SIDNEY — The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office concluded a seven-month investigation with the guilty plea of Patrick Goldschmidt, 54, of Fort Loramie, in Sidney Municipal Court on Tuesday, April 25, 2017. Under a plea agreement, he was charged with attempted forgery, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
According to Shelby County Sheriff John Lenhart, on Sept. 19, 2016, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office opened a fraud investigation at the request of Stephen R. Buterfield, mayor of Port Jefferson. Butterfield suspected that after receiving a state fire equipment grant in the amount of $10,000 that someone had forged his signature on the paperwork. The paperwork which he said was forged was for a state equipment grant the Port Jefferson Community Fire Company, had applied for, and was granted the $10,000. Butterfield advised investigators the money had been returned to the Ohio Department of Commerce.
In his press release, Lenhart stated during the investigation, original grant documents were obtained from the Ohio Department of Commerce along with original signatures of Butterfield and handwriting samples from Goldschmidt. These documents were sent to BCI&I for handwriting analysis. The results of the submitted documents showed there were indications that Goldschmidt had written the name of Butterfield on the grant application.
Goldschmidt was interviewed and denied all allegations to investigators. Goldschmidt did agree to take a polygraph and on Jan. 5, 2017, investigators with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office met Goldschmidt at BCI&I for the polygraph. Prior to the polygraph, Goldschmidt admitted to the examiner he had forged Butterfield’s signature to obtain the grant. No polygraph was taken.
Upon completion of the case, it was presented to the Shelby County Prosecutor for prosecution. In an agreement between the Prosecutor’s Office and Goldschmidt’s attorney, it was agreed Goldschmidt would plead quilty to an attempted forgery charge.
Goldschmidt is a member of the Port Jefferson Community Fire Company and the Lockington Fire Company.
A presentence investigation has been scheduled in Municipal Court on May 8 at 9 a.m.
