Cuyahoga County Sheriff Gerald McFaul to be investigated by special prosecutor

Cuyahoga County Sheriff Gerald McFaul could face criminal charges 23 years after telling an employee how to avoid a subpoena so she wouldn't have to testify against him, prosecutors say.

County Prosecutor Bill Mason plans to appoint a special prosecutor to determine whether McFaul's actions, first detailed in The Plain Dealer on Thursday, violated any laws.

"My office reviewed a copy of the transcript [Thursday] pertaining to Sheriff McFaul's conversation with a subpoenaed witness in a civil lawsuit brought against him," Mason said in an e-mailed statement. "There is sufficient evidence to warrant a criminal investigation into the sheriff's conduct."