MARIJUANA IN CAR NOT SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER'S, SAYS LAWYER

LORAIN -- Drug charges against an Amherst school board member were
dismissed in June because the small amount of pot found in his car
"wasn't his," the board member's attorney said yesterday.

Nicholas Dimacchia was arrested May 22 for possession of a scheduled
substance, possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and tinted
windows, according to the Lorain Municipal Court Web site.

The latter three charges were dropped June 22 in court, but
Dimacchia pleaded no contest to possession of a scheduled substance
and was ordered to pay $217 in fines and court costs.

Michael Duff, Dimacchia's attorney, would not comment on how the
school board member was cleared of the charges, but simply said the
marijuana and drug paraphernalia did not belong to him.

Court documents pertaining to the drug charges are no longer on file
since the case was dismissed, according to the prosecutor's office.

The misdemeanor scheduled substance charge was the result of
Dimacchia placing the wrong drugs in a prescription bottle, according to Duff.

Dimacchia, who is also a special education teacher at Clearview High
School, did not return phone calls seeking comment last night.

Dimacchia was pulled over on SR 58 by the State Highway Patrol on
May 22 for tinted windows, according to Sgt. Jon Gray of the highway patrol.

He said a prescription bottle was sitting on the seat next to
Dimacchia, who handed it to the trooper conducting the stop. The
label carried an expiration date of 2003 and contained one pill.

"The pill did not match the prescription," Gray said, reading from
the report yesterday. Gray was not sure what kind of drug was on the
prescription label or the type of drug that was in the bottle.

A search of the car found a small metal pipe, or "one-hitter," and a
small amount of marijuana, Gray said. Two pills identical to the one
in the bottle were found in Dimacchia's pocket.

Elected to the school board in November, Dimacchia's primary
residence is on Terra Lane in Amherst. But according to court
dockets his listed residence is on West Seventh Street in Lorain.

Amherst Superintendent Robert Boynton said yesterday he was made
aware of the traffic stop late last week but has not spoken with
Dimacchia. Since the charges were dropped, Boynton said it's not a concern.

"It's really no issue for our board of education to deal with," he said.