MARION— Former Marion City Auditor Robert Landon returned to City Hall on Thursday to fire Deputy Auditor Marden Watts after he accused Watts of setting him up. The firing came after Landon submitted his letter of resignation to Mayor Scott Schertzer.
Landon told the Marion Star:
“He had basically allowed and participated in this usurpation of my office, and I was not notified of any of this intention either, you know, I feel it was a betrayal of my trust and the betrayal of the people who put me in the office regardless of where we’re at right now, and it doesn’t serve any purpose to benefit the city’s operations going forward, and I’m just committed to a smooth transition and hopefully be able to leave on a positive note,” Landon said.
In Landon’s resignation letter submitted on Thursday, he notified Mayor Scott Scott Schertzer his resignation would be effective as soon as a replacement had been selected.
Schertzer met with the city’s legal counsel, who advised Shertzer he had the authority to replace Landon. Scott Schertzer appointed Marden Watts as Interim Auditor on Friday. Landon also presented an addendum to his resignation on Friday and presented it to the Board of Elections, listing his resignation effective November 19th. Landon contends his first letter was simply an intent to resign and not a formal resignation. City legal counsel ultimately agreed with Mayor Scott Schertzer and said he was within his right to appoint Watts.
Watts has been available to the city council and the Auditor’s office consistently. The Auditors Office has been embroiled in controversy ever since Landon’s office failed to balance the books putting millions of dollars in federal funding in jeopardy. One of Landon’s associates fell for a telephone scam that could’ve cost the city thousands of dollars.
In September, while Landon was recovering from Covid, Watts did an interview with WSYX TV Channel Six’s’ Tom Bosco in which he admitted Landon was in over his head as City Auditor.
Most recently, Landon accused a city council member of stealing mail from his office. Marion City Police Chief Jay McDonald spent 18 police hours using his best detective to conclude that there was no mail to steal. McDonald told Marion City Council on Monday that Landon had requested another investigation on a different matter.
Crawford County Now has learned that Prosecutor Ray Grogan asked Crawford County Prosecutor Matthew Crall to go over the evidence against Landon and evaluate if there is a criminal liability on Landon.
“I can confirm that I have been asked to review a matter by Marion County Prosecutor Ray Grogan regarding the now-former Marion City Auditor. As I have not received any information yet, it would be inappropriate to speculate whether any criminal charges will result from this referral.”—Matthew Crall.
Marion City Council Member Ayers Ratliff is relieved at Landon’s resignation: “There has been a dark cloud over the city since the day he (Landon) was sworn into office. But the sun is shining today, and the Marion City Council is ready to move forward.”
Crawford County Now will continue to follow this developing story.