BY JOHN A. DARNELL JR.
      associate editor
      The Mahoning County Sheriff’s Department and Boardman police are investigating allegations a longtime employee of Boardman Department, Michael Carkido, used township funds to make upwards of $15,000 worth of purchases for his private use.
      Carkido, 51, of 2068 Bishop Woods Ct., had been employed by Boardman Township for the past 23 years as a fleet manager/technician in charge of maintaining and repairing the township’s fleet of some 50 police vehicles. He annual salary in 2024 was reported at $74,528.
      On Mar. 10, Carkido was placed on a paid administrative leave from his position, until he submitted a letter of resignation last week, reportedly the day before he was scheduled to attend a hearing into the allegations.
      As part of the investigation into the matter, Carkido’s home has been searched by law enforcement, according to an affidavit filed with the Mahoning County Clerk of Court’s Office.
      The search warrant, approved by Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Anthony D’Apolito, was served on Mar. 27.
      “The court, having carefully reviewed the affidavit, finds, based upon the totality of the circumstance, there is evidence of criminal conduct concealed at 2068 Bishop Woods Ct.,” the judge said.
      Allegations of misappropriated public monies were first brought to light on Mar. 5 when two tires that had been purchased from the Goodyear Auto Service Center, 418 Boardman-Canfield Rd., on Feb. 25 were found at the Boardman Road Department garage.
      According to the search warrant affidavit, the tires were purchased using a township credit card.
      “These are performance tires and made for vehicles like Cadillacs. Boardman Township does not have any Cadillacs in its current fleet,” says the search warrant document.
      The discovery of the tires led to an internal audit into purchasing records for police department parts and equipment from Jan., 2024 through Mar., 2025.
      “There are numerous irregularities of parts purchased which would not be usable for any vehicles currently in the Boardman Township Police Department fleet,” says the affidavit, authored by Inspector James Ciotti of the sheriff’s department.
      The affidavit notes an internal audit has been conducted that includes invoices from the Goodyear Auto Service Center, copies of orders from Amazon.com, First National Bank credit card statements in the name of Boardman Township, as well as Auto Zone purchases and invoices from Jan. 1, 2024 thru Mar., 2025.
      According to the affidavit, there were numerous items purchased on Amazon including two computers, as well as a web cam, and Texas Instrument graphing calculator “that are not a property at Boardman Township.”
      The investigation also included a check on a vehicle that was in the parking lot of the Mahoning County Joint Vocational School that “has lights on the side mirrors similar to...parts purchased from Amazon on Jan. 15 that were delivered to Boardman Township: Attn: Michael Carkido.”
      The affidavit says that a review of Auto Zone records “indicates [purchases for] auto parts like oil filters, brake pads and brake rotors for vehicles that included Subaru, Kia and Audis. None of these parts are compatible with any vehicles currently being maintained in the Boardman Township Police Fleet.”
      Officer Ciotti says through the course of his investigation, “Michael Carkido has a ‘side business’ where he repairs vehicles. This includes routine maintenance issues---oil changes, filters and tires. Carkido has been observed at the township garage changing tires inside the business...”
      The law enforcement veteran concludes “there is evidence of crimes including theft, receiving stolen property and theft in office.”
      Items seized when the search warrant was executed include an air jack, a fluid evacuator, a welding helmet, a hand-held blower, a super duty steering stabilizer, a laptop computer and a 20-pack of 4-ft. LED tubes.
      In addition, the search warrants indicates public monies could have been used for private use for a variety of items such as a charging station for an iphone, wall shelves for bedroom and kitchen decor, a Gen Pro desk, additional shelving items and a computer program.