In return for collecting more than $100,000 a year in pay as the full-time coroner for Clermont County, state law prohibited Dr. Nico Capurro from maintaining an outside medical practice.

        So when news emerged that the man who had been the county coroner since 1971 was facing a federal investigation in connection with his work at a rehabilitation clinic in Manchester, Ohio, it came as a shock to other county officials.

Nico Capurro resigned as Clermont County coroner after an investigation into his work at a clinic. (Enquirer file photo)

        “I'm disappointed for Dr. Capurro. I'm disappointed for the public. And I'm disappointed for all elected officials,” said Martha Dorsey, a four-term Clermont County commissioner.

        On Wednesday evening, the county commission named Dr. Brian Treon, an emergency medicine physician at Mercy Hospital Clermont and Mercy Hospital Anderson, as interim county coroner in the wake of Dr. Capurro's sudden resignation on Friday.

        Dr. Capurro, 75, resigned the day after a request to do so from county Prosecutor Don White.

        The meeting was the latest development in a story laced with political oddities, including an elected official driving more than 50 miles to work in a medical clinic that has attracted a federal investigation; Dr. Capurro's son serving as the county's chief deputy coroner and being considered as his father's interim replacement; Dr. Capurro's lawyer also running for county office; and an on-again, off-again dispute between county officials and Dr. Capurro over outside work that stretches back nearly two years.

The work in Manchester

        In late June, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in cooperation with the Adams County sheriff and the Manchester Police Department, executed a search warrant of the medical rehabilitation clinic where Dr. Capurro worked at 8391 U.S. 52.

        James Turgal, chief division counsel and media spokesman for the Cincinnati office of the FBI, confirmed that the search warrant was executed. However, he said he could not discuss details because documents related to the investigation remain under a federal court seal.

        According to neighbors and local police, the Manchester clinic was open for about five weeks, from late May to late June. The clinic closed after the search warrant was carried out, according to the Adams County sheriff.

        Neighbors say the Manchester clinic was open for two or three days a week.

        While open, its parking lot was packed with cars.

        “That parking lot was constantly full, which amazed me. You or me, we open a business here and we'd have to work to build up a clientele. But the same day that clinic opened its doors, the parking lot was full,” said neighbor Jeff Wells.

The pay dispute

        Whether or not Dr. Capurro's medical activities violated any laws, the fact that he had an outside job appeared to violate his employment conditions, according to Mr. White.

        Under Ohio law, counties are required to adjust the pay of coroners, engineers, prosecutors and surveyors once the population exceeds 175,000 people. The 2000 Census was expected to confirm that Clermont County's population had increased beyond that figure.

        The law allows such professionals to continue private practices if they opt for part-time pay, but requires them to drop private practice if they seek full-time pay.

        Dr. Capurro, re-elected to a four-year term in November 2000, told the county he wanted full-time pay.

        On Nov. 20, 2000, Dr. Capurro wrote a letter to the Clermont County Commission that said, “Please except (sic) this as notice, that effective Dec. 31, 2000, that I shall no longer engage in the private practice of medicine. Please adjust my salary as elected Coroner of Clermont County accordingly.”

        Initially, the county balked at giving him the raise, arguing that the 2000 Census results would not be certified until after he took office.

        So in December 2000, Dr. Capurro sued in Clermont County Common Pleas Court. He dropped the suit in July 2001, after the county agreed to pay him full-time wages effective March 16, 2001, when the census results were certified.

        Once news of the search warrant in Manchester became public, revealing that Dr. Capurro had a side job, Mr. White said he called for Dr. Capurro's resignation.

        “I said that given his legal situation, it would be best for him and the county if he resigned,” Mr. White said. “He understood very clearly that he was not allowed to have any outside medical practice.”

        On Wednesday, Mr. White urged commissioners to act immediately to appoint an interim coroner because, technically, Dr. Capurro would be responsible for coroner duties until he was replaced, despite his resignation.

        Dr. Capurro did not return calls from the Enquirer, but told the Associated Press on Wednesday that his battle with diabetes and being the subject of a federal investigation prompted him to resign.

        As county officials prepare to take their next steps, other political oddities emerge about Dr. Capurro's situation.

        Dr. Capurro's attorney is R. Scott Croswell III, who is running this fall for a seat on the Clermont County Commission. Mr. Croswell did not return phone calls Wednesday.

        One of three candidates up for consideration Wednesday as interim coroner was Dr. John Capurro, Dr. Capurro's son. Dr. John Capurro has beenClermont County's chief deputy coroner for 10 years. During that time, to avoid charges of nepotism, county officials say Dr. John Capurro received no compensation from the county.

        The future of his volunteer role with the coroner's office is unclear, and will be up to Dr. Treon to decide, Mr. White said.

        The other candidate was Dr. Robert Rechtin, who maintains an internal medicine practice in Clermont County on Cincinnati-Batavia Pike. Dr. Rechtin was approached two weeks ago by Mr. White to seek the interim job after Mr. White was contacted by the FBI about Dr. Capurro. Dr. Rechtin told county commissioners he had been interested in running for the job in 2004 before the scandal emerged.

        Still, commissioners voted 2-1 in favor of Dr. Treon, who said he had worked for five years during college and medical school for the Montgomery County coroner. Because Dr. Capurro resigned in the first half of his four-year term, Dr. Treon will serve only an interim coroner's role.

        A special election will be held in November to select a coroner for the rest of the term.

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