Former London city auditor pleads guilty to theft in office

A former auditor for the city of London pleaded guilty to theft in office Wednesday for failing to pay thousands of dollars for his government health benefits and giving an unauthorized pay raise to a colleague.

Nicholas Szabo, 30, resigned in December when confronted with the allegations. Investigators with the Ohio auditor’s office found that he failed to reimburse the city more than $3,000 for his health-insurance costs.

Months after he became auditor on Jan. 1, 2016, he gave a payroll clerk a copy of an old city ordinance requiring the city to pay all health-insurance costs; a new law had voided that benefit. Officials said Szabo knew about the change because he was deputy auditor when it took effect.

Madison County Common Pleas Judge Eamon Costello could impose 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine for the fourth-degree felony at Szabo’s sentencing, scheduled for June 7.

“Crooks think they can outsmart everyone and can get away with stealing, but they are often wrong,” Auditor Dave Yost said in a written statement. “This man knew what he was doing was wrong, and he is paying the price: He’s now a felon. Once again, justice prevails.”

In May 2016, Szabo also gave an unauthorized pay raise to Debbie Elliott — at the time a clerk in his office. The city law director caught the error and voided the action.

Szabo also tried but failed to get Elliott a raise during a collective-bargaining negotiation. In December 2016, Szabo signed a memorandum of understanding giving Elliott a 4 percent raise even though he was not authorized to do so. The raise cost the city $2,000.

Robert Smith, assistant chief legal counsel for the state auditor, called Szabo’s motivation “a bit of a mystery” because he refused to be questioned by investigators.