(8-7-22) Federal agents on Friday arrested Richard John Steinle (77) Mogadore, Ohio and accused him of sending more than three dozen feces-laden letters to Republican politicians in Ohio, including U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan. Similar letters were sent to elected officials in Kentucky and in Washington D.C..

Steinle, a former Portage County Common Pleas Court mediator, is charged in federal court in Akron with injurious articles as nonmailable, a law that makes it illegal to mail certain things, including hazardous material. The charge is a misdemeanor and carries a maximum of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

U.S. District Magistrate Judge Carmen Henderson during his initial appearance ordered Steinle to be released from custody on a $20,000 unsecured bond with several conditions, including that he cannot possess a gun, cannot travel outside northern Ohio and cannot contact anyone involved in the case.

Steinle sent the letters from August 2021 through July 29, when undercover postal service inspectors conducted surveillance and watched Steinle mail a feces-laden letter to Jordan’s office.

Steinle was fired from his mediator role with Portage County in 2017 by Common Pleas Judge Laurie Pittman after he wrote a letter to the editor to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, after more than 17 years in the position and more than 4,000 meditations.

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