Kudos to new member of command staff

BOUQUETS >> To Lorain police Sgt. Tabitha Angello, who became the first female member of the command staff of the Lorain Police Department

Angello, 41, took her oath of office Nov. 5 in front of family, friends, fellow officers, Lorain police Chief Cel Rivera and Mayor Chase Ritenauer in Lorain City Council chambers

Afterward, Angello was offered a steady flow of handshakes and hugs of congratulations.

Angello, a Lorain native, said, “I thank everyone for coming. I appreciate everyone that’s guided me this far, and I look forward to the new challenges of being promoted to sergeant.”

Ritenauer administered the oath of office, but Angello tapped her daughter, Brianna Cirilo, to pin on her new badge.

Angello was assigned to the detective bureau, specializing in sex crimes, children’s services investigations and property crimes.

Ritenauer called Angello a trailblazer in the Police Department and said he could not think of a more fitting candidate.

We applaud and commend Angello’s historic appointment.

BOUQUETS >>

To El Centro de Servicios Sociales, a Hispanic-Latino nonprofit organization located at 2800 Pearl Ave. in Lorain, whose mission is to provide essential social, educational, cultural and community development services, for celebrating 44 years of serving Lorain County residents.

El Centro hosted its annual gala Nov. 3 at New Russia Township Hall with traditional Latin food and live music.

Emanuel Pedraza, outgoing operations manager at El Centro who served as master of ceremonies, said the evening was about celebrating Lorain County.

And El Centro Executive Director Victor Leandry was upbeat because the organization recently was honored with two Ohio and one national award for its work in 2018.

Leandry said, “This year, we have concentrated our work on the families that have come from Puerto Rico, over 300 families that we serve and that’s an amount of almost 2,000 new residents in Lorain County that we were the first contact. So, it’s a great night to celebrate.”

We congratulate El Centro for the hard work it has done in 44 years of helping the community.

BRICKBATS >>

To C. David Snyder, the 61-year-old Rocky River businessman who will serve two years in prison for embezzlement and tax crimes totaling more than $780,000.

Earlier this year, a federal jury convicted Snyder, who was chairman, president and chief executive officer of Attevo Inc., a technology consulting company headquartered in Cleveland, on six charges related to embezzling $126,000 from an employee retirement fund and collecting nearly $860,000 from his employees, but not paying the money to the IRS.

Snyder also served as chairman and primary shareholder at Ruralogic Inc., headquartered in Bryan, Ohio.

Snyder earned income from Attevo totaling $1.6 million between 2009 and 2012.

U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said, “This defendant embezzled money from his employees and pocketed taxes he took out of their paychecks, which he used to pay for his vacation home, swimming pool renovation and to otherwise fund his lifestyle.”

Just look at where Snyder ended up because of his greed.

In addition to prison, he’ll have to pay $781,000 in restitution.

Good for him.

BRICKBATS >>

To Erique McBerry, 21, and Ethan Schuster, 20, both of Elyria, who earned the right to spend five years in prison for shooting at a woman in December who was driving on North Abbe Road in Elyria.

McBerry and Schuster pleaded guilty to four counts of felonious assault and single counts of improper discharge of firearm into a habitation or school safety zone, theft, tampering with evidence, discharge of a firearm near a prohibited premises, receiving stolen property and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle.

Elyria police Capt. Christopher Costantino said officers responded to a report of multiple shots fired at 9:06 p.m., Dec. 4, and met with the victim who said she was driving with two males in her sedan on the North Abbe Road curb lane when a black vehicle pulled up next to her and two men started firing shots toward her.

Police observed that three shots struck her car; one near the wheel, one by the vehicle’s grill and one hit the driver’s side mirror.

A short time later, officers arrested McBerry and Schuster, who are lucky no one died or they could have faced life in prison.

But, five years of restricted freedom is a long time for them to think about their stupidity.