Former Belpre Township Trustee Pleads No Contest in Washington County to Having an Unlawful Interest in a Public Contract Award

Press Release • Ohio Auditor of State

COLUMBUS - A former Belpre Township trustee pleaded no contest Tuesday to having an unlawful interest in a public contract award after he voted to award a road repair contract to a company owned by his mother.

Curt Welch was ordered to pay $1,290.50 in special audit costs and a $250 fine and court costs during a hearing in Washington County Common Pleas Court, where he submitted his plea to the misdemeanor count.

The Auditor of State's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) and the Ohio Ethics Commission jointly investigated the case.

They confirmed that Welch participated in a vote during an emergency township trustee meeting in October 2023 to approve payment of $33,816 for a culvert replacement and slip repair project that was completed a few months earlier without prior approval or required competitive bidding for the work.

The contract for the project was awarded to a company where Welch was an employee and that was owned and operated by his mother.

Since 2019, the Special Investigations Unit has assisted in 171 convictions resulting in more than $17.9 million in restitution (see Map of SIU Convictionssince January 2019). The team receives hundreds of tips of suspected fraud annually. Tips can be submitted anonymously online or via SIU's fraud hotline at 866-FRAUD-OH (866-372-8364).

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The Auditor of State's Office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,900 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government.

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