By Scott Halasz
XENIA — Xenia City Councilman Dale Louderback and former Councilman John Caupp have been cleared of any wrong doing by the Ohio Ethics Commission regarding their alleged participating in a proposed entertainment center.
The case was sent to the commission by city council last year after the two announced they had accepted job offers with Creative Entertainment Concepts, which was leading the development of the proposed entertainment center and movie theater in Xenia Towne Square.
Louderback and Caupp subsequently declined the employment but were found to have violated the Xenia City Charter by council after an inquiry into their alleged activities.
According to a letter dated Aug. 9 obtained by the Xenia Gazette through a public records request, the commission met Aug. 1 and determined its “investigation found insufficient evidence to support violation of any ethics laws. The investigation found that Louderback and Caupp did not accept the positions offered by Creative Entertainment Concepts (CEC).”
The letter also states that the state auditor and ethics commission have closed their investigations regarding the matter.
“We’re relieved,” said Louderback, who was re-elected to council in November. “From the beginning we said the charges were without merit and were confident we were going to be exonerated.”
Council President Mike Engle said city council and the city also considers the case closed.
“The council respects the ethics commission’s process … ,” he said.
