LORDSTOWN, Ohio - A longtime Lordstown police officer has retired rather than face possible termination over threatening remarks he made about the chief and a captain, along with an attempt to use false information to coerce an admission of wrongdoing from one of his superiors.

Richard Watson submitted a brief letter of retirement on Monday, December 8, after learning the mayor and police chief had recommended that council fire him.

Watson, who worked in Valley law enforcement since 1990 and had been with Lordstown since 2007, was one of the primary accusers who made allegations of bribery within the department over an alleged policy to not serve warrants at the Ultium Cells plant in exchange for officers receiving higher-than-average wages to work security at the plant.

Those allegations were made public at a council meeting in which Watson's former wife, ex-mayoral candidate Danielle Watson, played a recording purported to prove the arrangement, in which Captain Chris Bordonaro can be heard telling Officer Joseph Keough that they would serve warrants for serious crimes, such as domestic violence, but that for minor misdemeanors and traffic warrants, they should try to serve them after workers left the plant.

Lordstown chief Brent Milhoan asked for a BCI investigation into the allegations, in which several people involved in the conversation, including Bordonaro, Keough and Watson, were interviewed.

The investigation ultimately determined that there was no evidence of a crime and that the reason officers received an increased wage for security details was to attract more candidates. As for not serving warrants, the investigation found that there was no such agreement in place, rather that the department would use discretion and not disrupt activity inside for things like minor traffic offenses, which could be served outside the plant. Felonies and violent crime warrants would still be served.

In the course of his April 23rd interview with BCI, Watson admitted, along with Keough, that the conversation with Bordonaro was recorded under false pretenses, with Keough lying and saying he had a warrant "hit" on a plate at Ultium Cells and needed to know if it was true that he should not serve it.

The parties involved later admitted there was no such warrant and that the scenario was fabricated in an effort to get Bordonaro to admit wrongdoing on record.

"Watson explained that he and former LPD officer, Joseph Keough (Keough), believed that Bordonaro would never admit to the “understanding” that the Ultium Cells employees were not to be arrested for minor warrants. Watson told agents that he had no respect for Bordonaro nor Chief Milhoan (Milhoan) and this is how the recorded phone call with Bordonaro was developed. Watson and Keogh were at the recreation center on Todd Avenue and were talking about how Bordonaro would never admit (the understanding to not enforce minor warrants at Ultium Cells) unless “you can get him recorded saying that” [04:16]. Watson believed this was dereliction of duty by Bordonaro. Watson explained that while they were at the recreation center, Keough called Bordonaro and “came up with a story” about a license plate reader hit for a misdemeanor warrant and Bordonaro said there was “agreement” and the LPD was not to “mess with them," the BCI report states.

During the course of his interview with BCI, Watson went on to describe a contentious relationship with both Bordonaro and Milhoan, saying "And to this day, I have an Equinox and in my Equinox there is a f---ing Louisville Slugger taped up and on it's problem solver. And I told 'em, this is how it's gonna be. They ever f--- with me, I'm not gonna go give, give, uh, union rep. I'm not doing OPBA stuff. I'm gonna go out to the car. I'm getting a problem solver. I'm gonna come in here. I'm just gonna open the f---ing skulls."

Upon completion of the BCI investigation, the documents related to it, including interview transcripts, became public records.

At that time, Milhoan and Mayor Jackie Woodward became aware of the dishonest phone call and the threatening language and opened an internal investigation into Watson with the assistance of Champion police.

In a letter from Milhoan to Watson dated November 6, Milhoan detailed the timeline that began with the playing of the Bordonaro recording at council on March 17.

"As a result of false and fabricated statements, the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification was contacted, which led to a six-month investigation of the Lordstown police department," Milhoan wrote.

Watson, who was placed on paid administrative leave on October 16, was interviewed by Detective John Weston of the Cortland police department on October 20, in which he again admitted to the falsified recording and the threatening remarks, to which he added that he has an "axe to grind," saying "if I had my way, I would have those two on a slab with a toe tag."

Watson waived a scheduled predisciplinary hearing that was scheduled for November 3, where he would have been afforded the opportunity to respond to allegations of "dishonesty, threatening behavior, gross misconduct and your fitness to serve as a member of the Lordstown police department..." Milhoan then recommended Watson be fired.

Mayor Jackie Woodward agreed and wrote a letter to council dated December 5 urging them to terminate Watson.

Woodward tells 21 News no vote will be necessary, though, since Watson submitted a letter to Woodward saying "I am writing to tender my notice of retirement from the Village of Lordstown Police Department effective today. It has been an honor to serve as a Lordstown police officer. I am requesting that any available leave balances be paid according to the collective bargaining agreement or policy governing such leave. Thank you again."