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Story from the Thursday, October 28, 2004 Edition of the Chronicle Telegram

Attorney Attacks Will's Records

Brad Dicken, The Chronicle-Telegram

ELYRIA — A prominent local defense attorney is circulating a letter to voters attacking county prosecutor candidate Dennis Will, contending Will averaged more than nine hours pay each day, 365 days a year while he served as both a police captain and assistant county prosecutor.

Attorney James Burge said Will’s involvement in the prosecution of Dr. Ashok Ramadugu prompted him to write the letter, “I thoroughly believe
he tried to railroad and frame my client,” Burge said. “Once I became convinced he was capable of prosecuting someone who he had good reason to believe was innocent I didn’t want him making the decisions on who to prosecute in this county.”

Ramadugu was charged with rape in 1999 after a patient told police she was attacked in her hospital bed by a man who left a bite mark on her leg. Ramadugu was acquitted by county Common Pleas Judge Thomas Janas, who slammed the prosecutors for bringing the charges.  Will said he stands behind the decision of police, prosecutors and a county grand jury to indict Ramadugu.  “I believe we had the evidence to show that there was a rape,” Will said.

In Burge’s Oct. 26 letter, he stated he had reviewed records from the county and city that show Will worked 2,546 hours for the city at the same time he was billing the county for 1,024 hours at the prosecutor’s office in 1998. That works out to an average of 10 hours per day every day of the year, Burge wrote.

In 1999, Burge said Will “took things a little easier,” working 2,289 hours for the city and 1,080 hours for the county, an average 9.2 hours every day of the year.
In 2000, Burge stated that his research showed Will billed the county for 859 hours and the city for 2,425 hours, or nine hours every day of the year. “I’ve been working for 30 years and I consider myself a taskmaster,” Burge said. “But that (many hours) is impossible.”

Will angrily denied Burge’s insinuation that he hadn’t worked all of the hours he wrote down on time cards.  “It’s a desperate attempt by a defense attorney to keep the prosecutor he wants in office and that should tell you something,” Will said.

Elyria police Chief Michael Medders said Will was a workaholic who spent countless hours working on cases.  “It’s a cheap shot,” Medders said. “The man worked the hours.”

Former county Prosecutor Greg White, now U.S. Attorney for Northern Ohio, said Burge’s letter was an attempt to discredit Will’s candidacy by “smear efforts.”
White said he is barred by law from commenting on whether he wants to see Will or county Prosecutor Gary Bennett elected.

Both White and Medders said they stand behind the Ramadugu prosecution.
“If we only prosecuted the cases we had that were slam dunks there wouldn’t be anybody in prison,” Medders said. “We had probable cause and the court made the decision.”

Burge, who said he is a Democrat, argues that Will and others who worked the Ramadugu case had evidence that would have cleared his client, but chose to ignore it.

Bennett, a Republican, said he hadn’t seen Burge’s letter and knew nothing about it.  “I have no intention of seeing it,” he said.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chronicletelegram.com.

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