CASE-FIXING Lawyers' remarks set stage for trial

One defense attorney said he might call the owner of Mr. Anthony's and Anthony's on the River to testify.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
CLEVELAND -- Jurors in the James A. Vitullo-Russell J. Saadey Jr. trial have been warned by the government that what they will hear about case-fixing in Mahoning County might disturb them.
"It should turn your stomach," Thomas J. Gruscinski, the government's lead prosecutor, added in his opening statement Tuesday in U.S. District Court. "You'll hear that some [defendants] never had to go to court."
Justice was for sale -- cheap at $400 to $1,500 per case -- and James A. Philomena, Mahoning County prosecutor from 1989 through 1996, held the position of "chief sales manager," Gruscinski said. He called the case-fixing, which mostly involved DUIs, "sick, sad, pervasive."
Vitullo and Saadey, known as Champ, are accused of being part of a racketeering enterprise that included Philomena, now in federal prison and a government witness, and several convicted judges and defense attorneys. Vitullo, 45, of North Jackson, is a former assistant prosecutor; Saadey, 46, of Austintown, is a former prosecutor's investigator.
During a break, Warren attorney Maridee L. Costanza told reporters that it shouldn't be difficult to overcome Philomena's testimony when he takes the stand this week because he's been charged with perjury in a state case. She represents Vitullo along with lead attorney E. Scott Shaw of Columbus.
'Secret' told to jury: David J. Betras, Saadey's lead attorney, told jurors that he agreed with Gruscinski's stomach-churning characterization of the case-fixing, with a proviso.
He then lowered his voice to a whisper and said he'd let the jury in on a little secret: Lawyers and judges have been fixing cases for 50 years in Mahoning County, not just when Philomena was prosecutor.
Betras said "bottom-feeding lawyers too lazy to work" formed an incestuous relationship with the justice system. Those lawyers, he said, are now convicted felons and needed a sacrificial lamb to get their sentences reduced and chose Saadey.
"If they could say they had something to do with Sept. 11, they'd do it to reduce their sentence," Betras said, referring to that day's terrorist attacks in New York and the Washington, D.C., area.
Betras said Philomena is "selling his soul," telling jurors that they'll hear how the former prosecutor does his best lying under oath.
"He's lied to a grand jury, newspapers and reporters," Betras said, raising his right arm to the jury. "He's a felon and a drug user. This was their crime boss."
Shaw likened jurors to the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes -- who is said to have walked through Athens carrying a lantern, looking for an honest man. He implored the two-man, 10-woman jury to keep an open mind, saying Gruscinski knows only half the story and, like radio commentator Paul Harvey, he (Shaw) knows "the rest of the story."
Shaw called the trial a low point for the legal profession in Northeast Ohio. He said he hasn't seen so many convicted lawyers since Watergate.
Set to testify: One of those ex-lawyers, Jack V. Campbell of Canfield, was expected to be the government's first witness today. In April 1999, he pleaded guilty to bribing Philomena and Vitullo and, because of on-demand cooperation spelled out in a plea agreement, has helped the government convict Philomena, three judges and other lawyers.
Because of a family situation, Campbell received four years' probation in October 2000 instead of prison, with the first 16 months on electronically monitored house arrest. Since the others he implicated also reached plea agreements, except for Vitullo and Saadey, today would be his first time on the witness stand.
During jury selection, Judge Kathleen M. O'Malley read a list of roughly 70 names to make sure none of the jurors knew the potential government witnesses. The government is expected to call about 40 on the list to testify.
Characterization of Saadey: Gruscinski, meanwhile, told jurors that Saadey, in his role as prosecutor's investigator, was an opportunist who approached affluent defendants and offered to have their cases fixed.
He said jurors will hear from Phillip Courtney and Robert E. Harvey Jr., who once owned Courtney-Harvey Ford Mercury in Canfield and were found guilty in an odometer rollback case. They, along with businessmen Frank Amedia and Anthony Saadey (Champ Saadey's uncle), devised a scheme to bribe Philomena, and money was paid to Champ Saadey and his uncle, the prosecutor said.
Betras also mentioned the Courtney-Harvey case in his opening statement, saying that jurors would hear "amazing testimony" from Amedia about how he just delivered $200,000 to fix the case and felt uncomfortable doing it. Amedia was so uncomfortable that the government had to offer him immunity to get him to testify, Betras said.
Amedia, who served as chief executive officer of Forte Industries on Albert Street in Youngstown, retired in May 2000.
After court, Betras said it was his understanding that the government intends to call Amedia to testify, but not Anthony Saadey, owner of Mr. Anthony's, a banquet facility in Boardman, and Anthony's on the River, a restaurant in Youngstown. When a reporter asked Betras if he intended to call Saadey, the lawyer said: "Possibly."
Amedia's FBI documents: The following was contained in Amedia's FBI documents:
Amedia learned an employee of the Courtney-Harvey dealership told Harvey that Anthony Saadey could help with the odometer investigation that hadn't yet resulted in charges. Amedia knew the Saadey family had political connections and offered to intercede in early 1994 by arranging a meeting with Anthony Saadey at the banquet center.
Later, Anthony Saadey met with Courtney, Harvey and Amedia at the dealership and mentioned an amount of $500,000, which turned out to be too much for the car dealers. Anthony Saadey said he'd have to get his nephew, Champ, who worked with Philomena, involved in the process, and Amedia met Champ at The Upstairs Lounge, an Austintown bar-restaurant operated by a Saadey relative.
After haggling over price, $250,000 was agreed upon by Champ Saadey, and Courtney and Harvey traveled to an Atlantic City casino to get some of the money. Afterward, Amedia had Champ Saadey come to the office on Albert Street and handed over the cash.
Courtney's FBI documents: The following was contained in Courtney's FBI documents:
Courtney said the amount to reduce felony charges to misdemeanors was $125,000 and he and Harvey came up with about $83,000, with the remainder to be paid later to Amedia, who would give it to the Saadeys.
Courtney told the FBI that Anthony and Champ Saadey came to the dealership in Anthony Saadey's black Mercedes to collect the $83,000 and Harvey gave it to them, although Courtney couldn't positively identify Champ in the car.
Courtney later delivered the final payment to Amedia for the Saadeys but then learned that Philomena wanted more, and the Saadeys asked for an additional $75,000. Courtney said he and Harvey traveled to Atlantic City and maxed out their credit cards to get the $75,000, which Harvey gave to Amedia to pass on to the Saadeys.
When indicted in the odometer rollback scheme in May 1994, Courtney and Harvey believed they had been ripped off.
In March 1995, Courtney and Harvey pleaded to misdemeanors and received probation and $13,000 fine each. The dealership was fined $100,000, of which $75,000 went to Canfield to pay for the investigation and the balance to the prosecutor's office for future investigations, according to Vindicator files.
meade@vindy.com