Board picks attorney in appeal

A federal judge dismissed the suit against Gilbane last week.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
MINERAL RIDGE -- Attorney Charles L. Richards will represent the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District in the appeal of a federal case against a Rhode Island-based company that was dismissed last week.
The Ohio Attorney General's Office filed three separate $2.4 million lawsuits against former MVSD directors Edward Flask and Frank DeJute and the Gilbane Building Co., which was construction manager for the MVSD's $50 million capital improvement project.
The lawsuits say Flask and DeJute improperly paid Gilbane for work never done at the MVSD. They also accuse the two former directors of improperly receiving health, life insurance and pension benefits from the district.
Last week, Judge George C. Smith of U.S. District Court in Columbus granted the Gilbane Co.'s motion for summary judgment, dismissing the suit against the company. The judge found that the company received no illegal fees from the district.
The attorney general's office has filed an appeal at the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
MVSD board meeting: At an emergency meeting called by district directors Friday, the panel voted unanimously to authorize and direct Richards, the board's attorney, to enter an appearance in the case in federal court and the federal appeals court.
Alfred J. Fleming, board president, said the district was made a party to the federal case earlier this month.
MVSD was made a party to the suit by the attorney general's office so that the federal court would maintain jurisdiction, said Matthew J. Blair, another district director.
Richards declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
Board members also declined to comment on the stalling of the case filed by the attorney general's office against Flask. The case was scheduled to start Monday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court before Visiting Judge Richard M. Markus.
Flask filed for federal bankruptcy protection late last week, prompting the judge to postpone the civil suit against Flask. DeJute's civil trail has been pushed back to Dec. 17 in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, also before Judge Markus.