Beachwood mayor accused of lying to taxpayers

An investigation into Beachwood Mayor Ronald Jones has revealed that he was receiving disability pension while campaigning for office at the same time. Now, some constituents and political opponents

News 12 Staff

Dec 12, 2008, 1:40 AM

Updated 5,614 days ago

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Beachwood mayor accused of lying to taxpayers
An investigation into Beachwood Mayor Ronald Jones has revealed that he was receiving disability pension while campaigning for office at the same time.
Now, some constituents and political opponents are asking for the mayor to resign from office.
?I wish he would step down,? says Robert DiBella, of Beachwood. ?I think it is the best thing for the town.?Jones worked for years as a police dispatcher until 2001 when depression, high blood pressure, diabetes and other ailments caused him to retire early. Since then, officials say he has earned a disability pension of almost $1,700 a month from the taxpayers.
In Jones? own words, he was ?unable to mentally process, retain or handle the stress.?
Now, that same man is dealing with the stress of running an entire town; collecting a salary while qualifying for a second pension.
Recent documents have revealed that Jones? political aspirations began just before his retirement in 2001 when he backed out of the town council race one day before the election citing medical problems and stress from a family issue. Jones? opponents say his early retirement was just a ruse, while he maintains his ailments were real.
?Let's take 5-10 people out of the equation,? says Jones. ?You have 10,990 people that feel that I'm doing a good job.?


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