MAHONING COUNTY Judge orders convicted litterbug to go to jail

The judge rejected an agreement for no jail time, because the man still owes the court for a conviction six years ago.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Municipal Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. has days when he's willing to punish with a fine, not jail.
For illegal trash dumper Anthony P. Arnoto, Tuesday wasn't one of them.
The judge ordered Arnoto, 51, of Fifth Street, Struthers, to report to the Mahoning County jail at 8 a.m. Friday to serve 10 days for littering, then 12 more days for depositing trash on a city street.
Arnoto pleaded no contest to those charges and was found guilty. The Mahoning County Sheriff's Department litter control crew said Arnoto charged a Poland man $110 to haul away trash, which was then found dumped on Jackson Street in September.
A charge of operating without a trash-hauling license was dismissed in a plea agreement. The plea agreement, worked out between Arnoto's lawyer, A. Ross Douglass, and Anthony J. Farris, assistant city prosecutor, also called for $600 in fines and a 30-day suspended jail sentence.
Turned down deal
But Judge Douglas rejected the deal after thumbing through a case file from 1996 that showed Arnoto waited until Tuesday to pay $50 toward $96 he's owed for six years in court costs. The 1996 insurance fraud conviction carried with it a $500 fine, which was suspended when the costs were imposed.
The judge wondered if the old case was an indicator of how Arnoto intended to pay off the $600 in fines recommended by Farris and agreed to by Douglass.
"My client will be able to pay in one month," Douglass cajoled.
"That won't be acceptable," Judge Douglas replied.
Douglass leaned over to his client, then made another offer: "Two weeks, your honor."
"No," the judge answered.
Douglass said he was at a loss for words. He again leaned over to his client and came up with what sounded like a final offer -- payment in 10 days.
"History's not on his side," Judge Douglas said, noting Arnoto waited until Tuesday to pay $50 on a 6-year-old case.
Final offer
Douglass then made the final offer: "He can raise $200 by the end of today [Tuesday] and pay the rest next week."
Judge Douglas rejected it, then addressed the old case first.
He scheduled a show-cause hearing for Nov. 25 on the 1996 case, for which Arnoto still owes $46.
The judge then gave Arnoto 30 days in jail on the littering conviction and suspended 20. Next came 90 days in jail on the debris conviction, with 78 days suspended.
The judge fined Arnoto $600, suspended it all and placed him on 18 months' probation. The judge reasoned that Arnoto, at $30 per day credit while in jail, will satisfy the fines by serving 22 days.
Once released from jail, Arnoto has two weeks to pay $120 in court costs on his new convictions.
meade@vindy.com