TEGGE, Marguerite A.

and reached into Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish’s office. CLEVELAND — Cuyahoga Budish, whose office invesCounty’s former jail director tigators with Ohio Attorney Ken Mills was sentenced FriGeneral Dave Yost’s office day to nine months in jail for raided nearly three years creating what a judge called ago, was never charged with “inhumane conditions.” a crime. A spokesman for

Retired Summit County Yost declined to say whether Common Pleas Court Judge the office is still investigating Patricia Cosgrove, who over- Budish or any other county saw the case as a visiting judge, official. said conditions inside the jail Budish’s criminal defense while Mills ran it were “horattorney, Larry Zukerman, rific.” She also said Mills’ push attended Mills’ sentence. to regionalize the jail and make The trial, which began in money off of inmates made a late August and featured tesbad situation in the jail worse. timony from more than two

Cosgrove raised her voice dozen public officials, coras she recounted how Mills rections officers and governdeprived inmates of food, ment staffers, painted a damnrunning water and physical ing portrait of Mills’ manageand mental health screenings. ment of the jail, and the Bud

“This is the United States of ish administration’s failure to America. This is not a third- manage Mills. world country,” Cosgrove Budish in 2015 tapped Mills, said. “There’s no excuse to who previously ran the agency treat other human beings in that oversees the county’s 911 this manner.” services, to direct jail opera-

Cosgrove said Mills’ actions tions under a newly created amounted to the worst form position of director of regional of the charges. corrections. Mills, who had

“I don’t know how you can never worked in a jail before, live with yourself or look at was in charge of expanding yourself in the mirror,” Costhe jail to house not just peo- grove said before imposing ple who were awaiting trial or the maximum sentence Mills serving a jail sentence, but faced after his conviction. also take hundreds of freshly

Mills, 56, was found guilty arrested inmates from Cleve- of two counts each of dereland and the county’s subliction of duty and falsifica- urbs. The county’s plan was tion, following a three-week to charge the municipalities trial the ended Sept. 10. A jury $99 per inmate per day to acquitted him of the only felhouse them to make money ony charge in the indictment, off the jail, according to court tampering with records. and public records.

Assistant Ohio Attorney Prosecutors at trial showed General Matthew Meyer asked that Mills ran budget projec- Cosgrove to impose the max- tions that showed the more imum sentence. inmates that could be packed

Mills declined to speak into the jail without hiring before he was sentenced. His more guards, the more money attorney, Kevin Spellacy, crit- the jail would make for the icized the case against Mills county. Corrections officers as hypocrisy and hollow. He testified that Mills told them suggested that those above that his job depended upon Mills in county government, his success at regionalizing including the sheriff and the the jail. sheriff ’s chief deputy, were Corrections officers, ser- responsible. geants, an associate warden

“If there was an alarm bell, and the county’s former bud- it was rung,” Spellacy said. get director all testified that “And the folks on Ninth Street they told Mills at various times did nothing.” that the jail, which at nearly

The courtroom was packed 2,000 inmates was already with family members of sev300 inmates over its capacity, eral inmates who died in the could not safely handle any jail after Mills’ push to fill the more inmates. Witnesses and facility with more inmates, emails showed that whenever while at the same time resist- Mills and then-Sheriff Clifford ing the hiring of corrections Pinkney, who was supposed officers or nursing staff. to be his boss on paper, dis

Among them was the sister agreed, Mills went around of Gregory Fox, who died by Pinkney to Budish’s adminissuicide after he hanged himtration to overrule him. self in his cell in August 2018. As Mills implemented the

The sister, who only iden- regionalization plan, the jail tified herself as Wendy, said became even more overMills’ policies that deprived crowded, swelling to more her brother and other inmates than 2,300 inmates. Inmates of adequate food, running were sleeping on floors, and water and medical attenMills used a portion of the tion amounted to abuse. jail that wasn’t being used to She asked Cosgrove to hold house Cleveland’s inmates. Mills accountable to the full- Testimony and photographs est extent possible. showed the area did not have

Civil rights attorney Paul running water, the toilets Cristallo, who is suing the didn’t flush and the door to county on behalf of several get into the area was too small former inmates and family for a stretcher to fit in. A cormembers of others who died, rections officer testified that said Mills created a culture guards called the area, “the in the jail of indifference to dungeon.” human life. Emails that prosecutors pre

“The evidence presented at sented during the trial also Mr. Mills’ trial showed noth- showed that Mills used his ing less than an account of an efforts to regionalize the jail institution that should not be to apply for the county’s direc- tolerated in a civilized soci- tor of public safety position ety,” Cristallo said. in late 2017. The promotion

Adam Chaloupka, an attorwould see him leapfrog the ney for the Ohio Patrolmen’s sheriff ’s position and become Benevolent Association, which Pinkney’s boss. is the union that represents Mills also sought to cut med- corrections officers, said in ical care the inmates received a written statement that the when they were first booked “Ken Mills era” in the jail was into the jail, and blocked a defined by extreme under- request that Pinkney and the staffing, redzoning and other MetroHealth doctor that overpractices that strained correc- sees medical services in the tions officers. jail submitted to the county

“While we have a long way for money to hire nurses. to go in undoing the damage Cuyahoga County Council’s he caused to the county jail, public safety committee held we hope whatever sentence a meeting on May 22, 2018 this Court imposes serves as during which Gary Brack, a a deterrent to current and nursing director for Metrofuture Cuyahoga County jail Health who worked in the jail, administrators and wardens,” accused Mills of obstructing Chaloupka wrote. efforts to hire nurses and get

Cuyahoga County Sheriff ’s inmates proper medical care. Department Sgt. Brian WilMills lied during the meeting liams, who testified at trial that and said he had never blocked he repeatedly warned Mills the hiring of any nurses. about the jail’s overcrowdBudish and his then-Chief ing and advised him to shut of Staff Earl Leiken responded down the jail at one point, to Brack’s claims by calling also attended the hearing. MetroHealth CEO Akram

The sentencing marked Boutros to a meeting the next what is likely to be the end day and asking him to remove of a sprawling investigation Brack from his post in the jail. into county government Leiken, who signed an agreethat began in the IT department with prosecutors to tesment, expanded into the tify in exchange for them not human resources departusing his statements to charge ment, encompassed the jail him with a crime, said neither he nor Budish ever looked into Brack’s claims about the nursing shortage.

Less than three weeks after the meeting, an inmate in the jail died. By the time Mills resigned in November, seven more inmates died, including several who did not receive a medical screening at intake.

More than two dozen lawsuits have been filed against the county over conditions in the jail.

Mills also lied to the state jail inspector in an effort to keep him from inspecting the Cuyahoga County Jail. He said it was “not their lane” to inspect the jail on overcrowding and red-zoning, and told Commins in a February 2017 email that the jail was not overcrowded or understaffed.

The next year, after several inmates died and scrutiny of the jail by news reporters and state and federal authorities began to mount, Mills sent an email to Budish in which he said the jail suffered from “historic understaffing” that predated his time.

Age 92, of Fairfield, Ohio, died peacefully surrounded by family on Tue., Oct. 5, 2021, at

Fort Hamilton Hospital. She was born in Hamilton, Ohio, on

July 18, 1929, the daughter of

Albert J. and Florence J.

(Buckner) Burkey. On Oct. 17,

1953, at St. Peter church, she married Thomas N. Tegge, who preceded her in death.

Marguerite was dedicated to her family and treasured spending time with them. She was a member of St. Ann Catholic Church, the Altar Rosary Society, Mercy Hospital Auxiliary and the K of C Auxiliary.

Survivors include her four children: Albert (Sharon) Tegge, Teresa (Greg) Sullivan, Mike (Paula) Tegge, and Tim (Jayne) Tegge. She also leaves eleven grandchildren, fourteen greatgrandchildren and her devoted sister-in-law, Sara Meyer. Besides her husband and parents, she was also preceded in death by her sister, Rita Burkey.

Visitation will be from 3:00-5:00 pm, Sunday, Oct. 10th, 2021, at Zettler Funeral Home, 2646 Pleasant Ave., Hamilton, Ohio. Prayers will be offered at 1:00pm Monday, October 11, 2021, in the funeral home, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 1:30pm in St. Ann Catholic Church, 3000 Pleasant Ave. Burial to follow at St. Mary Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to St. Ann Church or The Sight Center of Northwest Ohio. Online register book available at www.zettlerfuneralhome.com.