COLUMBIANA CO. Strabala faces date in court over debt

The state debt is only part of what the convicted felon is said to owe.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Part of a father-son team that bilked Columbiana County out of nearly $10 million several years ago is to appear next month in court to show why he can't pay a debt that the state says he owes.
A document on file Tuesday in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court states that Stephen T. Strabala, 1745 Cleveland St., must appear before Judge C. Ashley Pike at 8:40 a.m. Oct. 17.
The appearance was scheduled after the Ohio Department of Taxation filed a motion Sept. 5 seeking the hearing.
Documents associated with the motion state that on July 10, 1996, a judgment was obtained against Strabala for $20,980, none of which has been repaid.
The document also states that Strabala owes a total of $30,685, once interest and costs are factored in.
Court documents do not state the source of the debt.
An official with the Ohio Department of Taxation referred questions Tuesday to the Ohio Attorney General's office, which was unable to immediately provide more information.
What was paid
Earlier this year, county Treasurer Linda Bolon said Strabala had paid back about $8,000 on a nearly $4.5 million debt to the county stemming from the scandal.
Strabala made the payments through garnishments on wages earned as a prison laborer while serving eight years of a nine-year federal sentence for his role in the investment crime, discovered in September 1993.
Strabala, 39, was released from prison earlier this year. He received a year off for good behavior.
An update on how much Strabala owes the county on the $4.5 million debt was unavailable Tuesday.
Strabala and his father, former county treasurer Ardel Strabala, bilked the county out of about $10 million through illegal investments. Some of the money was later recovered.
Ardel Strabala served a year in state prison for his role in the crime. He died in May 1999 at age 60.