaks for itself, but I would caution against making any conclusions without all of the underlying facts,” Colecchi — who is not a criminal defense lawyer and who did not represent Frost in any prior criminal matter — said in a March 18 email.
“Mr. Frost is a successful businessman who made the decision to support the community by agreeing to donate funds in support of Cardinal Huskie’s athletics. I fail to see how anyone can object to the donation,” Colecchi said. “Mr. Frost has certainly paid his debt to society and has successfully turned his life around to the point where he can make this type of donation. His story is actually a success story that should be celebrated and not criticized.”
He added, “The school district can always make the decision to refuse to accept the donation, but I think that would be unfortunate and only penalize the students that these donated funds will help support.”
Poole told the Maple Leaf March 11 he planned to talk to Frost about the allegations regarding his past activities.
“We want to hear both sides of the story,” Poole said, adding the 2009 conviction in Summit County is not an indication of the character of the businessman.
“I’m not going to hold anything against someone for something that happened in high school,” said Poole. “We all have skeletons somewhere.”
If the offense was in the last year or two, Huskie Nation Foundation absolutely would be more concerned, he explained, adding the nonprofit booster organization is looking into the community’s concern over Frost.
Poole also said the foundation has not accepted any money from Frost and would not until June 3.
“There was no money given or promised,” he said, calling a Feb. 22 check-presentation ceremony at All Star Enterprise “just a gesture.”
“It got the attention of a lot of people,” Poole said, adding they apparently went to their computers to find out more about Frost.
“Google comes in handy,” he said.
Poole had not returned two voicemails seeking comment on his follow-up talk with Frost as of Tuesday morning.
Middlefield Village Police Chief Joe Tucholsky said he had been contacted by a lot of people who had done just that.
“A lot of people would like to know where that money is coming from,” the chief said. “It’s a little suspicious, handing out all that money.”
Cardinal Schools Superintendent Scott Hunt told the Maple Leaf in a March 11 email that Frost’s donation was not made to the school board, but to the foundation, a nonprofit organization separate from the school district.
“The board of education is required to conduct background checks on employees/volunteers who work directly with children per board policies,” explained Hunt. “Boards of education do not conduct background checks on individuals/groups who make a donation directly to the school and certainly there is not a check for individuals/groups who make a donation to a separate organization.”
The foundation was set up to support the school district’s efforts in the construction of a new stadium, Hunt said, adding there would be a collaboration between the school and foundation if the project moves forward to construction.
Mesopotamia Fire Chief James Loza told the Maple Leaf Frost’s pledge, made in February, “sounded too good to be true.”
“We are in the process of buying a new truck,” he said, adding the department was supposed to get a check from Frost sometime this month or next.
“If it happens and we get it, it would be a blessing,” said Loza. “But like I said, it sounded too good to be true.”
