“As chief deputy treasurer for Stark County I was entrusted with access to government funds and given an opportunity to act as a public servant. Unfortunately, I surrendered to temptation and violated that trust by converting a very large sum of that money to my own use and gambled it away.

“I know that this is hard for people to understand, and I recognize the fact that I have disappointed a lot of people. I knew that someday I would get caught, but by trying to recoup my gambling losses, I simply made things worse.

“It has always been my intention to accept responsibility for my actions and I have done my best to cooperate with the investigation. I have agreed to waive my rights to a grand jury indictment as well as my right to trial. My plea of guilty to a bill of information will result in a lengthy prison term and I will be attempting to pay restitution for the rest of my life.

“I am deeply sorry for my actions and the impact they have had, and will continue to have upon others, especially my family. I also deeply regret the fact that my actions negatively impacted other public officials and have made others distrustful of government in general.

“Finally, I want to apologize to Mr. Zeigler and his family. He put his trust in me and I betrayed that trust.”