The City of Toledo Honor Board convened on June 18, 2026, to consider a motion to recommend the removal of Monsignor Jerome Schmidt's name from a section of street (Monsignor Jerome Schmidt Way) in Toledo, Ohio. The meeting featured testimony from the applicant (nephew of Sister Margaret Ann Paul, whose 1980 murder led to the controversy), representatives of the Diocese of Toledo, family members of law enforcement involved, and other community members. After deliberation, the board voted 3–2 to recommend removal to the Toledo City Council.
It's now two o'clock and we will begin this meeting of the uh City Toledo Honor Board. Again, my name is Barbara Floyd. I'm a citizen appointee to this board, and I've asked to chair uh the board. Um this is um the matter before the board is the removal of the from the table of a motion to um to remove Monsignor Jerome Schmidt's name from um uh the City Street, so honored. Um I will give people um opportunity to each side the opportunity to speak for ten minutes, and then if there are other people who um would like to come forward uh in support or against whatever has been stated, those people will receive three minutes to speak. I would ask that if you gave testimony last time that you focus your remarks on anything new or additional that you did not uh mention last time because um I think it proves us to um not repeat ourselves and to um keep this um discussion respectful and moving forward and um hopefully um towards a conclusion by the end of this meeting. So with that said, um I would ask um uh the side um oh I'm sorry. Floyd here, Fosna, Spittler, here. Stucky here, Collins, Aikman, Williams here, thank you. Form present. Okay, so um if whichever side would like to begin, um I will ask you to start the clock for ten minutes. We received the application, so if you would like to start because you're sure application, whoever wants to present, please just state your name for the record. Nephew of Sister Margaret Ann Paul, and when we were here uh a few weeks ago, I gave you a rundown of of the sister's life and what what she had done and what what she meant to this community and Toledo. Um, she was a very kind gentlewoman, and and one of her top uh jobs I guess she had here in Toledo, she was administrator of uh St. Charles Hospital in Toledo here. She's also the director of nursing at uh Mercy School of Nursing. So she was very very involved with with Toledo in the area here. So um for for many years, Monsignor Jerome Schmidt was a very powerful and influent influential person in Toledo, uh particularly in 1980, and I think we've established that before. Um there's no doubt that uh Monsignor Schmidt did many positive things for the city of Toledo. Less than three weeks after the murder of my aunt, and five days after Monsignor Jerome Schmidt and Deputy Chief Ray Vetter abruptly stopped the murder investigation of Father Gerald Robinson. There was two letters written by Father Ray Fisher. Father Ray Fisher was was the bishop's secretary, and he was an administrative manager of the Diocese of Toledo. And these letters were written to the bishops, including Auxiliary Bishop James Hoffman. They were entered into evidence in 19 uh in 2006 at the trial, and it was state exhibit 180. So you have copies of those letters and the translation or of those because they're a little hard to read some of them. So Bishop Hoffman's the same person the days after the murder convinced Peggy Lester to remain silent. And Peggy Lester was the head of the physical therapy department at Mercy Hospital in 1980. She saw Father Robinson that morning come out of the chapel and go around the corner and and leave. She saw him at that time. And that was at the time frame that the murder took place. So you have a copy of the sworn statement taken by uh Detective Tom Ross, and that didn't happen until 2012. And I won't go into all that. You have that information as to why that was delayed. She swore to Bishop Hoffman that she would not tell. The letters from Father Fisher to Bishop Hoffman show that the police department was keeping the diocese informed. They were working together on Father Robinson's behalf. There's a few excerpts I'll give you from those letters, and you do have those. Monsignor Schmidt arranged legal consul for Father Robinson. These are right from these letters. Ray Vetter and Mons told Monsignor Schmidt he was going to have to take the case to the prosecution soon, the prosecutor. Ray Vetter told Monsignor Schmidt the police department had remained silent about their suspicions. Monsignor Schmidt and Herschel, which is uh was Father Robinson's lawyer at the time, Henry Herschel, called the police and got them to agree not to contact Father Gerald Robinson. And the last one is it's stated in these letters that they are confident that Attorney Herschel will handle things well, particularly the police. They knew they had a problem. Well, for many years, uh Deputy Chief Ray Vetter was a powerful and influential person in Toledo in the Toledo Police Department, particularly in 1980. From this is from the uh 2006 murder trial that I'll be speaking about now. So we have the we have Lieutenant William Keena's unrefuted sworn testimony at the trial, and you have all that, so I won't spend the time to go through all that. You have that all in front of you. We have Sergeant Art Mark's unrefuted sworn testimony at the trial. We both were very passionate uh at the time, and and still they were still very unhappy with what took place 26 years prior.