Former Uhrichsville Mayor Mark Haney has entered not guilty pleas to charges accusing him of receiving improper compensation.
Haney had an arraignment hearing on Wednesday in the courtroom of Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court Judge Elizabeth Thomakos, who read the four counts from a July 11th Grand Jury indictment. They are theft in office, a fourth-degree felony, two counts of tampering with records, third-degree felonies, and soliciting improper compensation, a misdemeanor.
Haney was allowed to leave the courtroom on his own recognizance.
The judge scheduled a telephone pretrial for October 6th. The State Auditor’s Office announced Haney’s indictment in a July 15th press release. It says the auditor’s Special Investigations Unit launched an investigation in January 2024 after receiving a complaint “alleging Haney improperly received reimbursements for meals, mileage, and other purchases and that he had used city credit cards on personal purchases.”
Haney served one term as Uhrichsville’s mayor. He was defeated in the 2023 democratic primary by current mayor Jim Zucal. The theft in office charge is a fourth-degree felony, indicating the value of the property or services involved is between $1,000 and $7,500.
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