County commissioner, wife, indicted for public corruption

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) – A grand jury indicted a southern Ohio county commissioner and his wife on charges of operating a kickback scheme involving public contracts with the Southern Ohio Port Authority.

State Auditor Keith Faber announced the 13-count felony indictment of Bryan Davis, a Scioto County commissioner accused of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity involving bribes and public contracts.

His wife, Lorinda Sue Davis, faces 10 felony counts.

“This is an outright abuse of the public trust,” Faber said. “We will work to ensure justice is served for the people of Scioto County.”

Two others were indicted earlier in the same corruption scheme.

Robert Horton, who led the Southern Ohio Port Authority and the Scioto County Economic Development Department, was indicted in February on 15 counts.

His wife, Lioubov Horton, was indicted on 12 criminal counts.

The recently released indictment says Horton received kickbacks for public contracts for construction at the Southern Ohio Aeronautical Regional Business Park, and Bryan Davis used his position as county commissioner to secure the contract and public funding.

It also alleges Lioubov Horton and Lorinda Davis received kickback payments through a consulting firm they owned.

The indictment also says the four met in person and talked about ways to give false information to investigators and falsify records.

Faber’s Special Investigations Unit began to look at the four after a complaint of an unlawful interest in a public contract between the Southern Ohio Port Authority and an out-of-state company for a building at the business park.

Bryan Davis has been charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, theft in office, money laundering, aggravated theft, tampering with evidence, attempted tampering with evidence, receiving stolen property, forgery, obstructing justice, tampering with records and filing incomplete, false, and fraudulent returns.

Lorinda Sue Davis is charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, money laundering, tampering with evidence, attempted tampering with evidence, receiving stolen property, forgery, obstructing justice, tampering with records and filing incomplete, false, and fraudulent returns.