WFMJ.com News weather sports for Youngstown-Warren OhioUPDATED: Youngstown's Mayor fires Chief Prosecutor Jay Macejko

UPDATED: Youngstown's Mayor fires Chief Prosecutor Jay Macejko

Updated:

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - After months of speculation and debate, Jay Macejko has been fired as the city of Youngstown's chief prosecutor.

This all involves a racially charged text message that became the central issue during Attorney Macejko's run for Mahoning County Prosecutor. Macejko was defeated in the March primary by long-time incumbent Paul Gains.

Mayor Chuck Sammarone's decision on Thursday may remove a cloud of questions hovering over the city prosecutor's office, but it doesn't answer the main question many have been asking since the racially charged text message came to light. Who sent it?

The mayor gave a brief statement to reporters, "I'm changing the leadership in the prosecutor's office. We're moving in another direction."

Sammarone never said the words fired or terminated, but he made it clear that Macejko's employment with the city is officially over as of Friday.

The mayor also never really answered why he was terminating Macejko's employment, only saying it comes down to accountability.

"I'm basing my decision, like I said from day one, on accountability and when you're in charge, for good managing skills of a department."

The mayor says Thursday;s decision does not involve removing, or terminating any other prosecutors. That will be up to the newly appointed Prosecutor Dana Lantz to determine further personnel changes.

During a religious discrimination lawsuit filed against the city and Jay Macejko, one of Macejko's assistant prosecutors turned over text messages at the order of the court. The cell phone records contained a racist text referring to President Obama's stimulus package.

Macejko has always denied sending the text, and he says if he received it, he never saw it. And it appears the mayor has no evidence proving otherwise.

When answering 21 News reporter Michelle Nicks' question, the mayor said that when Macejko was asked about the text message by reporters, he has always maintained he never saw it. Sammarone goes on to say, "Unless I can prove someone's a liar, and I can't say that they're wrong, or they're right, I can't prove that."

But even with that statement from the mayor, Macejko believes his firing was politically motivated. "I think clearly politics played a big role in this decision. But as I said, I have no animosity towards him for making it."

He believes the text was part of a smear campaign against him by Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains who defeated Macejko in the primary by 561 votes.

Macejko tells 21 News, "I didn't write the text. I certainly don't recall receiving it, and I never actually saw it until it was released by one of my opponent's supporters. What it seems to be in the end is just a bunch of political fodder that was put out by Mr. Gains and his creative director (during the campaign) Leo Jennings."

When pushed on issues regarding Macejko's firing by reporters, the mayor abruptly ended the news conference, got up from the table and left saying, "The change is being made in the prosecutor's office. Period. That's it. You see? You pushed your luck with me. Now it's over."

The mayor had initially told reporters he would not answer questions on the personnel matter, but did entertain a few questions before ending the news conference.

But Macejko says he leaves the office knowing he did nothing wrong. He says no one fought harder for victims of crime than he has, and race and religion never had anything to do with it. "I believe in the system, I'll always believe in the system, and I have to believe that the truth will win out in the end"