HAMILTON, Ohio — Former Belmont County commissioner, St. Clairsville councilman and attorney Mark Alan Thomas is in police custody and will begin serving his five-year sentence for federal mail fraud.

Thomas, 63, is not yet listed on the Federal Bureau of Prisons website as being in the custody of that agency and the U.S. Marshals Office would not comment, but Thomas’ mugshot and information were found on the Butler County Jail’s roster in southwestern Ohio. Butler County Jail officials did not respond to a call asking when Thomas would be turned over to federal custody. Under “charge description,” the jail website page listing Thomas states “hold for fed.”

Thomas was booked Friday, the day he was ordered to self-surrender after being sentenced by Judge Algenon Marbley of the U.S. Southern District of Ohio.

Thomas’ sentencing had been delayed numerous times due to health issues and to allow the court to consider the facts of the case. He had pleaded guilty in August to one count of federal mail fraud related to his legal practice, unrelated to his time in elected office.

Thomas pleaded guilty to the theft of more than $882,000 from an elderly woman with dementia. He committed the crime while acting as power of attorney for his then-client. The theft occurred from 2012 through August 2019 when he took the victim’s money without her knowledge or permission to use for his own benefit.

Thomas was also ordered to pay $882,502 in restitution.

In 2019 after concluding his term as a commissioner at the end of 2018, Thomas served 30 days in jail for contempt of court for failing to comply with a court order to turn over documents from his private law practice related to the case. He later complied with the records request. A lawsuit related to that case was dismissed. The contempt charge had no connection to his role as an elected official.

The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct in Columbus suspended Thomas’ law license in Ohio in 2015 after he reportedly failed to file an answer to a formal complaint pending before the board.

In 2021, Thomas ran unopposed for the St. Clairsville City Council’s 3rd Ward seat and was elected. He served in that role until his August 2022 resignation following his guilty plea.