To the editor:

Under the guise of educating voters, Tony Kendall, our County Prosecutor, has attacked my qualifications and reputation and questioned my law enforcement service. Here are the facts.

I have a bachelor’s degree in organizational management and a master’s in business and organizational security management. The Sheriff’s Office employs approximately 120 employees. In contrast, I have led groups of 190 people and directly participated in security planning for events of over 70,000 people. I’ve also served as a Detachment Commander, Team Chief, and Special Agent in Charge of Special Events Security Manager for the Pentagon. As for money management, I have been responsible for multi-million-dollar assets and sensitive equipment.

Kendall erroneously claimed I was a part-time employee at six police agencies, was never promoted, and never held a supervisory position. However, the Ohio Revised Code recognizes federal law enforcement as full-time law enforcement. I worked full-time as a law enforcement officer in Miami and Montgomery counties for 26 years and 25 years in military law enforcement.

I earned eight military promotions and a commission as a Warrant Officer – a designation of expertise. To graduate, I was required to demonstrate mental and physical toughness and leadership skills. In contrast, my opponent took one test to become a sergeant; all subsequent advancements were by appointment only.

As a Special Agent with the Army Criminal Investigation Division Command, I was one of nearly 3,000 personnel assigned to 124 locations worldwide. Responsibilities included investigating felonies, war crimes, terrorism, forensics, and cyber-crime and for providing protective services for the Secretary of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and foreign counterparts.

Kendall claimed I failed to pay taxes. Fact: income earned during military mobilization is sometimes taxed when it should not be. This issue impacts thousands of reserve service members who maintain two households while mobilized serving our country. Our taxes are paid in full; we are due a refund, and the associated lien removal paperwork is in progress.

Kendall claimed that I settled a lawsuit to avoid losing. No, in 2020, I filed a complaint against my opponent and the county prosecutor with the Ohio Ethics Commission, the Ohio Attorney General, and the Office of Special Counsel Federal Hatch Act Unit. Violations

included tampering with records, releasing confidential law enforcement investigatory records to private individuals, and falsifying documents. In response, the Sheriff’s Office distributed the altered copy, which then became the basis for a $1M retaliatory lawsuit against me.

A comparison revealed that someone at the Sheriff’s Office altered an original document to conceal that my personal cell phone records had been obtained using a Grand Jury inquiry while I was running for Sheriff. Following the unanticipated disclosure of that altered document, the plaintiff offered to settle his lawsuit against me. His attorneys offered to settle, and my insurance company agreed to settle for ten thousand dollars, not I.

All that said, my goal in running for Sheriff is not one of retribution but to make Miami County a safe place to live, work, and raise a family.

I would be honored to receive your vote.

Paul L. Reece

Piqua