TRUMBULL COUNTY Ex-bookkeeper gets three-year sentence

The man declined to comment during his sentencing hearing.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The former bookkeeper of Ainsley and Son Heating Experts Inc. has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Steve J. Aivazis, 43, of Allenwood, who pleaded no contest to several theft charges, was sentenced Thursday by Judge John Stuard in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
Aivazis, who has been free on a $30,000 bond since his plea, declined to comment during the hearing.
Atty. John Fowler, who represents Aivazis, told the judge before sentencing that his client has had health problems, but he declined to specify what they are.
Atty. Diane Barber, an assistant Trumbull County prosecutor, said Aivazis could have faced up to 10 years in prison.
Plea deal: Aivazis pleaded no contest in August to one count of grand theft, one count of aggravated theft, seven counts of forgery and three counts of money laundering.
In exchange for his pleas, prosecutors dismissed three charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
"He took from the people he worked with," said Mark Ainsley, one of the owners of the Cortland-based company. "He took from their paychecks and he took from their 401Ks."
Ainsley also told the judge that while authorities were only able to prove that Aivazis stole around $140,000, he believes the total was closer to $250,000.
Background: Detective Tom Andrews of the Cortland Police Department said Aivazis was hired as a bookkeeper with the company in 1996 and worked there three years.
Andrews said Aivazis deposited more than 60 company checks into his own checking account and used the money to pay his home mortgage as well as other personal bills.