TRUMBULL COUNTY Attorney's ex-manager faces charge

The attorney said he never received the money from his office manager.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- The former office manager of a Youngstown attorney who has been temporarily suspended from practicing law has been bound over to the Trumbull County grand jury on a charge of theft.
The action against Matthew J. Saunders of Girard was taken Wednesday by municipal Judge Michael A. Bernard after a preliminary hearing in which his former boss, Atty. Mark S. Colucci, testified against him.
Saunders, 39, of North Avenue, is accused of stealing $1,000 from Alberta Slenker of Youngstown on June 10. The money was supposed to be part of a retainer for Colucci to get her son, Charles, out of the Trumbull County jail.
Her son, Charles Slenker, was serving a 30-day sentence imposed May 27 by Judge Bernard. He was found guilty of having sexual encounters with four Liberty High School female students.
Testimony
Mrs. Slenker testified during questioning by city Prosecutor Robert Johnson that she met Saunders at the Girard court and gave him an envelope containing the $1,000. She didn't get a receipt.
She told the court that the money belonged to her son and would be used to get him released from jail pending an appeal.
The next day, Mrs. Slenker said she talked with Colucci over the phone. Colucci, she said, didn't indicate he received the money.
The $1,000 was the final payment for the retainer. Colucci already had received $2,500.
During cross-examination by defense lawyer Irene K. Makridis of Warren, Mrs. Slenker admitted she didn't know who in Colucci's office gave her the instructions to meet Saunders to get the money.
Colucci testified that Saunders was on his staff for about a year and he collected retainers outside the office on only a handful of occasions. Colucci testified that Saunders was to provide a receipt in such cases.
Unaware of meeting
Colucci said he was unaware Saunders met with Mrs. Slenker and he didn't receive the $1,000. Colucci told the court he confronted Saunders in his office about the missing money.
"I never took any money," Colucci said Saunders responded.
Saunders was fired June 17, Colucci said after he got an affidavit from Mrs. Slender stating that she gave Saunders the cash.
Through cross-examination of Colucci about his office employees, Makridis suggested that someone else in the office took the money.
The Ohio Supreme Court issued an interim suspension of Colucci from practicing law in July based on an accusation of misconduct by the Mahoning County Bar Association.
yovich@vindy.com