sujhelyi@reviewonline.com
EAST LIVERPOOL — A city judge made quick work of a bench trial against the city’s former safety-service director, who pled no contest to a municipal tax offense.
With a change of plea by Brian Allen, of South Shadylane Drive, to a failure to file a city income tax return, East Liverpool Municipal Court Judge Dominic Frank fined him $50 plus costs within minutes Wednesday morning. A similar charge against Allen’s wife was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Assistant City Law Director John Gamble was there representing the city and said the matter didn’t center around Allen’s failure to pay city income taxes but file the return, which is mandatory for city residents. At this point, all his paperwork is filed and the taxes paid (they had been done so by his employer at the time), so he was just fined the $50.