Mike Foley is why American’s no longer trust the government

To catch anybody up, last week Montgomery County Clerk of Courts Mike Foley, represented by Jon Paul Rion, entered a plea of no-contest to two of the seven charges (there were multiple counts on some) against Foley for crimes in office. The other 5 were dismissed. Visiting Judge Jonathan P. Hein then sentenced Foley immediately. This was supposedly all part of a deal that had been worked on for months. Then, Foley files to change his plea from no-contest to not-guilty and asks for a trial. Now, not only is this incredibly dumb, since he now knows how the judge feels about his actions that he was found guilty on, but now- all charges are open. It’s also not something you get to do unless you can demonstrate ‘manifest injustice,’ a legal term most people aren’t familiar with. It’s explained clearly in the Ohio Revised Code, and none of it should apply.

The bigger question is, why the turnaround? Either Foley, his attorney, and the judge, all didn’t understand that a “no-contest” plea is an admission of guilt, and by that action, he is no longer eligible to be in office, which means we should all be sitting wondering why the law hasn’t been enforced and Foley hasn’t had his keys to the county building taken away, or, they all know- and hope we the voters are stupid. Hell, we knew about his charges well before last November’s election where he beat the competent and worthy candidate, Lynn Cooper, mostly because his name is Foley and he spent a lot of money campaigning. He wasn’t even endorsed by his own party on the slate card. The voters should have known better, but apparently it’s become very unclear in this country which crimes you commit get you deported and which ones get you elected (Clerk of Courts or President).

Judge Hein sealed the records in this case. The Dayton Daily news sued to get them opened and were refused. Foley’s indictment was intertwined with one of Montgomery County Municipal Judge Jim Pierges, who was immediately removed from the bench. Why Foley got to keep his job and paycheck, and not at least be put on administrative leave is beyond comprehension.

The two charges that remained, after his no-contest plea was entered and he was found guilty, were:

• UNAUTHORIZED USE OF COMPUTER, CABLE OR TELECOMMUNICATION PROPERTY
• SOLICITATION OF POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PUBLIC EMPLOYEES

The Ohio Revised Code is crystal clear on these:

§ 2913.04 Unauthorized use of property; computer, cable, or telecommunication property or service; Ohio law enforcement gateway.

2913.01(K)“Theft offense” means any of the following:

(1) A violation of section 2911.01, 2911.02, 2911.11, 2911.12, 2911.13, 2911.31, 2911.32, 2913.02, 2913.03, 2913.04, 2913.041, 2913.05, 2913.06, 2913.08, 2913.11, 2913.21, 2913.31, 2913.32, 2913.33, 2913.34, 2913.40, 2913.42, 2913.43, 2913.44, 2913.45, 2913.47, 2913.48, former section 2913.47 or 2913.48, or section 2913.51, 2915.05, or 2921.41 of the Revised Code;

(2) A violation of an existing or former municipal ordinance or law of this or any other state, or of the United States, substantially equivalent to any section listed in division (K)(1) of this section or a violation of section 2913.41, 2913.81, or 2915.06 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1996;

(3) An offense under an existing or former municipal ordinance or law of this or any other state, or of the United States, involving robbery, burglary, breaking and entering, theft, embezzlement, wrongful conversion, forgery, counterfeiting, deceit, or fraud;

ORC Ann. 2913.01

The court sentenced Foley

“it is the Court’s finding that the Defendant is Guilty of Count 8 – Unauthorized Use of a Computer, contrary to R.C. 2913.41(B), a fifth-degree felony”

A felony theft offense is a an automatic disqualifying conviction for holding public office in Ohio. Read 2961.02 section B

(B) Any person who pleads guilty to a disqualifying offense and whose plea is accepted by the court or any person against whom a verdict or finding of guilt for committing a disqualifying offense is returned is incompetent to hold a public office or position of public employment or to serve as a volunteer, if holding the public office or position of public employment or serving as the volunteer involves substantial management or control over the property of a state agency, political subdivision, or private entity.

The question is, why wasn’t Foley immediately removed from office? Because, that was only the first charge. The second one also comes with a hammer:

ORC Section 3517.092 | Solicitation of political contributions from public employees by appointing authorities.

And if you do get caught, as Foley had, and sentenced to “contrary to R.C. 3517.092(C)(1)(a), a first-degree misdemeanor.”

This is the exact rule Section 2921.43 | Soliciting or accepting improper compensation that calls for him to be removed from office:

(C) No person for the benefit of a political party, campaign committee, legislative campaign fund, political action committee, or political contributing entity shall coerce any contribution in consideration of either of the following:

(1) Appointing or securing, maintaining, or renewing the appointment of any person to any public office, employment, or agency;

(2) Preferring, or maintaining the status of, any public employee with respect to compensation, duties, placement, location, promotion, or other material aspects of employment.

(D) Whoever violates this section is guilty of soliciting improper compensation, a misdemeanor of the first degree.

(E) A public servant who is convicted of a violation of this section is disqualified from holding any public office, employment, or position of trust in this state for a period of seven years from the date of conviction.

So once again, why is Foley still in office? Is the judge on the take? Is he incompetent? Or is there no willing to admit, that Foley broke the public’s trust? The judge gave his reason for sentencing lightly as:

the Court considers the Defendant’s long history of law-abiding conduct, his lack of substance abuse disorder, lack of mental health disorder, supportive family circumstances, stable housing and lifelong history of employment.

I always thought that serving the public trust, required a slightly higher standard- like DON’T BE A CROOK.

Regardless of next steps, Foley should be removed from office, and all the sealed evidence should be unsealed, at least on the 2 counts he was sentenced on, and this should be over. Or not? Does this go to trial, and drag out longer?

This is where the government is failing to represent the people, and it has a precedent right here in Dayton Ohio- and there needs to be some accountability of law enforcement for FAILING TO DO THEIR JOB WHEN IT INVOLVES PUBLIC OFFICIALS COMMITTING CRIMES.

Easy one: John Amos in the prosecutors department. And of course, since this is an Esrati.com link- Amos is only part of the story.

Or, let’s go to the “Culture of Corruption” where Joey D Williams was caught accepting bribes and instead of being charged with a felony and put in prison immediately, was allowed to not only finish his term, stand for re-election, win, and then resign, costing the voters a special election, and then wait an entire year plus before his indictment. Yes, you read it here first, including the actual FBI documentation of the first meeting.

The FBI and DOJ keep using GLOMAR and privacy as an excuse to not provide the tapes Williams and others undoubtedly made of former Mayor Nan Whaley (who is still pulling political strings in Dayton), even though we’ve seen the unsealed warrant allowing her wiretaps and investigation.

I’ve spent 4 years appealing my FOIA request, for the Nan Whaley Tapes.

So I started down a different path with a dead guy’s record, expecting they can’t use the same excuse of privacy. So far, I’ve won- but it’s been almost 7 months and I’ve yet to get an un-redacted record. Here’s the last filing which seems to have them stuck- and this is the first time I’ve revealed this inquiry.

The essentials of the document:

In December 2024, I submitted a FOIA request to the FBI for records on Robert Lewis Davis—Dayton police officer, veteran, and respected community member—who passed away in 2022. The request was simple: any records of his involvement in the “Culture of Corruption” investigation that shook Dayton politics from 2012 to 2022.

What I got in return? Blacked-out pages and an insult to transparency. The FBI used its favorite excuse—Glomar—and claimed Davis’s privacy needed protection, even from the grave.

Here’s why that response is not just wrong, but offensive:

The Key Arguments in My FOIA Appeal:

1. Davis is deceased. Privacy exemptions under FOIA don’t apply to the dead—especially when the release of the information would serve the public interest.
2. The documents are over a decade old. Whatever “ongoing investigation” excuses might have once existed, they’re irrelevant now.
3. Davis had an unblemished record. There is no legitimate reason to believe disclosure would be damaging to his reputation. In fact, the redactions create the opposite effect.
4. Glomar is being misused. It was intended for national security—not to cover up federal misconduct in a political corruption case.
5. There is a compelling public interest. The “Culture of Corruption” indictments exclusively targeted Black men. Meanwhile, white public officials with known involvement were protected or ignored.
6. The FBI and DOJ’s actions undermined elections. Commissioner Joey D. Williams ran for re-election while secretly cooperating as a CHS (Confidential Human Source). The public was never informed.
7. Selective prosecution stinks of systemic bias. Millions were defrauded at Wright State University with zero federal indictments for white officials involved. Yet a handful of Black defendants were paraded as trophies in a $250K sting.
8. The FBI redacted even the agents’ names. When law enforcement operates in the dark, accountability dies.
9. A Vaughn Index is required. By law, the agency must explain each redaction. They haven’t.
10. Transparency is necessary to restore faith in government. These files may show how and why the DOJ pulled its punches—and why Dayton citizens still don’t have answers.

I’m not letting this go. Not because I expect justice from this system—but because I refuse to let injustice go unnoticed.

And here we are back at the Foley case. Here’s the rub: because he wasn’t removed before the election, the Republican’s now get to choose a replacement without the voters weighing in. This isn’t OK. It’s rewarding criminality- and screwing the voters.
Here’s the 120 pages of the Foley case for those who want to read the whole thing:

Song: The Foley Files by David Esrati