By BOB JACKSON

By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Lenny Strollo's lawyers once kept him from having to give up his home and money to the government. Now, they want a piece of both.
The law firm ofLipsitz, Green, Fahringer, Roll, Salisbury & amp; Cambria of Buffalo, N.Y., is suing Strollo in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, seeking $386,890 it says it is owed in legal fees.
The suit was filed Monday and is assigned to Judge Robert G. Lisotto.
Besides Strollo, a longtime Mahoning Valley mob boss before his imprisonment, the suit names Strollo's wife, Antoinette; his brother Danny; Willowcreek Terrace Co., which the suit states is co-owned by the Strollo brothers; Lenkin Inc., a company owned by Strollo; Antoinette Strollo's son, Raymond Hertz of Poland; and George Malizia, a former Strollo associate or employee whose last known address was in New Castle, Pa.
Government witness: Strollo, 69, has been a government witness since February 1999, when he pleaded guilty to racketeering charges. He has remained in prison since being indicted in December 1997, and his sentencing is pending.
He won't be sentenced until the government no longer needs his testimony against others who were involved in mob activities. The Buffalo law firm has represented him in his court appearances but says the former mob kingpin has not paid up.
The others are named because they have been unjustly enriched by personal property Strollo was allowed to keep as part of his plea bargain with the government, according to the suit. It was filed by attorneys Donn D. Rosenblum and Robert S. Hartford Jr., both of Youngstown.
Plea deal: The government originally sought to seize property from Strollo including $10 million in cash, his home on Leffingwell Road, his interest in Ace Fireworks Co. of Conneaut, Ohio, his interest in the Ramada Inn on Belmont Avenue, and his interest in proceeds from the sale of a hotel and casino in Puerto Rico, the suit says.
But in return for his plea of guilty, the government allowed Strollo to keep his property.
"The legal work that was done for Lenny saved that property," Hartford said. "It was due to be forfeited."
The suit asks that the court impose a constructive trust on the real and personal property and on all income from rental, profits or proceeds of sales of the property until the legal bill is satisfied.
It's the second time Strollo has been taken to court for seizure of some of his assets. The Ohio Department of Taxation wants to seize the Leffingwell Road property to satisfy a $250,000 sales tax delinquency. That matter is pending in common pleas court before Judge Jack Durkin.