Former Geauga County Department of Water Resources Network Administrator Mike Kurzinger, who was indicted July 18 on three felony and three misdemeanor counts, pleaded not guilty to the charges before Geauga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Paschke Aug. 2.
Former Geauga County Department of Water Resources Network Administrator Mike Kurzinger, who was indicted July 18 on three felony and three misdemeanor counts, pleaded not guilty to the charges before Geauga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Paschke Aug. 2.
Kurzinger was represented by attorney Ian Friedman, of Friedman Menashe Nemecek & Long LLC. He was released on a personal recognizance bond and his case has been assigned to Judge David Ondrey.
The six charges brought by Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz include three counts of having an unlawful interest in a public contract, a fourth-degree felony, and three first-degree misdemeanor counts of conflict of interest.
“I have the utmost respect for Prosecutor Flaiz and his entire office,” Friedman said in an interview after the arraignment. “To be expected, however, with the adversarial nature of the criminal justice system, we see the facts in Mr. Kurzinger’s case very differently. As such, citizens serving as the jurors in this case will make their decision once the evidence is fully presented. We are confident that they will see the facts in Mr. Kurzinger’s favor.”
The charges against Kurzinger came after a May 3 federal search warrant was executed at his office in the county administrative building, as well as in the home and office of Joe Camino, an outside information technology vendor for GCDWR.
A month before the search, the Geauga County Automatic Data Processing board’s IT staff discovered a GCDWR email server had been attacked by Russian hackers.
Geauga County Commissioners placed Kurzinger on unpaid administrative leave July 25.
During his arraignment, Paschke told Kurzinger the three misdemeanor counts carry a maximum jail sentence of up to 180 days and a maximum fine of up to $1,000.
“Counts one, three and five are all having an unlawful interest in a public contract, which is a fourth-degree felony,” she said. “If convicted on any of those counts, each of them could carry with them a possible prison sentence of six to a maximum of 18 months, and a maximum possible fine of up to $5,000.”
Kurzinger was ordered to report to the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office to be photographed and fingerprinted. He was also prohibited by the court from possessing or consuming alcohol, or any drugs not prescribed by a doctor; from entering bars or establishments where alcohol is the primary source of income; and from leaving the state of Ohio without the permission of a probation officer. He was also ordered to submit to random drug and alcohol testing.
Assistant Prosecutor Nick Burling said the state had no objection to the terms of Kurzinger’s bond. He confirmed Kurzinger has no prior convictions, none pending and no charges of failing to appear.
“The state would be satisfied with a personal recognizance bond,” Burling said.
