Tanoos to Face Trial in December

(photo courtesy of our partners at WTHI)

The former superintendent of the Vigo County School Corp. is scheduled to for trial in December. Danny Tanoos was formally charged with three felony counts of bribery Wednesday morning in Indianapolis. 

Our partners at WTHI-TV report the judge set a pretrial hearing for November 21 and a trial date was set for December 6. Tanoos is being charged with one class C felony, which carries a penalty of 2 to 8 years in prison, and two level 5 felonies, each of which could result in 1 to 6 years in prison.

Tanoos will not be held in jail prior to the trial, however he was ordered to submit his fingerprints to the state and to not leave the state without written consent from the judge. 

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges Monday alleging Tanoos accepted bribes while he was superintendent in exchange for contracts awarded to Newburgh-based Energy Systems Group. The bribes allegedly included dinners, concert tickets and Indianapolis Colts tickets. 

The bribes also allegedly occurred in Indianapolis, which is why the charges were filed in Marion County.

Tanoos retired as superintendent in May, however he continued as director of safety and security for the district. The VCSC Board of Trustees is conducting its own investigation of the allegations to determine if any action will be taken.