NORTH RIDGEVILLE — A veteran project manager in the city’s Engineering Department resigned Wednesday because of an investigation into allegations he had been illegally accessing the e-mail accounts of fellow city workers.

Tony Lance Sr., who had been with the city for 26 years, confessed that he had been breaking into the e-mail accounts when confronted by police investigating an anonymous tip, North Ridgeville police Chief Rick Thomas said.

Lance allegedly began accessing the e-mail accounts in August and continued to do so in September and earlier this month. He was suspended from his $55,500 per year job on Oct. 13, according to city records.

Thomas said police seized two computer hard drives from Lance’s North Ridgeville home, from where he did most of the illegal accessing. Those hard drives are still being examined by computer forensic experts, but Thomas said the electronic footprint left by Lance’s online activities will show what he was doing.

“Everything you do leaves a pretty clear trail, and it’s just a matter of accessing it and having someone decipher it,” he said.

Thomas and Mayor Dave Gillock declined to say exactly which e-mail accounts Lance had been accessing, but Thomas said it included the accounts of supervisors in the city.

Lance, 46, is the second city worker to come under scrutiny for possible illegal activity in the past two years.

Christopher Rangus, the city’s former service garage superintendent, pleaded guilty to theft and unauthorized use of property charges earlier this year after it was revealed last year he had set up an illegal party account for workers in his department.

Rangus, who avoided prison in the case, ultimately repaid the city about $4,700 he had raised for retirement parties and other events by selling used scrap metal and beverages. The money raised by those efforts should have been turned over to the city’s general fund, according to the investigation.

Gillock said there were differences between what Rangus did and what Lance is accused of doing.

“With what Mr. Rangus did, I believe he was trying to improve his department, used poor judgment and went about it the wrong way,” Gillock said. “In this case, I believe it’s more a case of curiosity and stupidity.”

Thomas said the case will be forwarded to county prosecutors for presentation to a grand jury. If indicted, Lance will likely face felony charges, Thomas said.

Gillock said he was unhappy with the whole situation.

“It’s always a disappointment and very difficult when something like this occurs,” he said.

This isn’t the first time Lance, who declined comment Friday, has run afoul of city policies and the law while working in North Ridgeville.

Lance was running a side business that, among other things, installed sewer taps, including for residents of the city. According to his personnel file, city officials had complained about the side business as far back as 2004, but a solution wasn’t found until the April of this year.

“We made it very clear he can’t be involved in the sewer business, and he sold it,” Gillock said.

Lance also had a run-in with North Ridgeville police in 2006, when his son was involved in an auto accident, but Gillock said the police department handled the situation and Lance was never punished in his capacity as a city worker.

According to an internal police report on the incident, Lance arrived at the accident scene and began yelling at the other driver for calling the police, saying his son would lose his driver’s license. Lance also threatened to fight the other driver and complained that the officer was citing his son for the accident.

“There’s drugs being sold just down the street on Boulder, but North Ridgeville’s finest are ruining my kid’s life,” Lance allegedly told the officer.

Lance ultimately pleaded guilty to persistent disorderly conduct in Elyria Municipal Court and was fined $250 and ordered to attend anger management counseling.

Lance has also racked up three convictions for problems with obtaining dog licenses and allowing a dog to be at large over the last three years, according to Elyria Municipal Court records.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.

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