LORDSTOWN, Ohio - In March, 21 News reported that Lordstown Mayor Jackie Woodward called in the state to investigate allegations of misconduct inside the village police department.

After months of review, the state’s report has been pushed back down the chain, leaving questions about what comes next.

Concerns first surfaced around Lordstown officers working side jobs at Ultium Cells.

The allegations claimed officers were ignoring certain misdemeanor warrants and possibly looking the other way on misconduct.

A recording of Lordstown Police Captain Chris Bordonaro, played at a public meeting, appeared to acknowledge an agreement not to enforce misdemeanor warrants at Ultium.

In March, Mayor Woodward asked the Trumbull County Prosecutor to help involve the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which launched a state review.

“I hate to call anybody’s integrity into question, but that was the reason for calling for an unbiased investigation,” Woodward said, “I don’t have the capacity to investigate this.”

After BCI completed its review, Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins said his office determined the findings did not rise to the felony level his team handles.

The case was returned for routine local prosecutorial review, meaning Lordstown Prosecutor Joe Fritz is overseeing the case. 

Initially, Mayor Woodward raised concerns about a conflict of interest over Fritz reviewing the case. But after speaking with Fritz, she said she is putting her trust in him to review the case properly.

“I’m out here on a limb and without knowing anything, of course, that Attorney Fritz is going to do the right thing in reading the report,” Woodward said, "I'm sure that the evidence will speak for itself. If there was anything that was criminal, you know, we could contest that, I'm sure some way, somehow, if we find that something should have been looked into further, but wasn't." 

Trumbull Prosecutor Dennis Watkins said any potential charges will be determined by the Newton Falls and Lordstown court system.

Once the case is closed, the report will be made public, and the mayor said she will review it to ensure there are no conflicts of interest issues.