Indicted Montgomery County judge’s son talks about his role in charges

“I urged my father to be completely honest with the investigators and to not lie and make this worse for himself by trying to get himself out of this,” Robert Piergies said. “That’s around the time he stopped taking my calls.”

James Piergies faces three counts of having an unlawful interest in a public contract. The Ohio Supreme Court removed Piergies from the bench at the municipal court’s Western division following his indictment.

He was indicted in July along with Foley, who faces a dozen counts including charges related to unlawful interest in a public contract, theft in office, and misdemeanor counts of solicitation of political contributions from public employees and prohibition against partisan political activity.

Both Foley and Piergies are scheduled for arraignment Monday. Foley has publicly declared his innocence and intent to fight the charges and seek reelection. Piergies has not responded to requests for comment sent to his attorney.

The Ohio Auditor of State Keith Faber’s office began investigating Foley’s office in 2022. Faber said the charges against Piergies relate to his son’s employment.

Robert Piergies worked for Montgomery County from 2018 through June this year, first for the county municipal court — where his father was administrative judge until his suspension — and then in 2020 for Foley.

Robert’s work for county

Robert Piergies says his father helped him get hired with Montgomery County after he expressed dissatisfaction with his job at Greene County.

Robert was employed with the Greene County Juvenile Court as a file clerk from June 2017 to June 2018, according to personnel records obtained by the newspaper in a public records request.

On June 5, 2018, Robert submitted a letter of resignation to his Greene County employers. In documents that contain responses from his exit interview, he discloses that he was taking a job in Montgomery County and cited “overall dissatisfaction” with his Greene County position and a “significant” difference in pay.

Robert said he told his father about troubles he was having with a change in management, a concern he also brought up in his Greene County personnel records.

Judge James Piergies then offered to find him work elsewhere, Robert told the Dayton Daily News.

Robert Piergies worked for the Montgomery County Municipal Court, serving as the bailiff of a magistrate, until 2020. He said he was told he was switching to an information technology position at the clerk’s office after his dad won an election.

“I did not want to,” he said. “But I was basically told, ‘you’re not staying here.’ And he would not hear of me going and finding a job on my own.”

Robert Piergies said his father told him he’d “take care” of money related to his position and alleged money may have been given to the clerk’s office for at least part of his salary.

“He never said anything absolutely directly to me, but there was definitely implications that he gave money to the clerk’s office for IT work and that was where my salary was coming,” he said.

According to Montgomery County personnel records, Robert Piergies earned $26.78 an hour as his highest rate of pay in his IT job. His rate of pay while working at the municipal court before coming to the clerk’s office was $24.64.

Political allegations

During his employment in Montgomery County, Robert Piergies said his dad Judge James Piergies asked him to help with his reelection campaign during his nonworking hours. The judge also asked his son to make contributions to Foley’s campaigns, sometimes writing a check for his son to donate, Robert alleged.

“I wanted to stay out of it. I don’t do anything having to do with politics or the public,” he said. “He said that we needed to tie Foley more strongly to the family, basically.”

Robert said he often was working in the same building as his father, which brought tension between the two. He also alleged that when he brought up concerns to his supervisor about the proximity to his dad in his workplace, his dad threatened to evict Robert from his home.

Robert resigned from his job at the Montgomery County Clerk of Court’s Office in June following a dispute over paperwork he filed for leave he took due to his wife’s health.

Robert’s personnel file includes a June 1, 2022 letter from the clerk’s administration chief, Herb Davis, that details concerns over the amount of time Robert took off from work. At the time of the letter, Robert had used all of his sick time and vacation accruals.

“Regular and timely attendance is essential to the efficient operation of the Clerk of Courts organization,” the letter states. “Please look at developing a plan that will allow you to accrue time to use without going off payroll.”

Robert said he has a medical condition that causes him to pass out at random. He took time off from work to tend to this condition, but also to care for his wife who was hospitalized for her medical conditions, he said.

James Piergies and his wife own the home in the Union area where Robert and his wife live, according to Montgomery County property records.

Robert said he is between jobs and is looking forward to not sharing a workplace with his dad.