Parole board member fired for ‘bribe’ attempt

A veteran Ohio Parole Board member has been fired for allegedly using his official position in an attempt to influence a State Highway Patrol trooper and avoid arrest for driving under the influence.

Michael Jackson, a parole board member since late 2012 and previously the superintendent of the Adult Patrol Authority for nearly three years, was fired by prisons director Gary Mohr on Feb. 26.

Jackson, 50, of Blacklick, pleaded not guilty to operating a vehicle while impaired, failure to drive in marked lanes and failing to wear a seat belt following his arrest by a state trooper on Nov. 12, according to Franklin County Municipal Court records. His case is scheduled for trial. A call to his lawyer was not returned.

In his letter dismissing Jackson, Mohr, director of the state Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Director, wrote: “You attempted to use your official position with the Parole Board and ODRC to influence the arresting law enforcement officer by repeatedly referencing where you worked and what your position was with ODRC.”

The letter claimed Jackson violated the prison agency’s standards of employee conduct by “misusing official position for person gain, to include but not limited to the accepting and soliciting of bribes in the course of carrying out assigned duties.”

Jackson also was cited for allegedly violating other workplace standards, including “dishonesty (and) drunkeness” that brought discredit to the department.

Jackson’s LinkedIn account states he began working for the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction as deputy superintendent of the Adult Parole Authority in 2003.

He was paid $106,058 in 2016, the latest year for which annual state salary figures are available. Parole board members decide whether state inmates should be freed from prison and placed under agency monitoring.

Andrew S. Baker, a Columbus lawyer listed as representing Jackson in court records, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Dispatch has requested the State Highway Patrol report on Jackson’s arrest, as well as any video captured of the traffic stop and his arrest along East Broad Street near his home.