BROOKLYN -- Law Director Scott Claussen was placed on unpaid leave Thursday, three days after his arrest on felony drug possession charges.
Brooklyn Mayor Richard Balbier said in an interview that he notified Claussen on the suspension Thursday morning.
Claussen and his private law practice partner, Bryan Byrne, were charged with possession of more than 150 oxycodone prescription painkillers after postal authorities and a local law enforcement task force intercepted a package containing the pills being mailed to a Seven Hills home.
The homeowner, Alphonso Yunis, 41, was arrested on drug trafficking charges.
Balbier said he was stunned by the arrest of his appointed law director, who he has known since Claussen was a child living next door.
"Oh, God, everybody is in shock around here," Balbier told Channel 3 News in a phone interview Thursday morning. "No one expected this. This is horrible."
Balbier said Claussen would remain on leave until the criminal charges are resolved.
Claussen, a former Cuyahoga County assistant prosecutor from 1999 to 2006, is running to replace Balbier, who announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election.
Claussen could not be reached for comment.
"Hopefully, he will get some help now," Balbier said.
Claussen and Byrne, both 40, were released from jail on a $20,000 bond. Yunis' bond was set at $50,000. The case will now be heard by a county grand jury for consideration of a formal indictment.
The three were arrested Monday night at Yunis' Broadview Road home in Seven Hills by the Parcel Interdiction Team comprised of Cleveland police, county sheriff's deputies and U.S. postal inspectors.
The law enforcement task force is assigned to investigate the shipment and delivery of suspicious packages determined to contain illegal drugs or narcotics.
Court records accuse the men of possession of at least five times the bulk amount of oxycodone, a powerful and addictive prescription painkiller with a brand name of Percocet.
Postal authorities on Monday said they intercepted a package containing 158 oxycodone tablets and then performed a "controlled delivery" to the home. Yunis accepted the delivery by an undercover postal worker and then went inside, records show.
Police later went inside the home and say Claussen and Byrne were found using credit cards to cut up the pills, court records show.
