Mr. Richard Domenic DICICCO

Notes:

Plain Dealer, The (Cleveland, OH) - September 15, 2007

Deceased Name: Richard D. DiCicco , ex-state auditor, worked to protect taxpayers' money.

Richard D. DiCicco 1938 - 2007 Survivors: Wife of 42 years, Donna; sons, Richard Jr. and Paul, both of Wickliffe; daughter, Teresa Corbin of Kirtland; five grandchildren; and a brother Services: 10 a.m. Tuesday, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church, 29850 Euclid Ave.,

Wickliffe Contributions: American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 2680, North Canton 44720; or Hospice of the Western Reserve, 300 East 185th St., Cleveland 44119 Arrangements: Orlando-Donsante Funeral Home, Wickliffe.

Wickliffe - Richard D. DiCicco , a former assistant state auditor who tenaciously investigated public officials who mishandled taxpayer money, died of complications from diabetes Thursday at the Cleveland Clinic Hospital.

The 69-year-old Wickliffe resident, more recently a private auditor, worked on such headline-catching cases as the Parma police payroll-padding scandal and the embezzlement of millions by a Chester Township clerk.

DiCicco helped convict several government figures accused of misusing public money, including Frederick E.J. Pizzedaz, former director of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency.

"It's the public's money," Lake County Probate Judge Ted Klammer said Friday. "That's why he served so well on the Lake Metroparks [Board of Park Commissioners]. Not only was he concerned about preserving the parks, he was concerned that the taxpayers' money was protected."

DiCicco served on the park board for the past five years. He devoted much of his spare time to the Italian American Club in Wickliffe.

He was born in Cleveland and grew up in Wickliffe. His parents owned a grocery store.

DiCicco graduated from Wickliffe High School, received a bachelor's degree from Kent State University and earned a law degree from what is now Cleveland State University's Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

From 1962 to 1991, he worked for the Ohio auditor's office as a fraud investigator.

Richard married Ms. Donna Mae MONTORI [Group Sheet]

1. Mr. Richard Domenic DICICCO
2. Mr. Paul A. DICICCO
3. Ms. Teresa Denise DICICCO