Chief's discrepancies irrelevant, witness says

Fostoria Police Chief John McGuire, left, listens to his attorney Dean Henry during his trial for tampering with records in the resume he presented when applying for the job

TIFFIN - A consultant who facilitated the search committee for a new police chief in Fostoria insisted in court yesterday that she had no indication that John McGuire had provided false information on his resume and application.

Kathy Healy, who at the time was a senior consultant with Clemans, Nelson & Associates in Lima, Ohio, was the first witness to take the stand yesterday in Seneca County Common Pleas Court when Mr. McGuire's trial on falsification and tampering with records charges got under way.

Special Prosecutor Ryan Hoovler said he planned to call representatives of the departments where Mr. McGuire worked before being hired in Fostoria last year, including three where the chief allegedly submitted false information when he applied to them.

Mr. McGuire, 38, was hired last year to replace former Chief Dennis Day, who had been fired for misconduct.

Asked about discrepancies in his resume and application, Ms. Healy dismissed them as having been explained by Mr. McGuire or irrelevant in the search for a new chief.

While Mr. McGuire said he had been a "police lieutenant" with the "Cleveland Police - Municipal School District Division of Safety and Security," the security agency was not an accredited police department. Ms. Healy said Mr. McGuire had told the committee the agency was working toward accreditation.

Asked about the bachelor's degree in criminal justice the chief claimed on his resume to have from Concordia University in St. John, Va. - it was a mail-order degree from Concordia College and University in the Virgin Islands - Ms. Healy said Mr. McGuire explained that the firm that put his resume together mistook the V.I. for Virginia and typed it incorrectly. She said the issue was "not given much weight because a BA degree, or even an associate" degree was not required for the job.

Mr. Hoovler said Mr. McGuire also claimed to be a lieutenant with the Upper Sandusky Police Department when in fact he worked as an auxiliary officer.