Burns enters not guilty plea

Burns, 54, pleaded not guilty to 25 charges and was ordered held in the Lucas County jail in lieu of a $250,000 bond.

Burns, recently sent to prison for stealing money from the Cleveland Metropolitan Public Schools district, is accused of implementing a scheme that defrauded TPS of $687,694.75 between 2002 and 2006.

Judge Ruth Ann Franks set a Dec. 13 trial date.

"We'll be ready for trial," said John Weglian, chief of the special units division for the Lucas County Prosecutor's Office. He added that he anticipates the trial to be a lengthy one.

Burns is charged with one

count each of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, theft, and theft in office, as well as 22 counts of tampering with records. If convicted, he faces up to 133 years in prison.

Authorities said Burns and accused co-conspirator John Briggle are accused of orchestrating a scheme in which Briggle's printing company, Superior Offset Supplies, billed TPS for thousands of dollars' worth of supplies and services that were never delivered. Briggle would create fraudulent invoices and submit them to Burns, who is accused of having them paid.

The pair then would allegedly split the proceeds.

The two men continued the alleged scheme in Cleveland, where they have each been convicted and sentenced to time in prison. Burns has begun serving a six-year sentence in that case.

Attorney Steve Hartman, who represents Burns, said his client maintains his innocence and instead pointed the finger at Briggle. Although acknowledging that Burns had been found guilty of a similar scheme in Cleveland, Mr. Hartman said the local charges are still allegations.

"He was not a part of any scheme with John Briggle in Toledo," he said. "He has maintained that from day one, that he got taken advantage of, just like the school system, by a guy who appears to be a career criminal."

In a written statement, TPS Superintendent Jerome Pecko said the district does not plan to comment on the pending criminal case. "The district has cooperated fully with the prosecutor's office in the preparation of their case against Mr. Burns," he said. "TPS administrators continue to work diligently with the bonding agencies to recoup losses the district has sustained."

The district sued Burns and Briggle in a civil complaint earlier this year for the money. The case is pending in Common Pleas Court.

Briggle, 56, is awaiting a Nov. 2 trial in another Lucas County courtroom for similar allegations related to thefts from TPS. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and six counts of tampering with records.

Earlier this week, Judge James Bates sentenced Briggle to two years in prison for a similar but unrelated scheme that resulted in thefts from Toledo Hospital. The time was ordered to run consecutively to the four years in prison he received as a result of his plea to thefts from Cleveland schools.

Assistant prosecutors said Briggle continues to cooperate and has agreed to testify at Burns' trial. The two men are the only ones suspected of participating in the fraud, authorities said.

Assistant County Prosecutor Kevin Pittuch said that the numerous charges Burns faces are a result of alleged activity over several years.

He said the theft and corrupt activity charges allege a continuous course of activity, and the tampering-with-records counts relate to specific incidents when a fraudulent invoice was allegedly submitted.

"These were the 22 occasions that he represented he was either purchasing services or equipment on behalf of the school district," Mr. Pittuch said, adding that these transactions "did not exist."

"Every time you create a record that is fictitious, it evolves into a charge of tampering with records," he said.

Burns was a 30-year employee of TPS, starting in the print shop and ending as chief business manager.

He retired in June, 2006, and followed TPS Superintendent Eugene Sanders to the Cleveland district, where Burns was hired as chief operating officer.

It was while in Cleveland that an employee noticed something unusual with Burns' activities, prompting an investigation. The investigation led to further inquiry into his tenure at TPS.

Burns was found guilty by a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas jury of racketeering, theft in office, and tampering with records. On July 14, he was sentenced to six years in prison.

Assistant Prosecutor David Cooper characterized the allegations in Lucas County as similar to the Cuyahoga County case.

"It is essentially the same case with a different victim and different time and place," he said.

Contact Erica Blake at:

eblake@theblade.com

or 419-213-2134.