Ohio Attorney General Davis Yost announced on Friday that Bernard “Mack” McCann has pleaded guilty to two charges of Conflict of Interest in a Public Contract.
And as a result, the mayor of Put-in-Bay, Ohio, has become its former mayor, as the 82-year-old McCann has agreed to step down from his position as a part of a plea agreement.
“We can’t have community leaders who prioritize their own interests above those of the public,” Attorney General Yost said in a press release. “Former Mayor McCann let power get to his head, choosing to use his position for the betterment of his own interests. His poor decisions have cost him his job, as well as the trust of the citizens who elected him to lead.”
Following a lengthy corruption investigation, McCann was indicted on two counts of having an unlawful interest in a public contract, fourth-degree felonies, and four counts of conflict of interest, first-degree misdemeanors. Three other Put-in-Bay officials were charged as a result of the investigation, in which McCann was accused of using his public position to secure waterline project contracts for a business associate.
The project also benefited several members of McCann’s family. His daughter, Melinda McCann Myers, the former president of Put-in-Bay Village Council, and son, Councilman Bernard Michael McCann, also pleaded guilty to two counts each of Conflict of Interest in a Public Contract.
According to a press release announcing his guilty plea and resignation, Bernard McCann is scheduled to be sentenced in Ottawa County Municipal Court on Friday, March 29 at 2 p.m.
