TRUMBULL COUNTY Judge extends Flask probation for failure to pay restitution

The special prosecutor also discussed how Flask performed community service.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A judge has extended Edward A. Flask's probation two years for violating the terms of his probation.
The action by visiting Judge Richard Markus in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court comes nearly three years after Flask was convicted of improperly accepting $2 million.
The former Mahoning Valley Sanitary District director has repaid only a fraction of court-imposed restitution.
Special prosecutor Victor Vigluicci talked with Judge Markus on Thursday about Flask's restitution payments and also the manner in which he has performed the 200 hours of court-ordered community service.
Vigluicci asked that Flask be sent to prison.
The judge refused, saying he wouldn't imprison someone who cannot pay his debts.
Flask told the court that he will make a $5,000 payment next month and that he has completed his community service at St. Anthony Church. It was not specified where the church is located.
As part of his sentence, Flask had been ordered to repay the Ohio Ethics Commission for the $78,562 cost of his investigation. So far, he has paid $1,240 since July 2001.
At the rate he is going, it would take Flask more than 100 years to pay off his debt, said David E. Freel, ethics commission executive director.
"That really is the money of the citizens of the state, especially the citizens of northeast Ohio who had to put up with his corruption," he said.
Flask pleaded guilty to two felonies and seven misdemeanors relating to his acceptance of money and gifts from people who did business with MVSD.
The sanitary district supplies water from Meander Reservoir to 300,000 customers in Mahoning and Trumbull counties through member cities Youngstown and Niles.
Sentence
In September 2000, Judge Markus sentenced Flask to 90 days in jail and imposed a $5,000 fine, as well as restitution and community service.
Flask's probation officer, Sandra Palumbo, declined to comment or to say if Flask had been on a repayment schedule.
In a letter to the ethics commission, she said she will ask the judge to order Flask to make monthly payments and extend his probation from three to five years.
Flask filed for bankruptcy in 2001, but withdrew his petition after the ethics commission and Ohio attorney general objected.
siff@vindy.com