CLEVELAND — Eric Ivey, the former warden of the Cuyahoga County Jail who was demoted to associate warden earlier this year, was given a suspended sentence Thursday after cutting a deal with prosecutors and pleading guilty to obstruction and falsification.
Eric Ivey was given a 180-day suspended sentence after pleading guilty to obstruction and falsification. The suspended sentence is contingent on Ivey's cooperation with the state in the on-going jail probe.
As part of his sentence, Ivey resigned from his position as associate warden at the jail, effective Thursday.
Ivey will be on probation for a year and will perform 200 hours of community service for breach of trust. He was also fined $1,000 for each count.
‘I am disappointed in you,” said Judge Nancy Fuerst. “We expect more of our public servants, don’t we?” Ivey responded in the affirmative.
Ivey's charges stem from an incident in which he allegedly ordered a corrections officer to shut off his body camera during an "emergency incident" that involved the death of an inmate. He also allegedly lied to investigators about the incident.
Ivey was demoted from warden to associate warden in February for violating the county nepotism policy, and was the part of the Nov. 2018 U.S. Marshals report outlining Ivey's performance as warden.
In a report obtained by News 5, Ivey's resume contained exaggerated statementssuch boasting that he "spearheaded the preparation and readiness for the Ohio State Jail Inspection in 2015 and 2016, first time center received full compliance."
As part of his guilty plea and deal, Ivey agreed to cooperate with state investigators in the on-going jail probe. He also agreed to resign from his position.
Aside from his charges related to problems at the jail, News 5 reported in March that Ivey was behind nearly $20,000 in property taxes to the county that signs his paycheck.
Ivey's vacant and unsecured home on Cleveland's East Side has been accruing the huge bill for several years, which includes delinquent water, sewer and lawn cutting fees, according to court records.
Ivey faced up to one year in jail on the misdemeanor charges.
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