WARREN Attorney general asks judge to deny request to drop suit

The former MVSD board director's civil lawsuit is set to begin Monday.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
WARREN -- The Ohio Attorney General's Office is asking a judge to not grant Frank D. DeJute's request to dismiss its $2.4 million civil lawsuit against him because DeJute took too long to file the request.
"Almost 31/2 years after the filing of the complaint, defendant now files a motion to dismiss," wrote Arthur J. Marziale Jr., an assistant attorney general handling DeJute's case.
"Defendant's complete lack of diligence in prosecuting his case should not be a reason to penalize plaintiff with another delay. Such a filing is unconscionable and should not permitted."
DeJute, of Niles, a former Mahoning Valley Sanitary District director, filed the motion two weeks ago, pointing to a federal judge's dismissal in October of a similar lawsuit filed by the attorney general.
His response: "I'm not trying to stall this case," DeJute said. "Also, I want a fair judge."
The attorney general filed separate $2.4 million lawsuits against DeJute; Edward A. Flask of Poland, another former MVSD member; and the Gilbane Building Co. of Rhode Island, which served as construction manager on the water agency's $50 million capital improvement program.
The lawsuits contend Flask and DeJute improperly paid Gilbane for construction work it did not perform at the MVSD. A federal judge dismissed the Gilbane case.
In the filing, Marziale wrote that the AG's office has appealed that decision, and that the order contains the judgment of a federal judge on state law and thus is not binding upon the state case involving DeJute.
Visiting Judge Richard M. Markus, who is hearing DeJute's case, rejected an earlier request from the former MVSD board member to dismiss the case.
DeJute's trial is set to begin Monday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
Also, the Ohio Supreme Court accepted a filing from DeJute seeking the dismissal of Judge Markus from the lawsuit.
DeJute's filing says he thinks Judge Markus' actions and decisions in his case and related cases have "irreparably compromised" his right to a fair trial.
"In plain language, I fear Judge Markus is determined to prove his judicial toughness, even at the expense of my right to due process," he wrote.
Judge Markus has until Dec. 22 to send a response to Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer to DeJute's filing. DeJute, who is representing himself even though he is not a lawyer, needed three tries before he got the filing correct.
DeJute had wanted a decision by Chief Justice Moyer before his trial was to start. Judge Markus, who is hearing a case in Lancaster, has 15 days from the time of DeJute's Dec. 7 filing to respond.
skolnick@vindy.com