NEW HOLLAND, Ohio — A former village police chief who was once charged with crimes, put on trial for allegedly harassing a citizen, and was the subject of a multi-million dollar lawsuit is back in charge.
William “Jason” Lawless was sworn in Thursday during a special meeting in New Holland as their police chief. Lawless previously held the position, but resigned amid a slew of scandals in 2018.
The town has been embattled with scandal since the launch of their police department in 2016, which has seen six police chiefs and four mayors in four years.
In 2016, the village administrator, Joe Kulin, committed suicide at Deer Creek State Park. Lawless and his then-captain, David Conrad, were arrested for criminal trespassing; ODOT has said the town has illegally changed their speed zones to create a speed trap; the town’s bookkeeper was convicted of embezzlement; the former mayor was charged with felony forgery crimes, and Lawless, former police chief Chris Mosley, and the town’s former mayor, Clair “Butch” Betzko were the subjects of a federal lawsuit by journalist Derek Myers for a host of allegations, including abuse of process and wrongful arrest. Betzko was released from the case as a defendant, but Lawless stayed on. The village’s insurance company ended up taking up the case.
Lawless was the first volunteer police chief to hold the position since the village of 800 started the department in December 2016. His reign of power previously had been wrapped in scandal and controversies, including being charged by the county Sheriff.
The town is perhaps most known as the little blip on the map with the yellow “speed trap ahead” sign that sat outside the village limits on route 22.
Lawless was the target of several investigations from local, state, and federal agencies, ranging from the FBI all the way to the state’s ethics commission during his time in New Holland. The State Highway Patrol sent an investigator to the village during his first tenure to investigate allegations that Lawless was allowing his wife to abuse exclusive law enforcement databases. Right about the time things got hot in the kitchen, Lawless resigned and went to Alabama to “start a new life,” he said during a court deposition.
During one point of his previous time in office, a police cruiser was even photographed using a handicapped parking space at a local grocery store. Another time, Lawless told a citizen on recorded audio that she would be “sorry” for talking to the Sheriff and going behind the chief’s back to report crimes.
In 2018 when Lawless left the job, an interview was printed in the July 7 edition of the Circleville Herald. The article was detailing Lawless’ resignation and the fact that he was leaving the positions in turmoil. The positions paid $65,000 a year while he also acted as village administrator.
In the interview, Lawless told the newspaper, “Our house finally sold and that was pretty much the deciding factor,” he said. “I also have another opportunity that I can’t pass up.”
However, public records obtained by the Guardian show that Lawless was lying to the newspaper and that the house — which was in foreclosure — had not sold.
Mortgage paperwork filed with the county recorder’s office showed that Lawless signed the $380,000 property in Pickaway County back over to the bank where he had the loan. The house had been in foreclosure for 18 months, which prompted Lawless to file for bankruptcy protection. According to records, the house sat on 25 acres and had a monthly house payment of $3,000 every thirty days.