Robert Buza

Robert Buza, right, with attorney Paul Adamson.

(Adam Ferrise, Northeast Ohio Media Group)

Robert Buza Jr.

AKRON, Ohio -- A retired Fairlawn detective will spend one year in a drug-treatment program that will erase his criminal conviction for stealing prescription drugs from city hall.

Robert Buza Jr., 57, pleaded guilty Tuesday to safecracking and breaking and entering, both felonies. Buza was accepted into the treatment-in-lieu-of-conviction program since he has no prior criminal record.

Buza retired in 2013 after 33 years as a police officer in Copley and Fairlawn.

Buza was ordered to undergo intensive drug treatment, including four 12-step program meetings per week. He must pass 12 consecutive drug tests.

If Buza completes the program, his criminal record will be sealed. If he fails, Summit County Judge Christine Croce could re-instate the charges and sentence him to prison or probation.

Buza used a key on Feb. 22 to get into city hall. A police dispatcher noticed Buza walking through a seldom-used door and sent an officer to check on him. The officer found Buza digging through a drop box used for people to safely discard unused or expired prescription drugs.

The officer asked Buza what he was doing. "You know what I'm doing," he said, according to court records.

Police discovered that Buza also had keys to both the prescription box and city hall. Buza returned his police-issued keys when he retired, according to his personnel file.

Buza's law enforcement career spanned more than three decades. He spent five years at the Copley Township Police Department before being hired by Fairlawn police in 1985. He spent the next 28 years with Fairlawn, reaching the rank of detective sergeant.

His supervisors wrote that Buza was "the epitome of what a police officer should be" in his final performance evaluation before retiring.

His rise in the Fairlawn Police Department was rapid and included official commendations and letters of recognition from ordinary citizens and FBI officials.

Buza supervised the detective department's day-to-day operation for the last 15 years. He oversaw the department's property room during that time.