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Lorain County Jail Advisory Board Exposed: Tax Payer Theft via Intentional Housing Code Violations w/ Misleading Public Information Campaigns (Elyria, OH)

March 13, 2026

ELYRIA, OHIO – The administration and oversight of the Lorain County Jail has reached a critical point of failure. By intentionally allowing the facility to fall into severe disrepair, officials are now leveraging the building’s dilapidation to justify a taxpayer expenditure exceeding $100 million. The Lorain County Jail Advisory Board – including Sheriff Jack Hall, Judges Chris Cook and James Walther, Clerk Tom Orlando, and Commissioners David Moore, Jeffrey Riddell, and Marty Gallagher bears collective responsibility for this crisis. The evidence of this systemic neglect is public: from the board’s own contradictory statements and years of withheld funding to investigative videos documenting the jail’s ‘deplorable’ conditions. This lack of transparency shows a coordinated effort to secure hard-earned taxpayer money through manufactured urgency.

County officials have long used local media to push one-sided propaganda, but their urgent, high-tempo campaign for a new jail has backfired, exposing their own purposeful sabotage. In short, they’ve told on themselves. Case in point: in 2023, they reportedly had $20 million already set aside for a new facility, contradicting their narrative of urgent necessity. Fast forward to today: $18,000,000 remains available, yet those funds are being deliberately withheld and redirected to allow the building to fall into further disrepair. This is a calculated strategy to gain public sympathy and secure state/taxpayer funding, ultimately forcing the public to authorize a new jail, or else. Alternatively, they can be compelled to use these existing funds for rehabilitation by a judge who reads this article…

Despicable conditions at the Lorain County Jail resemble that of a third world country.

Rather than repairing or replacing essential infrastructure—including generators, roofs, HVAC systems, and windows or constructing necessary extensions, the corrupt jail advisory board is deliberately pushing the false narrative that the facility is beyond repair. This choreographed deceit violates Ohio Housing Code Guidelines, along with state and federal laws, while directly endangering staff and inmates. Instead of performing routine maintenance, such as painting and HVAC cleaning, enforcing safety protocols or establishing administrative level policies for their jailers to upkeep the facility – they simply choose to allow ‘third-world’ conditions to persist.

AETOS Says: The entire jail is intentionally being destroyed in an effort to manipulate and extort you, the tax paying citizen. Done so deliberately, diabolically and with zero care or concern for the staff, inmates or residents of Lorain County as they would like for you to believe.

On November 6, 2025, Sheriff Jack Hall and other’s were interviewed by Cleveland 19 News while they took a tour of the Lorain County Jail. The statements made by Lorain County Officials are damning and further expose the extent of current and past administrations fiscal blunders, misappropriation of funds, bludgeoning staff budgets and intentionally placing maintenance and the security of the facility on hold.

Sheriff Jack Hall said repairs to the aging facility cost approximately $200,000 for the year 2025. A repurposed motor from the 1960s used to operate the sallyport gate broke down repeatedly, costing $30,000 from the sheriff’s budget. The county also spent thousands on repairs to the jail’s intercom system and HVAC system. The current HVAC is so old, the sheriff’s office needed to purchase hand constructed coils. An investigation revealed water seeping through ceilings, rotted beams, mold and rust throughout the facility. Hall would go on to state that he spent nearly $4,000 to replace sprinkler heads that were recalled back in 2007.

“If we’re not going to have a jail, there’s really not much they’re going to do that are going to improve safety.” – Riddell

Jeffrey Riddell, Vice President of the jail advisory board, said the current layout of the jail creates a hazard for both inmates and staff because it doesn’t properly separate them based upon the nature of their crimes. “When we mix the hard-core criminal who just totally disrespects the law with the accidental lawbreaker, we create an environment that’s not safe for those folks or the jailers,” Riddell said. Riddell said it would cost $15 million in repairs to extend the building’s life by 10 years. “You’re basically putting frosting on an old cake,” Riddell said. Riddell would also state “At the end of the day, if we’re not going to have a jail, then why do we have a prosecutor’s office? Why do we have courts? And why do we have sheriffs and police departments?” Riddell said. “Because if we’re not going to have a jail, there’s really not much they’re going to do that are going to improve safety.”

The statements by Hall & Riddell are absolute lunacy. For starters the proposed plans for the new jail, a $116,000,000 nightmare would only extend the available beds at the entire jail by 10. You read that right, 10. Currently there are 422 beds at the Lorain County Jail and the new jail would offer only 432 beds. The above statements are therefore nullified and entirely manipulative and showcase the true intent behind the corrupt individuals overseeing the Lorain County Jail. The county has a jail, a jail that is currently in the hands of criminals (essentially) that are refusing the maintain it and repair it in an effort to steal hard earned money from the Lorain County tax payer. If the county ever were to lose it’s jail it wont be for lack of funding, it would be because people like Riddell attempted to manipulate the public into a corner in an extortion scheme by intentionally withholding available funds and destroying the jail’s condition further as a result for publicity and propaganda stunts.

As of this writing Lorain County has more than $18,000,000 that it could use, that it is withholding intentionally for a new jail instead. This money could be used to do full repairs on the facility. A new roof or permanent roof repairs for areas in need, a new HVAC system, replacing old and archaic door locking mechanisms, windows, paint, flooring, and they would then still be left over with money for options to extend the jail on the women’s side specifically.

THE MANIPULATION

Propaganda machine in full effect, while also showcasing their own deceptive behavior and administrative failures for all to see via a Cleveland 19 News investigation.

(JAIL CELLS) THE MANIPULATION: The video from inside the Lorain County Jail starts off with expansive views of the jail cells and their horrific conditions. Graffiti adorning the walls and ceilings and damaged/scratched mirrors.
- THE TRUTH: Inmates are essentially allowed to write, draw and damage the property by jailers that are not enforcing it’s own policies. A new jail with this same mentality will result in the exact same conditions. In addition, zero maintenance or administrative oversight is in place and or enforced and adhered to on a quarterly or even yearly basis (painting, polishing steel mirrors aka buffing, etc).
- THE SOLUTION: Jailers make rounds multiple times per hour, they are to inspect the conditions of the cells daily. If an inmate is found to be destroying or degrading property they would impose further sanctions such as: Restricting commissary, providing Nutraloaf, also known as “food loaf” or disciplinary loaf, restricting utensils, visits & phone call privileges as well as but not limited to civil and criminal liabilities for criminal damaging.
- AETOS Says: Last time I checked whenever graffiti is adorned on public buildings they don’t go and buy new bricks and build new buildings. What they do is utilize paint. So I dare say, go buy some paint with that $18,000,000 your sitting on and go paint the fucking walls and the bed frames. Go get an industrialized buffer and buff out those scratches and foggy mirrors and windows and floors. Paint the floors too. Then show us how the cells look. Brand new at a fraction of the cost. Use your trustees to do the painting, and hire more trustees if you don’t have enough.

(DOORS, FLOORS & MORE) THE MANIPULATION: Steel doors that show serious signs of abuse, wear and tear. Old defunct locking mechanisms. Floors that are chipping and in disrepair as well as ceilings that are rotting from water damage.
- THE TRUTH: Doors are extremely damaged, again due to inmate abuse and the lack of jailer enforcement to maintaining the integrity of the jail fixtures and it’s property. Roof not being repaired leads to water damage internally. Little to no maintenance or administrative oversight once again for these afflicted areas.
- THE SOLUTION: As mentioned above, jailers need to do their jobs and pay attention to their surroundings and those of which the inmate is occupying. Analyzing damages and deliberate destruction of Lorain County Jail property and then enforcing sanctions and ultimately in the most egregious repeat offenders additional criminal charges and fines.
- AETOS Says: Use the paint you hate for the doors, spend the money you have restricted for new locking mechanisms, get a new roof if you need one, replace the ceiling in the areas that are damaged due to you purposefully not repairing the roof, then strip the floor, after you’re done stripping the floor lay down new material and then apply industrial grade paint to the floor (if you want) for areas that are the most afflicted (edges and nearest jail cells). Again, this boils down to intentional sabotage of the facility and preying on people being retarded in this world. We can clearly see what is happening here and why, because, after all you’ve taken the time to show us your incompetency on both an enforcement and administrative level. Look at them as they walk around staring at graffiti on jail cell walls. Walls that they have allowed to be destroyed, walls that would also be destroyed at any new facility with the same operating principles in place. What a bunch of scumbags…

THE BOTTOM LINE

SCUMBAGGED Tip: The videos, investigations and statements of the Lorain County Jail, it’s officials and the jail advisory board that have spanned over the course of many years are direct evidence of a criminal minded administration, with jailers not doing their jobs and a system that is built on corruption and greed. They have the money and the means to repair as well as maintain the facility, they also have the staff that can ensure that the jail policies are enforced, ie; property damage prevention. They have failed on every single level, whether it be safeguarding county property and or the inmates that are subjected to these third world conditions. This is not a money problem as much as it is purely a failure at the highest levels, again, done so by intent. Jail administrators and staff are directly responsible for the conditions of the Lorain County Jail, not the tax payers. Those that should be held accountable are those from the past and the present that think Lorain County Residents are daft. They aren’t. Do better with the monies you receive or else false the consequences of inquisitions and enraged citizens done with blindly handing out their hard earned money…

EVIDENCE REPOSITORY: Links below from local news organizations that shed light into the propaganda machine to steal your money.