Chapter 177 | Investigation and Prosecution of Organized Criminal Activity

Section 177.01 | Organized crime investigations commission.

• Effective: January 1, 1999
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 2 - 122nd General Assembly

(A) The organized crime investigations commission, consisting of seven members, is hereby established in the office of the attorney general. One of the members shall be the attorney general. Of the remaining members, each of whom shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate, two shall be prosecuting attorneys, two shall be county sheriffs, and two shall be chief municipal law enforcement officers. No more than four members of the commission shall be members of the same political party.

Of the initial appointments to the commission, one member who is a prosecuting attorney and one who is a county sheriff each shall be appointed for terms ending September 3, 1987, one member who is a prosecuting attorney and one who is a chief municipal law enforcement officer each shall be appointed for terms ending September 3, 1988, and one member who is a county sheriff and one who is a chief municipal law enforcement officer each shall be appointed for terms ending September 3, 1989. Thereafter, terms of office of persons appointed to the commission shall be for three years, with each term ending on the same day of the same month of the year as did the term that it succeeds. Members may be reappointed. Each appointed member shall hold office from the date of the member's appointment until the end of the term for which the member was appointed, except that an appointed member who ceases to hold the office or position of prosecuting attorney, county sheriff, or chief municipal law enforcement officer prior to the expiration of the member's term of office on the commission shall cease to be a member of the commission on the date that the member ceases to hold the office or position. Vacancies shall be filled in the manner provided for original appointments. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall take office on the commission when the member is confirmed by the senate and shall hold office for the remainder of such term. Any member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of the member's term until the member's successor takes office, or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first.

The attorney general shall become a member of the commission on September 3, 1986. Successors in office to that attorney general shall become members of the commission on the day they assume the office of attorney general. An attorney general's term of office as a member of the commission shall continue for as long as the person in question holds the office of attorney general.

Each member of the commission may designate, in writing, another person to represent the member on the commission. If a member makes such a designation, either the member or the designee may perform the member's duties and exercise the member's authority on the commission. If a member makes such a designation, the member may revoke the designation by sending written notice of the revocation to the commission. Upon such a revocation, the member may designate a different person to represent the member on the commission by sending written notice of the designation to the commission at least two weeks prior to the date on which the new designation is to take effect.

The attorney general or a person the attorney general designates pursuant to this division to represent the attorney general on the commission shall serve as chairperson of the commission. The commission shall meet within two weeks after all appointed members have been appointed, at a time and place determined by the governor. The commission shall organize by selecting a vice-chairperson and other officers who are necessary and shall adopt rules to govern its procedures. Thereafter, the commission shall meet at least once every six months, or more often upon the call of the chairperson or the written request of two or more members. Each member of the commission shall have one vote. Four members constitute a quorum, and four votes are required to validate an action of the commission.

The members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but each member shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties. In the absence of the chairperson, the vice-chairperson shall perform the duties of the chairperson.

(B) The commission shall coordinate investigations of organized criminal activity and perform all of the functions and duties relative to the investigations that are set forth in section 177.02 of the Revised Code, and it shall cooperate with departments and officers of the government of the United States in the suppression of organized criminal activity.

(C) The commission shall appoint and fix the compensation of a director and such technical and clerical employees who are necessary to exercise the powers and carry out the duties of the commission, may enter into contracts with one or more consultants to assist in exercising those powers and carrying out those duties, and may enter into contracts and purchase any equipment necessary to the performance of its duties. The director and employees of the commission shall be members of the unclassified service as defined in section 124.11 of the Revised Code. The commission shall require the director and each employee, prior to commencing employment with the commission, to undergo an investigation for the purpose of obtaining a security clearance and, after the initial investigation, may require the director and each employee to undergo an investigation for that purpose at any time during the director's or employee's employment with the commission. The commission may require any consultant with whom it contracts to undergo an investigation for the purpose of obtaining a security clearance. An investigation under this division may include, but is not limited to, a polygraph examination and shall be conducted by an organization designated by the commission.

(D) An appointed commission member may be removed from office as a member of the commission by the vote of four members of the commission or by the governor for any of the following reasons:

(1) Neglect of duty, misconduct, incompetence, or malfeasance in office;

(2) Conviction of or a plea of guilty to a felony or an offense of moral turpitude;

(3) Being mentally ill or mentally incompetent;

(4) Being the subject of an investigation by a task force established by the commission or another law enforcement agency, where the proof of criminal activity is evident or the presumption great;

(5) Engaging in any activity or associating with any persons or organization inappropriate to the member's position as a member of the commission.

(E) As used in sections 177.01 to 177.03 of the Revised Code:

(1) "Organized criminal activity" means any combination or conspiracy to engage in activity that constitutes "engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity;" any violation, combination of violations, or conspiracy to commit one or more violations of section 2925.03, 2925.04, 2925.05, 2925.06, or 2925.11 of the Revised Code other than a violation of section 2925.11 of the Revised Code that is a minor drug possession offense; or any criminal activity that relates to the corruption of a public official, as defined in section 2921.01 of the Revised Code, or of a public servant of the type described in division (B)(3) of that section.

(2) A person is engaging in an activity that constitutes "engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity" if any of the following apply:

(a) The person is or was employed by, or associated with, an enterprise and the person conducts or participates in, directly or indirectly, the affairs of the enterprise through a pattern of corrupt activity or the collection of an unlawful debt.

(b) The person, through a pattern of corrupt activity or the collection of an unlawful debt, acquires or maintains, directly or indirectly, an interest in, or control of, an enterprise or real property.

(c) The person knowingly has received proceeds derived, directly or indirectly, from a pattern of corrupt activity or the collection of an unlawful debt and the person uses or invests, directly or indirectly, a part of those proceeds, or proceeds derived from the use or investment of any of those proceeds, in the acquisition of title to, or a right, interest, or equity in, real property or the establishment or operation of an enterprise. A purchase of securities on the open market with intent to make an investment, without intent to control or participate in the control of the issuer, and without intent to assist another to do so is not an activity that constitutes "engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity" if the securities of the issuer held after the purchase by the purchaser, the members of the purchaser's immediate family, and the purchaser's or members' accomplices in any pattern of corrupt activity or the collection of an unlawful debt, do not aggregate one per cent of the outstanding securities of any one class of the issuer and do not confer, in law or in fact, the power to elect one or more directors of the issuer.

(3) "Pattern of corrupt activity" means two or more incidents of corrupt activity, whether or not there has been a prior conviction, that are related to the affairs of the same enterprise, are not isolated, and are not so closely related to each other and connected in time and place that they constitute a single event. At least one of the incidents forming the pattern shall occur on or after September 3, 1986. Unless any incident was an aggravated murder or murder, the most recent of the incidents forming the pattern shall occur within six years after the commission of any prior incident forming the pattern, excluding any period of imprisonment served by any person engaging in the corrupt activity.

(4) "Corrupt activity," "unlawful debt," "enterprise," "person," "real property," and "beneficial interest" have the same meanings as in section 2923.31 of the Revised Code.

(5) "Minor drug possession offense" has the same meaning as in section 2925.01 of the Revised Code.

Section 177.011 | Organized crime commission fund.

• Effective: June 30, 1997
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 215 - 122nd General Assembly

There is hereby created in the state treasury the organized crime commission fund. The fund shall consist of moneys paid to the treasurer of state pursuant to the judgment of a court in a criminal case as reimbursement of expenses that the organized crime investigations commission or an organized crime task force established by the commission incurred in the investigation of the criminal activity upon which the prosecution of the criminal case was based. All investment earnings on moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund. The organized crime investigations commission shall use the moneys in the fund to reimburse political subdivisions for the expenses the political subdivisions incur when their law enforcement officers participate in an organized crime task force.

Section 177.02 | Complaint that alleges that organized criminal activity has occurred in county.

• Effective: October 17, 2019
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 166 - 133rd General Assembly

(A) Any person may file with the organized crime investigations commission a complaint that alleges that organized criminal activity has occurred in a county. A person who files a complaint under this division also may file with the commission information relative to the complaint.

(B) Upon the filing of a complaint under division (A) of this section or upon its own initiative, the commission may establish an organized crime task force to investigate organized criminal activity in a single county or in two or more counties if it determines, based upon the complaint filed and the information relative to it or based upon any information that it may have received, that there is reason to believe that organized criminal activity has occurred and continues to occur in that county or in each of those counties. The commission shall not establish an organized crime task force to investigate organized criminal activity in any single county unless it makes the determination required under this division relative to that county and shall not establish an organized crime task force to investigate organized criminal activity in two or more counties unless it makes the determination required under this division relative to each of those counties. The commission, at any time, may terminate an organized crime task force it has established under this section.

(C)(1) If the commission establishes an organized crime task force to investigate organized criminal activity in a single county or in two or more counties pursuant to division (B) of this section, the commission initially shall appoint a task force director to directly supervise the investigation. The task force director shall be either the sheriff or a deputy sheriff of any county in the state, the chief law enforcement officer or a member of a law enforcement agency of any municipal corporation or township in the state, or an agent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation. No person shall be appointed as task force director without the person's consent and, if applicable, the consent of the person's employing sheriff or law enforcement agency or of the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation if the person is an employee of the bureau. Upon appointment of a task force director, the commission shall meet with the director and establish the scope and limits of the investigation to be conducted by the task force and the size of the task force investigatory staff to be appointed by the task force director. The commission, at any time, may remove a task force director appointed under this division and may replace any director so removed according to the guidelines for the initial appointment of a director.

(2) A task force director appointed under this section shall assemble a task force investigatory staff, of a size determined by the commission and the director, to conduct the investigation. Unless it appears to the commission and the director, based upon the complaint filed and any information relative to it or based upon any information that the commission may have received, that there is reason to believe that the office of the prosecuting attorney of the county or one of the counties served by the task force is implicated in the organized criminal activity to be investigated, one member of the investigatory staff shall be the prosecuting attorney or an assistant prosecuting attorney of the county or one of the counties served by the task force. If a prosecuting attorney or assistant prosecuting attorney is not a participating member of the task force, the office of the attorney general shall provide legal assistance to the task force upon request. Each of the other members of the investigatory staff shall be either the sheriff or a deputy sheriff of any county in the state, the chief law enforcement officer or a member of a law enforcement agency of any municipal corporation or township in the state, or an agent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation. No person shall be appointed to the investigatory staff without the person's consent and, if applicable, the consent of the person's employing sheriff or law enforcement agency or the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation if the person is an employee of the bureau. To the extent possible, the investigatory staff shall be composed of persons familiar with investigatory techniques that generally would be utilized in an investigation of organized criminal activity. To the extent practicable, the investigatory staff shall be assembled in such a manner that numerous law enforcement agencies within the county or the counties served by the task force are represented on the investigatory staff. The investigatory staff shall be assembled in such a manner that at least one sheriff, deputy sheriff, municipal corporation law enforcement officer, or township law enforcement officer from each of the counties served by the task force is represented on the investigatory staff. A task force director, at any time, may remove any member of the investigatory staff the task force director has assembled under this division and may replace any member so removed according to the guidelines for the initial assembly of the investigatory staff.

(3) The commission may provide an organized crime task force established under this section with technical and clerical employees and with equipment necessary to efficiently conduct its investigation into organized criminal activity.

(4) Upon the establishment of a task force, the commission shall issue to the task force director and each member of the task force investigatory staff appropriate credentials stating the person's identity, position, and authority.

(D)(1) A task force investigatory staff, during the period of the investigation for which it is assembled, is responsible only to the task force director and shall operate under the direction and control of the task force director. Any necessary and actual expenses incurred by a task force director or investigatory staff, including any such expenses incurred for food, lodging, or travel, and any other necessary and actual expenses of an investigation into organized criminal activity conducted by a task force, shall be paid by the commission.

(2) For purposes of workers' compensation and the allocation of liability for any death, injury, or damage they may cause in the performance of their duties, a task force director and investigatory staff, during the period of the investigation for which the task force is assembled, shall be considered to be employees of the commission and of the state.

(3) For purposes of compensation, pension or indemnity fund rights, and other rights and benefits to which they may be entitled, a task force director and investigatory staff, during the period of the performance of their duties as director and investigatory staff, shall be considered to be performing their duties in their normal capacity as prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, sheriff, deputy sheriff, chief law enforcement officer or member of a law enforcement agency of a municipal corporation or township, or agent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation.

The commission may reimburse a political subdivision for any costs incurred under division (D)(3) of this section resulting from the payment of any compensation, rights, or benefits as described in that division from the organized crime commission fund created in section 177.011 of the Revised Code.

(E) Except as provided in this division, upon the establishment of a task force, the commission shall provide the prosecuting attorney of each of the counties served by the task force with written notice that the task force has been established to investigate organized criminal activity in that county. Such notice shall not be provided to a prosecuting attorney if it appears to the commission, based upon the complaint filed and any information relative to it or based upon any information that the commission may have received, that there is reason to believe that the office of that prosecuting attorney is implicated in the organized criminal activity to be investigated.

(F) The filing of a complaint alleging organized criminal activity, the establishment of an organized crime task force, the appointment of a task force director and the identity of the task force director, the assembly of an investigatory staff and the identity of its members, the conduct of an investigation into organized criminal activity, and the identity of any person who is being or is expected to be investigated by the task force shall be kept confidential by the commission and its director and employees, and by the task force and its director, investigatory staff, and employees until an indictment is returned or a criminal action or proceeding is initiated in a court of proper jurisdiction.

(G) For purposes of divisions (C) and (E) of this section, the office of a prosecuting attorney shall be considered as being implicated in organized criminal activity only if the prosecuting attorney, one or more of the prosecuting attorney's assistants, or one or more of the prosecuting attorney's employees has committed or attempted or conspired to commit, is committing or attempting or conspiring to commit, or has engaged in or is engaging in complicity in the commission of, organized criminal activity.

Section 177.03 | Powers and duties of organized crime task force.

• Effective: January 1, 1999
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 2 - 122nd General Assembly

(A) An organized crime task force established under section 177.02 of the Revised Code to investigate organized criminal activity in a single county or in two or more counties shall investigate organized criminal activity within the county or counties in accordance with the scope and limits established by the organized crime investigations commission and the task force director. For purposes of the investigation, the task force director and investigatory staff shall have the powers of a peace officer throughout the county or counties in which the investigation is to be undertaken. However, the authority and powers granted to the director and investigatory staff under this section do not supplant or diminish the authority and power provided by the Revised Code to other law enforcement agencies or their officers or investigators.

An organized crime task force, in the conduct of its investigation, may issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum. The task force may compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of records and papers of all kinds and description that are relevant to the investigation, including, but not limited to, any books, accounts, documents, and memoranda pertaining to the subject of the investigation. Upon the failure of any person to comply with any lawful order of the task force, the task force may apply to the court of common pleas of the proper county for a contempt order, as in the case of disobedience of the requirements of a subpoena issued from the court of common pleas, or a refusal to testify thereon.

(B) This section and section 177.02 of the Revised Code do not prevent an organized crime task force from cooperating with other law enforcement agencies of this state, a political subdivision of this state, another state, a political subdivision of another state, or the United States, or their officers or investigators in the investigation and prosecution of any offenses comprising organized criminal activity.

(C)(1) If an organized crime task force, either prior to the commencement of or during the course of its investigation of organized criminal activity in a single county or in two or more counties, has reason to believe that the investigation will require it to engage in substantial investigative activities in a particular municipal corporation or township in the county or any of the counties, the task force director shall notify the commission chairperson of that belief and the reasons for that belief. The chairperson shall present that belief and those reasons to the commission, and, if the commission determines that there is a compelling reason to notify a local law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction within that municipal corporation or township that the task force will be engaging in investigative activities in the municipal corporation or township, the commission, subject to division (C)(2) of this section, shall provide written notice of that fact as follows:

(a) If the investigative activities will be engaged in in a township or in a municipal corporation that does not have a police department or similar law enforcement agency, the commission shall provide the notice to the sheriff of the county in which the township or municipal corporation is located.

(b) If the investigative activities will be engaged in in a municipal corporation that has a police department or similar law enforcement agency, the commission shall provide the notice to the chief law enforcement officer of the department or agency.

(2) The notice described in division (C)(1) of this section shall not be provided to a sheriff or chief law enforcement officer if it appears to the commission, based upon the complaint filed and any information relative to it or based upon any information that the commission may have received, that there is reason to believe that the office of that sheriff or chief law enforcement officer is implicated in the organized criminal activity being investigated.

(D)(1) If an organized crime task force determines, pursuant to its investigation of organized criminal activity in a single county or in two or more counties, that there is not reasonable cause to believe that organized criminal activity has occurred or is occurring in the county or in any of the counties, it shall report its determination to the commission, terminate its task force activities, and disband.

(2)(a) If a task force determines, pursuant to its investigation of organized criminal activity in a single county or in two or more counties, that there is reasonable cause to believe that organized criminal activity has occurred or is occurring in the county or in any of the counties, it shall report its determination to the commission and, except as provided in division (D)(3) of this section, shall refer a copy of all of the information gathered during the course of the investigation to the prosecuting attorney who has jurisdiction over the matter and inform the prosecuting attorney that the prosecuting attorney has thirty days to decide whether the prosecuting attorney should present the information to a grand jury and that, if the prosecuting attorney intends to make a presentation of the information to the grand jury, the prosecuting attorney has to give the commission written notice of that intention. If the organized criminal activity occurred or is occurring in two or more counties, the referral of the information shall be to the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the most significant portion of the activity occurred or is occurring or, if it is not possible to determine that county, the county with the largest population.

If a prosecuting attorney who has been referred information under this division fails to notify the commission in writing, within thirty days after the referral, that the prosecuting attorney will present the information to the grand jury of the prosecuting attorney's county, the task force, except as provided in division (D)(2)(b) of this section, shall refer a copy of all of the information to the attorney general, who shall proceed according to division (B) of section 109.83 of the Revised Code. If the prosecuting attorney fails to notify the commission in writing within that time that the prosecuting attorney will present the information to the grand jury, the prosecuting attorney promptly shall return all of the information that the task force referred to the prosecuting attorney under this division.

If a prosecuting attorney who has been referred information under this division notifies the commission in writing, within thirty days after the referral, of the prosecuting attorney's intention to present the information referred to the prosecuting attorney to the grand jury of the prosecuting attorney's county, the prosecuting attorney shall proceed promptly to present the information as evidence to the grand jury and shall notify the commission of the grand jury's final actions, findings of indictments, or reports. The prosecuting attorney may disclose to the attorney general any matters occurring before the grand jury that are disclosed to the prosecuting attorney for use in the performance of the prosecuting attorney's duties. The prosecuting attorney shall present the information as evidence to the grand jury prior to the discharge of the next regular grand jury. If the prosecuting attorney fails to present the information as evidence within that time, the commission, except as provided in division (D)(2)(b) of this section, shall notify the attorney general, the task force shall refer a copy of all of the information to the attorney general, and the attorney general may proceed as if the prosecuting attorney had declined under this division to accept the matter. If the prosecuting attorney fails to present the information as evidence within that time, the prosecuting attorney promptly shall return to the task force all of the information that the task force had referred to the prosecuting attorney under this division.

(b) If a prosecuting attorney who has been referred information under division (D)(2)(a) of this section fails to notify the commission in accordance with that division that the prosecuting attorney will present the information to the grand jury, and the task force that conducted the investigation determines, pursuant to its investigation, that the office of the attorney general is implicated in organized criminal activity, the task force shall not contact or refer any information to the attorney general but shall report its determinations and refer all of the information to the commission. If a prosecuting attorney who has been referred information under division (D)(2)(a) of this section notifies the commission in accordance with that division that the prosecuting attorney intends to present the information to the grand jury but fails to do so prior to the discharge of the next regular grand jury, and the task force that conducted the investigation determines, pursuant to the investigation, that the office of the attorney general is implicated in organized criminal activity, neither the commission nor the task force shall contact or refer any information to the attorney general. Instead, the task force shall report its determinations and refer all of the information gathered during the course of the investigation to the commission.

In either such case, the commission shall review the information, and, if a majority of the members of the commission determine that the office of the attorney general is implicated, the chairperson of the commission shall appear before the presiding judge of the court of common pleas or of the court of appeals for the county in which the prosecuting attorney who was referred the information serves and request the appointment of a special prosecutor to handle the matter. If the presiding judge finds that there is reasonable cause to believe that organized criminal activity has occurred or is occurring in the county or in any of the counties served by the task force and that the office of the attorney general is implicated, the judge shall appoint a special prosecutor to perform the functions of prosecuting attorney of the county in relation to the matter. The commission shall refer a copy of all of the information gathered during the course of the investigation to the special prosecutor. The special prosecutor shall review the information so referred and, upon a determination that there is cause to prosecute for the commission of a crime, the special prosecutor shall proceed promptly to present the information so referred to the grand jury and shall notify the commission of the grand jury's final actions, findings of indictments, or reports. A special prosecutor appointed under this division shall not inform the attorney general of the investigation or referral of information and shall not cooperate with the attorney general on the matter.

(3) If a task force determines, pursuant to its investigation of organized criminal activity in a single county or in two or more counties, that there is reasonable cause to believe that organized criminal activity has occurred or is occurring in the county or in any of the counties, and that the office of a prosecuting attorney who normally would be referred the information gathered during the course of the investigation pursuant to division (D)(2) of this section is implicated by the information in organized criminal activity, the task force shall not contact or refer any information to the prosecuting attorney. Instead it shall report its determinations and refer all of the information gathered during the course of the investigation to the commission. The commission shall review the information, and if a majority of the members of the commission determine that the office of the prosecuting attorney is implicated in organized criminal activity, the chairperson of the commission shall appear before the presiding judge of the court of common pleas or of the court of appeals for the county in which that prosecuting attorney serves and request the appointment of a special prosecutor to handle the matter. If the presiding judge finds that there is reasonable cause to believe that organized criminal activity has occurred or is occurring in the county or in any of the counties served by the task force and that the office of the prosecuting attorney in question is implicated in organized criminal activity, the judge shall appoint a special prosecutor to perform the functions of prosecuting attorney of the county in relation to the matter, and the commission shall refer a copy of all of the information gathered during the course of the investigation to the special prosecutor. It shall inform the special prosecutor that the special prosecutor has thirty days to decide whether the special prosecutor should present the information to a grand jury and that if the special prosecutor intends to make a presentation of the information to the grand jury, the special prosecutor has to give the commission written notice of that intention. A special prosecutor appointed under this division shall not inform the implicated prosecuting attorney of the investigation or referral of information and shall not cooperate with the prosecutor on the matter.

If a special prosecutor who has been referred information under this division fails to notify the commission in writing, within thirty days after the referral, that the special prosecutor will present the information to the grand jury of the county, or if the presiding judge is requested pursuant to this division to appoint a special prosecutor but the judge does not do so, the commission shall refer a copy of all of the information to the attorney general, who shall proceed according to division (B) of section 109.83 of the Revised Code. Upon such a failure of a special prosecutor to notify the commission, the special prosecutor promptly shall return to the commission all of the information that the commission had referred to the special prosecutor under this division.

If a special prosecutor who has been referred information under this division notifies the commission in writing, within thirty days after the referral, of the special prosecutor's intention to present the information referred to the special prosecutor to the grand jury of the county, the special prosecutor shall proceed promptly to present the information as evidence to the grand jury and shall notify the commission of the grand jury's final actions, findings of indictments, or reports. The special prosecutor may disclose to the attorney general any matters occurring before the grand jury that are disclosed to the special prosecutor for use in the performance of the special prosecutor's duties. The information shall be presented as evidence to the grand jury prior to the discharge of the next regular grand jury. If the special prosecutor fails to present the information as evidence within that time, the commission shall notify the attorney general and refer a copy of all of the information to the attorney general, the attorney general may proceed as if the special prosecutor had declined under this division to accept the matter, and the special prosecutor promptly shall return to the commission all of the information that the commission had referred to the special prosecutor under this division.

(4) The referral of information by a task force to a prosecuting attorney, to the attorney general, to the commission, or to a special prosecutor under this division, the content, scope, and subject of any information so referred, and the identity of any person who was investigated by the task force shall be kept confidential by the task force and its director, investigatory staff, and employees, by the commission and its director, employees, and consultants, by the prosecuting attorney and the prosecuting attorney's assistants and employees, by the special prosecutor and the special prosecutor's assistants and employees, and by the attorney general and the attorney general's assistants and employees until an indictment is returned or a criminal action or proceeding is initiated in a court of proper jurisdiction.

(5) Any information gathered by a task force during the course of its investigation that is in the possession of the task force, a prosecuting attorney, the attorney general, the commission, or a special prosecutor, and any record that pertains to any such information and that is maintained by the task force, a prosecuting attorney, the attorney general, the commission, or a special prosecutor is a confidential law enforcement investigatory record for purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code. However, no provision contained in this division or that section affects or limits or shall be construed as affecting or limiting any right of discovery granted to any person under the Revised Code, the Rules of Criminal Procedure, or the Rules of Juvenile Procedure.

(6) In no case shall the commission, a task force, a prosecuting attorney, a special prosecutor, or the attorney general publicly issue a report or summary that identifies or enables the identification of any person who has been or is being investigated under sections 177.01 to 177.03 of the Revised Code unless an indictment is returned against the person or a criminal action or proceeding is initiated against the person in a court of proper jurisdiction.

(7) For purposes of divisions (C) and (D) of this section, the office of a prosecuting attorney, the attorney general, a sheriff, or a chief law enforcement officer shall be considered as being implicated in organized criminal activity only if the prosecuting attorney, attorney general, sheriff, or chief law enforcement officer, one or more of the assistants, deputies, or officers thereof, or one or more of the employees thereof has committed or attempted or conspired to commit, is committing or attempting or conspiring to commit, or has engaged in or is engaging in complicity in the commission of, organized criminal activity.

(8) For purposes of this section, notification by a prosecuting attorney or special prosecutor may be accomplished by certified mail or any other documentation that is agreed upon by the prosecuting attorney or special prosecutor and the commission or their representatives. Notice by certified mail is complete upon mailing.

(E) If an organized crime task force has probable cause to believe, pursuant to its investigation of organized criminal activity in a single county or in two or more counties, that a law of another state or the United States has been or is being violated, the task force director shall notify the commission chairperson of that belief and the reasons for that belief. The chairperson shall present that belief and those reasons to the commission and, if the commission determines that there is probable cause to believe that such a law has been or is being violated, the commission may refer the matter to the attorney general of the other state or to the appropriate United States attorney, whichever is applicable, and provide that attorney general or United States attorney with a copy of relevant information.

Section 177.05 | Law enforcement trust fund.

• Effective: April 6, 2017
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 227 - 131st General Assembly

A law enforcement trust fund shall be established by the organized crime investigations commission for the purpose of receiving reimbursement of expenses the organized crime investigations commission incurred in the investigation of the criminal activity through a task force.

There is hereby created in the state treasury the organized crime law enforcement trust fund. The fund shall consist of moneys paid to the treasurer of the state for purposes of this section. All investment earnings on moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund. The organized crime investigations commission shall use the moneys in the fund to purchase, replace, update, or maintain equipment used by task forces or law enforcement agencies for the purpose of investigating organized criminal activity. The organized crime law enforcement trust fund shall not be used to meet the operating costs of the organized crime commission.