Ex-Akron police chief charged criminally after 4-month probe
The bombshell AKRON — allegations that led to the resignation early last year of former Akron police chief James Nice have resulted in a single misdemeanor charge announced Friday.
Special prosecutors were called in four months ago to investigate still-murky criminal allegations against Nice, who became the city’s top cop in 2011 after retiring from the FBI.
Because the charge against Nice comes as a bill of information — which sidesteps a grand jury, an indictment and a trial — it appears that he cut a deal with prosecutors. Defendants often agree to a bill of information when a favorable plea agreement is reached to avoid additional or more serious charges against them.
The charge — attempted unauthorized use of property — involves a state-operated law enforcement database called LEADS that police use to gain all sort of information from learning if someone has an outstanding warrant during a traffic stop to finding a home address of a suspect. While taxpayer funded, the database is private and only intended for use by law enforcement in the performance of their duties.
The charge doesn’t specify how Nice tried to use LEADS and prosecutors, through a spokesman, declined to elaborate.
Cuyahoga County prosecutors filed the information against Nice in Summit County. A bailiff for Judge Amy Corrigall Jones said Jones expects to decide today how to handle the case.
The alleged crime
Nice attempted to use LEADS in February, according to court paperwork.
That dovetails with when the former chief ’s nephew, Joe Nice, went to rehab, leaving his Firestone Park used car lot unattended.
Until then, James and Joe Nice saw each other almost daily, often at the car lot.
But when Joe Nice returned from rehab, he discovered about 20 of 30 cars missing from his lot and that he was facing criminal charges for ripping off customers.
Joe Nice told investigators he was a victim, blaming his uncle the police chief and another man. One of the cars from the lot, a lawyer discovered, ended up with the stepson of an Akron police officer with whom James Nice has since conceded to having a sexual relationship.
But no one appeared to believe Joe. Frustrated, Joe in August told an Akron police officer he might go public with a series of allegations against his uncle, including criminal wrongdoing involving the dealership.
Within 48 hours, and under pressure from Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan, James Nice resigned.
Soon, all charges were dropped against Joe. And, at the request of Summit County prosecutors, Cuyahoga County prosecutors were brought into to investigate the former chief.
Neither James Nice nor his attorney, Henry Hilow — a former Cuyahoga County prosecutor who often handles some of the highest profile cases in that county involving public officials — could be reached Friday.
And Cuyahoga County prosecutors involved in the former chief ’s case declined Friday to comment through a spokesperson.
It appears the public may never fully learn what happened.
Because there will likely be no trial, most details of the criminal investigation into Nice will not be made public.
City officials are not privy to the results of the independent investigation, city spokesperson Ellen Lander-Nischt said Friday.
And police are not conducting an internal review because Nice “resigned and is no longer an employee,” she said.