Simon Leis, who served as Hamilton County prosecutor from 1971 to 1983, as Common Pleas judge from 1983 to 1987, and as sheriff until 2017, died Saturday, our news partner WCPO reports. He was 92.
Colleagues and friends of Leis remember him as a disciplined man, a family man and a man who did know how to laugh.
Former Sheriff Jim Neil worked with Leis for nearly 25 years, and says Leis was shaped, in part, by his time in the Marine Corps.
"Being a Marine, being a prosecutor, and being a judge definitely added that discipline that was needed and the leadership skills that were needed," Neil says. "He was no nonsense. He had a sense of humor, but you had to be in his inner circle to be a witness to that."
Neil says Leis helped make the Sheriff's Office what it is today.
"He made the footprint of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office very big. He grew the services. He grew what the Sheriff's Office provided with all the specialty units that he brought to the table."
Neil says those services include the dive team, the aviation unit and the bomb squad. And, he says Leis made sure those services were available throughout the region.
Former County Commissioner David Pepper says Leis also was responsible for improving mental health and drug treatment services at the Justice Center.
Pepper, a Democrat, says he was a little surprised he developed a good working relationship and a friendship with Leis, who was a Republican. Pepper says the late sheriff was a professional.
"Because he saw me in that way, [political] party sort of checked out. There were many things we disagreed on, I'm sure, but we were both leaders of the county at a difficult time," Pepper says. "This was in the middle of the recession of '08 and some tough decisions had to be made, and I think we each could see the other was doing our best to get through it. So I think we built a pretty good relationship."
Pepper says they would disagree on a number of issues, but he always felt respected.
As prosecutor, Leis filed prostitution-related charges against then-city Council member Jerry Springer. He prosecuted Hustler publisher Larry Flynt for obscenity and organized crime, and as sheriff, charged the Contemporary Arts Center with pandering obscenity when it displayed works by Robert Mapplethorpe.
Former judge Alex Triantafilou says Leis is a legend, in part because he took on pornography and obscenity.
"For many years, Simon Leis was the person who waged that battle to keep those kind of establishments out of Hamilton County, and to be sure that we had a real livable and family-friendly community, so I think a big part of Sheriff Leis' legacy will be that."
Triantafilou says they golfed together occasionally. "He had a good sense of humor. He loved his family. He loved his daughters. He was a consummate family man."
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