ELYRIA — Former Lorain County Chief Deputy Recorder Phil Betleski said Tuesday he won’t continue collecting unemployment benefits he began receiving in October.

Betleski, who resigned July 28 and is under investigation for allegedly taking extra vacation time during his tenure with the county, said he decided not to push to keep receiving benefits after he received word last week that the county would contest those benefits.

County Prosecutor Dennis Will said Betleski shouldn’t  receive unemployment benefits, which he said ex-employees aren’t entitled to if they’re dismissed for a legitimate reason.

“We felt there was justification for his leaving — plus, he resigned,” Will said.

Betleski’s boss, county Recorder Judy Nedwick, gave Betleski an ultimatum after an angry confrontation between the two in July that stemmed in part from his decision to take a planned vacation at the same time Nedwick was out of the office. Nedwick told Betleski he could resign or be fired.

Shortly after he left, a review of his vacation time turned up discrepancies between the amount of vacation time he was entitled to under county policy and the amount of time he was crediting to himself.

The review showed that Betleski had been taking an extra week’s worth of vacation since shortly after he left county Auditor Mark Stewart’s office for the job with Nedwick in 2003.

Betleski, 52, is accused of receiving credit for 150 extra hours of vacation time. When he left the county, he was paid $6,221 for the 197 hours of unused vacation time.

Betleski, who also had served on the Lorain Council, cut a $3,200 check last month to the county to pay back the money he received for the 150 hours of unused vacation time in question.

Betleski, who is the brother of Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Mark Betleski and the son of former county Judge Adrian Betleski, said he plans to repay the state the $2,215 in unemployment benefits he has received since October.

Betleski said he never intended to take unemployment benefits but was pressured by people to do so and finally relented. He said when he learned that the county objected, he agreed to repay the money and not seek additional benefits.

Will said he has forwarded the investigation into Betleski’s vacation time to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason’s office for review. He said he expects a decision before the end of the year on whether Betleski will face charges.

Betleski, who maintains that he took the extra vacation time with Nedwick’s approval, said that he wants to know whether he’s going to face charges.

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

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