“We’re not lawyers,” Scioto County Commissioner Bryan Davis said in response to some intense questions regarding the state investigation of Scioto County Economic Development Director Robert Horton, who also serves as the President of the Southern Ohio Port Authority.
WNXT’s Bill Shope turned up at Thursday’s meeting with plenty of questions and plenty of documentation about a business deal. While the Ohio Auditor’s Office hasn’t said exactly what prompted their investigation, the information presented by Shope was concerning.
It concerned the awarding of a contract at the SOAR Business Park to O’Steel Buildings, a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina vendor that supplied material to the project. Documents from 2021 show Robert Horton listed as a representative of that company.
SCDN also received documents that show Horton and Davis’ wives formed an LLC called O’Steel Building Systems of Ohio back in 2022. SCDN inquired about this apparent conflict of interest at the time. We were told that the women had no interest or intent with any sales at the SOAR business park. In addition, we were threatened with a lawsuit if we insinuated that such a conflict existed. In addition, we were “shamed” for not supporting a small local female-owned business. Both women were listed on O’Steel’s website as representatives for the company in Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky. They have since been removed from the site.
The Southern Ohio Port Authority awarded $1.7 million in contracts to O’Steel Buildings between 2021 and 2022. All of these contracts were negotiated by Robert Horton in his capacity as President of SOPA.
When asked if Horton had ever told the county he was an agent for O’Steel, Commissioner Davis said, “You’re going to have to ask the Port Authority. We’re not privy to those notes.” Davis said no commissioners were in attendance at SOPA meetings where those contracts were discussed.
Shope presented a copy of a document, a proposal for another project in August of 2021, that showed that Horton also acted as a sales representative for O’Steel Buildings. According to the document, Horton was an O’Steel representative. Horton appears to have signed the document. SCDN received a copy of the document in question. At that time, Horton was both the Scioto County Economic Development Director and on the SOPA Board. Horton was listed as the salesperson and earned several thousand dollars in commissions from O’Steel.
Davis said that information was something the state auditor’s office would need to look into. “We’re not lawyers. Investigators/prosecutors. Whatever you want to call it. That’s something they have to determine. It may be part of the investigation.”
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