By Gregory Korte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

At least 17 Cincinnati employees have managed to hold city jobs over the past two years despite convictions on felony offenses - some as serious as aggravated arson and rape, a series of city investigations has found.

The major problem: Supervisors in the Public Services Department have been lax in their hiring standards for sanitation workers, according to reports by the Office of Municipal Investigation.

Most of the workers are in the city's Neighborhood Operations Division, which collects garbage, cleans streets and removes graffiti. Many of them are still on the payroll.

State law prohibits people convicted of certain felonies from holding public employment.

But because the law was signed March 30, 1999, crimes committed before that date would not apply.

"There's no consistent process," said Human Services Director Rodney Prince. "It was a burdensome task, and it appears that not every department was doing a complete and thorough job of that."

Without that consistency, city officials say, felons hired into the Public Services Department could easily be promoted or transferred into a more sensitive position. The highest-ranking employee with a felony was an assistant supervisor convicted of drug abuse.

"For a department like recreation, they do check backgrounds of people who transfer into that department. That's not done consistently in every department," Mr. Prince said.

Public Services Director Daryl B. Brock did not return several phone calls seeking comment. OMI investigators said department supervisors were either unaware of the state law or cut corners because of the high turnover in sanitation jobs.

One city investigation began when the city tried to dismiss Jesse Carradine, a 36-year-old sanitation worker, after he pleaded guilty to theft.

Mr. Carradine told OMI investigators that he knew of at least four other workers convicted of felonies. He said city managers knew about the felonies and covered them up.

The OMI investigation found no evidence of a cover-up, but Dr. Brock reprimanded Assistant Superintendent Cleophus Kelley for failing to initiate disciplinary action against felons in the department.

More recently, an OMI investigation found five city employees who lied on their job applications when they said they had never been convicted of a felony.

Among the more serious offenders on the city payroll:

William L. Jackson, a laborer, has been convicted of rape, drug trafficking and attempted felonious assault. He applied for a city job in 2000, saying he had never been convicted of a felony. He attained full-time status in 2001. OMI recommended Mr. Jackson be suspended for 80 hours.

Tyrone Chappell, a truck driver, was convicted of aggravated arson and was sentenced to four to 25 years in prison in 1976. He retired from the city in 2000.

Raymond Kellam, a downtown cleaner, has at least seven felony convictions for offenses from safecracking to trafficking in marijuana, city officials said. He did not disclose them on his job application. The city held a pre-disciplinary hearing for Mr. Kellam Dec. 10.

Under state law, not every felony disqualifies someone from public employment. Those that do involve violence, drugs, "moral turpitude," fraud and theft, or obstruction of justice.

Every employee for whom the city has discovered a post-1999 felony conviction has been fired, said OMI Director Mark Gissiner.

Those with older convictions may get only a two-week suspension for lying on job applications.

City officials admit that's not much of a punishment for someone who probably never would have been hired had they told the truth.

"In a situation like that, there would not be a disincentive to lie," said Mr. Prince. "If you can gain valuable employment based on your lying on an application, I would say that's a very serious act."

Precedents established at the Civil Service Commission have found that a two- to four-week suspension is the appropriate penalty for dishonesty.

City officials say they plan to standardize background checks for new employees.

"Every city in Ohio is starting to appreciate the gravity of this, and I'm glad we're out front in trying to deal with it," Mr. Gissiner said.

E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com