I've been getting a lot of calls from people who are mad at SNAP for "smearing" the name of Msgr. Jerome Schmit.
For those who missed the original story, two retired police detectives who led the 1980 murder investigation of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl testified in court that Msgr. Schmit was one of the three men who interrputed their interrogation of Fr. Gerald Robinson on April 17, 1980, escorted him out of the Safety Building, and effectively ended the investigation. Twenty four years later, Robinson was arrested and charged with the murder and then convicted.
Now Claudia Vercellotti and other SNAP members are asking the city of Toledo to remove honorary street signs naming a stretch of St. Clair Street near the Mud Hens' ball park in honor of Msgr. Schmit. Their reason is that the city should not be honoring a man who obstructed police in their investigation of Sister Margaret Ann's murder.
Msgr. Schmit, who died in 1997 at age 86, was a power broker in the city. He could make a few phone calls and get things done, from raising money to, I've been told, having parking tickets disappear for friends.
He was instrumental in bringing the Mud Hens back to Toledo after they had left for a few years.
There's no doubt he was a hard-working mover-and-shaker in this city, but what about the obstruction allegations? If he did interfere with police on one of the most high-profile murder cases Toledo's ever seen, how does that affect his many worthwhile accomplishments?
I've interviewed Sgt. Art Marx about the case and I heard Lt. William Kina testify about Msgr. Schmit and I believe they are telling the truth. Why would they lie?
William Jefferson Clinton was almost impeached for having an affair with a White House intern. That did not mean he didn't achieve great things, but his indiscretion almost cost him his presidency.
When a person is found to have done a misdeed of great consequence, it does not mean everything in his or her life is meaningless. But it does mean there are consequences to his or her actions.
I don't think SNAP is being unreasonable to request that the street signs, paid for with tax dollars, be taken down. Msgr. Schmit will still be remembered, and often revered, for his contributions to the city by his many friends and supporters. The local CYO field, for example, is named after him. And that's paid for by church dollars, unlike the downtown signs.
Toledo, Ohio, May 18, 2007