YOUNGSTOWN Judges assigned in cases for Lisotto, Philomena

The first decision for the judge in the Lisotto probe will be whether to appoint a special prosecutor.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Wayne County judge will preside over potential criminal charges against a judge of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
The Ohio Supreme Court assigned Judge Mark K. Wiest of Wayne County to hear matters related to possible criminal charges against Judge Robert G. Lisotto of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Prosecutor Paul Gains has asked that a special prosecutor be assigned to investigate whether charges should be brought against Judge Lisotto for accepting Pittsburgh Steelers tickets from a lawyer who had cases pending before him.
Gains has recommended Dennis Barr, an assistant Stark County prosecutor, but judges must approve the request.
Conflicts of interest: All of Mahoning County's common pleas judges have stepped aside from the case because their professional relationship with Judge Lisotto could create a conflict of interest. They asked the high court to appoint a judge to the matter.
Gains has also cited a conflict of interest on his part, which is why he asked for a special prosecutor.
Judge Wiest's first duty will be to rule on Gains' request for a special prosecutor. If one is appointed and Judge Lisotto is charged, Judge Wiest will preside over those charges, said Robert Rupeka, common pleas court administrator.
The Ohio Supreme Court has filed a complaint against Judge Lisotto for accepting the tickets from Atty. Stuart Banks, but no criminal charges have been filed.
FBI officials have said they investigated and found no violations of federal law, so they handed the case over to Gains and the state Supreme Court's disciplinary counsel.
Suit against Philomena: The state Supreme Court has also appointed Judge Stephen A. Yarbrough, a retired common pleas judge from Lucas County, to preside over a taxpayer's lawsuit against former Mahoning County Prosecutor James A. Philomena.
The suit was filed in October by Samuel Moffie of Boardman and seeks recovery of Philomena's salary and the cash equivalent of health-care benefits he received as prosecutor, as well as all bribes he accepted as prosecutor.
Philomena's lawyer, Stephen R. Garea, has asked that the suit be dismissed, contending that Moffie had no legal grounds to file it.
Philomena pleaded guilty in 1999 to accepting bribes from lawyers to fix cases while he was in office, from 1990 to 1996. He is serving four years at a federal prison camp in Alabama.
He also faces state charges related to case-fixing. He has pleaded innocent to those charges and is scheduled for trial next month.
All of the local judges excused themselves from hearing the case because of their professional relationships with Philomena while he was in office.