YOUNGSTOWN Man pleads guilty to trafficking
The Champion man will be sentenced after co-defendants' cases are finished.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- One of seven men charged with running a major cocaine network in the Mahoning Valley pleaded guilty Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Robert Treharn, 32, of Folsom Street, Champion, faces up to 21/2 years in prison when he is sentenced later by Judge Jack Durkin. However, Assistant Prosecutor Terry Grenga said she will recommend probation instead of prison because Treharn has cooperated with authorities in their cases against the other defendants.
Treharn pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking in cocaine. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed a charge of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
Because Treharn's ultimate sentence depends on his continued cooperation, Judge Durkin delayed it until after the other cases are completed.
One other man, 28-year-old Dean Valley of Market Street, Youngstown, pleaded guilty in April and was sentenced to a year in prison.
Others to plead
Two others, Mark DiGiacomo, 39, of New Road, Austintown, and Jonathan Brown, 34, of North Hartford Avenue, Youngstown, were scheduled to plead guilty to reduced charges Thursday, but the pleas were postponed because of scheduling problems.
The remaining suspects are scheduled for trial June 5, Grenga said. They are Shawn Willis, 31, of South Main Street, Poland; John Orosz, 33, of Patricia Avenue, Youngstown; and Donald "Fatman" Lewis, 27, of Market Street, Youngstown.
They are charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and cocaine trafficking.
Authorities have said the men supplied cocaine to others who sold it at bars in the city's suburbs and on the West Side. The network sold some 330 pounds of cocaine in the area over the past decade, Grenga said.
bjackson@vindy.com