By Dan Horn
and Sharon Turco
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Ohio Treasurer Joe Deters was cleared of wrongdoing Friday when a grand jury found that neither he nor anyone on his staff attempted to cover up a theft from the evidence room while he was Hamilton County prosecutor.

The announcement ended a three-month investigation into the theft of $2,817 from the evidence room in 1996.

Although a former prosecutor's investigator, Pete Marshall, has been charged with the theft, the grand jury spent several weeks trying to determine whether Deters or anyone else knew about the theft and attempted to conceal it.

"We found no evidence of any irregularities," said Jim Applegate, an assistant special prosecutor who helped investigate the case. "There was no evidence at all that Mr. Deters committed any criminal acts."

Deters and his top aide, Jim Harper, testified before the grand jury this week. Deters' lawyers said questions about the theft focused on "who knew what, when they knew it and what they did."

Deters could not be reached Friday. He has previously said he remembered something missing, but he had never heard about a theft allegation.

Marshall's lawyer, William Whalen, said prosecutors had indicated that if Marshall could implicate others, it would "be taken into consideration." Marshall, who faces a March 17 trial on charges of theft in office, said Deters had done nothing wrong.

"The reason the grand jury found no wrongdoing was because there was no wrongdoing," said Scott Croswell, one of Deters' lawyers.

Croswell was critical of media coverage of the case and complained that "leaks" to reporters about the investigation unfairly cast suspicion on Deters.

He said Prosecutor Mike Allen, who took over when Deters left office in 1996, was right to ask for a special prosecutor to investigate.

Allen said Friday that he had no choice but to step aside because the allegations involved a theft in his office.

The special prosecutor, Pierce Cunningham, said Friday that he would write a report with recommendations on improving oversight in the evidence room.

Cunningham said the most important recommendation would be to store cash separately, possibly in a vault or bank.