MAHONING COUNTY Apology, check lead to release

The check will be given to the city, where it should have been in the first place.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A change in attitude and a check for more than $22,000 helped a Boardman man to get out of prison early.
Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court approved judicial release Monday for Mohan Subramanian, 36, who had served about 30 days of a one-year sentence for unauthorized use of government property.
The check was to pay his debt to society, not to the court.
Judicial release was formerly known as shock probation
"I think you can make a positive influence on this community," Judge Evans said. "I know you've done it before, but you went sour."
Subramanian pleaded guilty last year to pocketing more than $22,000 in fees he'd collected from people whose vehicles had been immobilized by the city for either driving with a suspended license or driving under the influence of alcohol.
The money was supposed to have been paid to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, which would then reimburse a portion of it to the city. Subramanian collected it as a private contractor.
He was originally sentenced a year ago, but the sentence was overturned by the 7th District Court of Appeals because of a procedural error. He was resentenced last month.
Better attitude: Judge Evans said Subramanian displayed a significantly different attitude Monday and at his second sentencing hearing than the one he showed to authorities during the investigation and the first hearing.
"He was like two different people," said Jay Macejko, assistant prosecutor.
Macejko said the Youngstown police department's internal affairs division and Sgt. Richard Baron of the Ohio State Highway Patrol investigated the case.
At the second sentencing, Subramanian accepted responsibility for what he'd done. He apologized for being disrespectful to police during the investigation. Judge Evans said that weighed heavily in his decision to grant early release, even though he finds the crime offensive.
"I take very personal offense to it because you were dealing with public officials and you cast a bad shadow over all of us," the judge said. The fee-collection program was run through Youngstown Municipal Court.
Subramanian's attorney, Walter D. Ritchie, presented the court with a check for $22,350, which was to be given to the city. Judge Evans had said he would consider granting early release only if Subramanian made restitution to the city.
"It's been a long and painful lesson," Subramanian said, noting that his short stay in prison "showed me how much I do have to be grateful for."