WARREN - A former Trumbull County corrections officer will undergo a presentence investigation before facing a judge later to be sentenced on two misdemeanor charges to which he pleaded no contest.

Originally charged with felony counts of perjury and tampering with records, Michael Palumbo offered the pleas Wednesday to two counts of dereliction of duty - second-degree misdemeanors, punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $750 fine.

Judge W. Wyatt McKay found Palumbo guilty and ordered the presentence investigation. The fired corrections officer has been free on bond and was represented by Cleveland area attorney Dominic Vitantonio.

Sheriff's Office officials reported that Palumbo, 38, of Russell Avenue, Niles, was suspected of altering booking records of an inmate who died Jan. 13, 2008, of a drug overdose. Adam Noah Border, 23, of Vienna, died inside the jail of acute polydrug intoxication, with OxyCodone listed as the major contributor to his death.

Palumbo noted in his original booking information on Border that he was not under the influence of drugs and did not have a head injury. Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation agents said that after Border's death, Palumbo altered the records to say that Border was under the influence of drugs and did have a head injury when he was booked into jail.

Palumbo, who worked in the jail for about eight years, faced the third-degree felony charge of tampering with the jail records in April and then the third-degree felony charge of perjury for allegedly lying on a document in June. He was offered misdemeanors in exchange for his plea.

Border's family filed a federal lawsuit in January, claiming the Sheriff's Office staff didn't provide the proper medical care. The case is pending.

A coroner's report stated there was no evidence to support foul play, suicide, significant trauma or natural disease.

A toxicology report completed by the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office shows Border had significant levels of OxyCodone and methadone, which are painkillers, as well as Citalopram, which is an anti-depressant. It also showed he had traces in his system of the benzodiazepines diazepam/nordiazepam, a nerve pill similar to Valium.

cbobby@tribtoday.com