Report: Halfway House Officials Paid For Alcohol, Strip Club

COLUMBUS (AP) — Officials at a southern Ohio halfway house illegally spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on alcohol, hotels, travel costs for family members and a strip club, and forged receipts for personal and unauthorized purchases, according to a state audit released Tuesday. The report from Auditor David Yost found $20,000 in illegal spending by employees at STAR Community Justice Center in Scioto County, with about half involving conferences in Las Vegas; Reno, Nevada; Orlando, Florida; and Pittsburgh. The report said two center officials spent $170 at Columbus Solid Gold, a strip club, in December 2014. The report cited former deputy director Josh Saunders with improperly spending $12,042 and executive director Charles Philabaun with improperly spending $5,965. Saunders denies wrongdoing, said his attorney, Jonathan Marshall, who noted Saunders was the one who first alerted authorities to the allegations.