Letter Gives A Few Clues In Mayor Inquiry

By Bruce Kettelle

The anonymous letter that sparked a state investigation of Trotwood Mayor Darreyl Davis was released to Totally Trotwood last week. The April 13, 2009 letter was obtained from the State Inspector General’s office after an eight-month investigation.

Clues to the identity of the mystery writer remain sketchy. In the letter the writer claims to be retired from General Motors. They also mention they met with the Mayor “several times this week to discuss what he plans on doing for Trotwood.”

The letter questions why the Mayor’s meetings were during the business day when he is supposed to be working full time for the Ohio Department of Transportation. Davis was a salaried supervisor at ODOT during that time.

The letter is addressed to Rex Dickey the ODOT District 7 Deputy Director where Davis was employed. Davis retired from his ODOT post in September.

The investigation conducted by the Ohio Inspector General uncovered personal phone calls and emails conducted on state time. Those results were forwarded to ODOT and prosecutors for review.

Totally Trotwood visited the Trotwood city offices last week to review city records related to the investigation. The inspector general’s office subpoenaed 100’s of pages of emails, memos, and expense records from the city. Copies of those records revealed five people’s names requesting meetings with the Mayor around the time of the letter. None of them met with the mayor “several times.”

In a phone interview this week Davis said he is not searching for the letter writer but the contents of the letter did not give him any new clues. “I haven’t done anything improper,” said Davis. He has retained legal counsel to help defend him.

The investigation also uncovered a finders fee paid to a friend of Davis by a Trotwood contractor. Davis maintains he did not find out about the fee until after the city council voted on the contract.

For now the identity of the letter writer remains a mystery.

Click here to see the complete anonymous letter.