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Former federal prosecutor makes potential campaign stop in Jefferson County

Former U.S. Attorney Steve Dettelbach met local Democratic Party supporters, including Steubenville Mayor Domenick Mucci, Jefferson County Clerk of Courts John Corrigan, with his back to the camera, and former state Sen. Lou Gentile Wednesday afternoon at Scaffidi’s Restaurant in Steubenville as part of an Southeastern Ohio listening tour. Dettelbach said he is considering a run for the Ohio attorney general position. — Dave Gossett

STEUBENVILLE — Steve Dettelbach found a warm welcome at Scaffidi’s Restaurant Wednesday afternoon during a meet-and-greet event.

And, perhaps the warmest welcome came from Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla who related to the crowd how Dettelbach was instrumental in the beard-cutting case against an Amish leader near Bergholz.

Dettelbach, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, was the prosecutor for the federal case that saw several members of the Amish community sent to federal prison for their role in cutting the beards of other Amish men judged to be wrong in their beliefs.

Dettelbach is now practicing private law and considering a run for the Ohio attorney general job that will be left open when Attorney General Mike DeWine leaves because of term limits.

“I am very seriously interested in running for the attorney general job and plan to make an announcement within the next seven to 10 days. But first I wanted to take this six-city tour of Southeastern Ohio to listen to the concerns of people and working families in the region,” said Dettelbach prior to the event with local Democrats.

“People I have talked to today are concerned about losing the American dream. They can’t do things for their children that their parents did for them, and that is frustrating. They believe the system is rigged, and after 25 years of working in the law that bothers me,” continued Dettelbach.

“There is one set of rules that should apply to everyone,” Dettelbach declared.

He said Ohioans are very concerned about the growing heroin and opiod epidemic and the difficulties in dealing with the problem.

“I have been a prosecutor for more than 20 years and prosecuted more drug dealers and drug cases than you can imagine. But prosecution alone is not going to solve the problem. It is not fair to the police to expect them to solve the problem. We must work together to prevent more people from getting addicted,” remarked Dettelbach.

“The large pharmaceutical companies are making millions of dollars manufacturing these drugs. We need to focus on the system that provides too many pills into our communities. The medical doctors are not at fault. But someone can go in for a minor shoulder or knee operation and leave with a prescription for 50 to 70 Percocet pills,” explained Dettelbach.

“Most of the pills are then placed in the medicine cabinet until Thanksgiving or Christmas when a nephew comes home from college and uses the bathroom and checks out the medicine cabinet. That’s when about 20 of those pills are taken back to school where they are sold,” cited Dettelbach.

“We are nowhere near enough in providing treatment for addicts. The addicts are asking for help but there is a waiting list for that help and that is not the answer,” Dettelbach stated.

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