It encompassed an area roughly defined by Lawrence Ave., Norton Rd., Green St., and an unnamed alley paralleling Broad St. to the north.

New Rome achieved infamy due to its traffic court and speed trap, which received national media attention, and the internal corruption of its local government.

In 2004, the village was ordered legally dissolved by a Franklin County Court of Common Pleas judge, and its residents, land and assets were made part of Prairie Township.

Nearly all of this money was funneled back into the police force, which almost exclusively dealt with traffic violations and so essentially existed to fund itself.

[3] Many local business owners complained that customers were being driven away by the village's reputation, and there were many reports of arbitrary and even abusive conduct at the hands of the New Rome police,[4] who even ventured into surrounding jurisdictions to arrest people over unpaid traffic tickets.

"[5] The Ohio Department of Transportation eventually decided that New Rome's lower speed limit was inconsistent with state law guidelines.

Approximately $120,000 was stolen from New Rome over the course of a decade, according to the Ohio State Auditor, who also concluded that the village's poor accounting practices made continuing theft likely.

In 2003, the New Rome police had their access to a State Highway Patrol driver identification database revoked because of misuse against the political rival of a council member.

After further investigation of New Rome's history of misconduct, Attorney General Jim Petro, on the recommendation of State Auditor Betty Montgomery, concluded that it should be dissolved, though its residents had voted against dissolution in 2003.

The village officials did not contest these allegations, but instead challenged the dissolution statute as contrary to the home rule provisions of the Ohio Constitution.

Judge David Cain upheld the constitutionality of the statute and granted summary judgment to the State of Ohio on July 30, 2004.